§231-8 Timely mailing treated as timely filing and paying. (a) Any report, claim, tax return, statement, or other document required or authorized to be filed with or any payment made to the State which is:

(1) Transmitted through the United States mail, shall be deemed filed and received by the State on the date shown by the post office cancellation mark stamped upon the envelope or other appropriate wrapper containing it;

(2) Mailed but not received by the State or where received and the cancellation mark is illegible, erroneous, or omitted, shall be deemed filed and received on the date it was mailed if the sender establishes by competent evidence that the report, claim, tax return, statement, remittance, or other document was deposited in the United States mail on or before the date due for filing; and in cases of the nonreceipt of a report, tax return, statement, remittance, or other document required by law to be filed, the sender files with the State a duplicate within thirty days after written notification is given to the sender by the State of its nonreceipt of the report, tax return, statement, remittance, or other document.

(b) If any report, claim, tax return, statement, remittance, or other document is sent by United States registered mail, certified mail, or certificate of mailing, a record authenticated by the United States Post Office of the registration, certification, or certificate shall be considered competent evidence that the report, claim, tax return, statement, remittance, or other document was delivered to the state officer or state agency to which addressed, and the date of registration, certification, or certificate shall be deemed the postmarked date.

(c) Any reference in this section to the United States mail shall be treated as including a reference to a designated delivery service, and any reference to a postmark by the United States Postal Service shall be treated as including a reference to any date recorded or marked by the designated delivery service.

[(d)] As used in this section, "designated delivery service" means any delivery service designated for purposes of section 7502 of the federal Internal Revenue Code. [L 1967, c 271, §1; HRS §231-8; am L 1997, c 297, §1]