Non-renewal notice from 8 yr old excise

[Griffin4]

Massachusetts excise tax bill came in 2006 after I moved to another town. I did not inform the registry of my move and two other moves that year.

I renewed my license in 2009 without issue.

I received a notice in 2014 of non-renewal until I pay the delinquent excise tax.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the statute of limitations regarding excise tax, but I shouldn't have been able to renew in 2009, right? And since I was able to and it's now 8 years later, do I have an argument against the issuance of this notice?

 

[Proserpina]

I think you might be misunderstanding, yes.

Vehicle owners should be aware of the fact that the excise tax law (M.G.L. c. 60A) gives tax collectors six years from the date a bill is issued to collect an excise tax bill. However, under Registry regulations, tax collectors have two years from the date of issuance of an excise bill to notify the Registry of nonpayment. The Registry will then electronically mark the driver's record for non-renewal until the excise is paid. If the tax record does indicate a history of nonpayment, the tax collectors can also mark the driver's record and institute proceedings to collect for as many years back (in other words, beyond six) as necessary."

I think the last line is what's confusing you.