(A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, within forty-five days after the last day of March, June, September, and December, each natural gas company or combined company subject to the excise tax imposed by section 5727.24 of the Revised Code shall file a return with the tax commissioner, in such form as the tax commissioner prescribes, and pay the full amount of the tax due on its taxable gross receipts for the preceding calendar quarter, except that the first payment of this tax shall be made on or before November 15, 2000, for the five-month period of May 1, 2000, to September 30, 2000. All payments made under this division shall be made by electronic funds transfer in accordance with section 5727.311 of the Revised Code.

(B) Any natural gas company or combined company subject to the excise tax imposed by this section that has an annual tax liability for the preceding calendar year ending on the thirty-first day of December of less than three hundred twenty-five thousand dollars may elect to file an annual return with the tax commissioner, in such form as the tax commissioner prescribes, for the next year. A company that elects to file an annual return for the calendar year shall file the return and remit the taxes due on its taxable gross receipts within forty-five days after the thirty-first day of December. The first payment of the tax under this division shall be made on or before February 14, 2001, for the period of May 1, 2000, to December 31, 2000. The minimum tax for a natural gas company or combined company subject to this division shall be fifty dollars, and the company shall not be required to remit the tax due by electronic funds transfer.

(C) A return required to be filed under division (A) or (B) of this section shall show the amount of tax due from the company for the period covered by the return and any other information as prescribed by the tax commissioner. A return shall be considered filed when received by the tax commissioner. The commissioner may extend the time for making and filing returns and paying the tax.

(D) Any natural gas company or combined company that fails to file a return or pay the full amount of the tax due within the period prescribed under this section shall pay an additional charge of fifty dollars or ten per cent of the tax required to be paid for the reporting period, whichever is greater. If any tax due is not paid timely in accordance with this section, the company liable for the tax shall pay interest, calculated at the rate per annum prescribed by section 5703.47 of the Revised Code, from the date the tax payment was due to the date of payment or to the date an assessment was issued, whichever occurs first. The tax commissioner may collect any additional charge or interest imposed by this section by assessment in the manner provided in section 5727.26 of the Revised Code. The commissioner may abate all or a portion of the additional charge and may adopt rules governing such abatements.

(E) The tax commissioner shall immediately forward to the treasurer of state any amounts that the commissioner receives under this section. The taxes, additional charges, penalties, and interest collected under sections 5727.24 to 5727.29 of the Revised Code shall be credited in accordance with section 5727.45 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 01-01-2003 .