Marvin Mandel, Governor                          1349

given.] If the Comptroller, or the chief fiscal officer of the county
or municipality, as the case may be, refuses to approve the claim,
the claim shall be disallowed, and notice of such action shall be
forwarded to the agency from which the claim came. The agency
shall notify the taxpayer in writing of any action taken by it or
by the Comptroller or chief fiscal officer of the county or munici-
pality, as the case may be, which disallows the claim in whole or
in part. The agency shall also notify the taxpayer if for any reason
there is a delay in paying an approved claim.

217.

The person filing a claim for refund [or the Comptroller on behalf
of the State] shall be entitled to appeal from any final action [of
such agency in allowing] taken under the provisions of Section 216
of this subtitle in or disallowing any claim for refund, in whole
or in part, to the Maryland Tax Court, and from the action of the
Maryland Tax Court may appeal to the courts of this State, in the
same manner as appeals are permitted from any other action of
the Maryland Tax Court under the provisions of this article. If a
claim for refund is neither allowed nor disallowed within 6 months
from the date of filing of the claim, the claim may be deemed by
the person filing it to have been finally disallowed and such person
may file an appeal to the Maryland Tax Court under this section.

218.

All claims for the refund of special taxes, fees, charges, penalties
or interest which may be allowed under the provisions of this sub-
title shall, if no appeal is pending, be paid by the State, county or
municipal agency authorized to collect the same out of any [State]
funds in the hands of such [State] agency. Interest at the rate of
six per cent per annum shall be paid on such amounts refunded
accounting from the date the taxes, fees, charges, penalties or
interest so refunded were paid, but interest shall not be paid on
tax refunds now pending or subsequently filed where the tax
originally paid was paid in whole or in part by reason of a mistake
or error on the part of the taxpayer and not attributable to the
State [or any department or agency thereof.], county or municipal
taxing authority. If any portion of the special taxes, fees, charges,
penalties or interest for which a refund is allowed were paid to any
county or [city of this] municipality by the State, the collecting
State agency shall charge a proportionate part of the refund and
interest against such county or [city] municipality and deduct the
same from subsequent payments of the shares of such special taxes,
fees, charges, penalties or interest to such county or [city] munici-
pality. If no funds are available for the payment of such part of
such allowed claim for refund and interest as is payable by the
State, the collecting agency shall certify the same to the Comp-
troller, who shall certify the same to the Governor for inclusion in
the next budget. Provided, that nothing in this section shall apply
to refunds of sales and use taxes, cigarette taxes, income taxes,
motor vehicle fuel taxes, fees and taxes payable to the Department
of Motor Vehicles, fees and taxes pertaining to alcoholic beverages
and other State fees and taxes as to which refund provisions are
elsewhere specifically provided.