(a) Upon the request and certification of a tax officer of a claimant state to the Commissioner that a taxpayer owes taxes to the claimant state and that the debt is fixed and no longer subject to appeal under the laws of that state, the Commissioner may set off any refund that it owes to the taxpayer against the amount of the certified debt and pay that amount to the requesting state.
(b) The Commissioner shall not set off any debt unless the laws of the requesting state allow the Commissioner, in cases where the taxpayer owes taxes to this State, to certify that a tax is owed and to request a tax officer of the requesting state to set off any refund owed to the taxpayer and pay that amount to this State.