News Flash

14-Aug-2018 Michigan returns with XML eFile

For the following USA Michigan returns:

Taxpayer Type	Return Code	Return Code Description
BLD	3791	Blender Monthly Tax Return
CAR	3715	Carriers Monthly Report
EXP	4004	Exporter Quarterly Report
IMP	3992	Fuel Importer Return
SPL	3978	Fuel Supplier Return
TOR	3716	Terminal Operator Monthly Return
TRN	3724	Transporter Quarterly Report

eFile Creation

In eFiling > eFile Creation

Select Michigan XML Version 1 as the eFile Version.
On the Settings tab, enter 123456 in the Sender Code.

Bill of Lading 12 characters maximum

After removing 'illegal' characters, eFile creation is truncating the Bill of Lading field to the first 12 characters.

Updated to remove invalid characters messages

For many fields, Michigan is enforcing new rules regarding valid characters in the XML formatted eFile. When populating the eFile data, we include 'legal' and exclude 'illegal' characters based on Michigan's XML guide:

Legal characters: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, hash, slash, percent, hyphen, parentheses, ampersand, apostrophe and single space
Illegal characters: Leading space, trailing space, adjacent spaces, and symbols

As a result, you may see warning messages similar to this: "Carrier legal name was updated to remove invalid characters that would cause a file to be rejected." The phrase, Carrier legal name, is just one of several possibilities.

You don't need to do anything, just be aware that when communicating with the state, they may refer to fields with 'illegal' characters removed.

1-Aug-2018 and 1-Nov-2018 Internet Browser and API Call Support Changes Coming

Added 10-Jul-2018 at 11:21 Central (USA)

Internet browsers, such as Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer and Edge use Transport Layer Security (TLS) to connect to secure sites like the Avalara Excise Platform. To improve security, Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.0 support for the Avalara Excise Platform will be phased out over the next four (4) months to ensure all browser connections are using the current industry standard security protocols. You may have seen a similar notice from other service providers such as the recent notice from the IRS for ExSTARS requiring minimum browsers versions effective 7/13/18.

If you make API (Application Program Interface) calls to Avalara Excise services, the removal of TLS 1.0 support is likely to impact you (IT Departments).

When will TLS 1.0 support end for Avalara Excise?

TLS 1.0 support will be removed in two phases:

1 August 2018 (Release 5.33.20): TLS 1.0 support will be removed from the Avalara Excise Test (UA) environment (https://exciseua.avalara.net). Any customer using TLS 1.0 will start to get a "Failed to receive authentication HTTP" message.

1 November 2018 (Release 5.34.20): TLS 1.0 support will be removed from the Avalara Excise Production (https://excise.avalara.net) environment.

What do I need to do?

Check your browser: If your version is less than the version shown below, send your IT department a link to this page and ask them how to get an upgrade.
- Google Chrome version 66
  (Click the menu in the top right corner and then Help > About)
- Mozilla Firefox version 60 or version 52 for large organizations
  (Click the menu in the top right corner and then Help > About)
- Microsoft Internet Explorer version 11
  (Click the gear in the top right corner and then About)
- Microsoft Edge version 42
  (Click the menu in the top right corner and then Settings and scroll down)
  
  Customers who cannot upgrade before the 1 August and 1 November 2018 deadlines can search the internet for "browser check tls version" for sites that can identify what TLS version your browser supports. Note that requiring vendor supported browsers is a long standing Avalara policy - see Browser Support and Troubleshooting.
API calls: If you are making API calls to the Avalara Excise Platform, we recommend two actions for our customers:
- Begin upgrading your servers to use TLS 1.2 (preferred) or TLS 1.1 when making API calls.
- Consider upgrading your API calls to the latest version available.
- To view our API call documentation:
  - Login with a Company Admin account
  - From the menu, click the Developer Content and choose one of the following menu items:
    - Developer Content ' REST Documentation and then look up "AvaTaxExcise Controller" or
    - Developer Content ' SOAP Documentation and then look up "ATE SOAP Web Service 5.27.0 Documentation"

6/20/2018 (Resolved 7/3/2018) in 5.33.10 Schedule Query Wizard Mass Change: setting the Value Type to Field

Note for Returns Excise Pro users, the Mass Change feature is only in Returns Excise and not in Returns Excise Pro.

In version 5.33.0, some customers reported difficulty using the Value Type "Field". If you also have that difficulty, please follow these steps:

Select any Field.
Change Value Type to Field (The selection may not appear to work - please continue.)
Go back to Field and select the field you want to change.

You can now choose a Value.