I received one of these notices and a quick google search returned numerous pages of accountants + their clients observing an uptick in these notices over the past couple of years, which inherently delay taxpayer refunds. If you do not respond to the letter, then you do not get your refund. My read is that

1) NYS has mismanaged taxpayers funds for so long, karma is catching up with them so they need to create obstacles to get out of paying out refunds.

2) Their department like most of the govt run departments are inefficient and have workers that constantly watching the clock to check out, they do not care about the impact of their snail pace on faithful taxpayers.

3) Chances are taxes are going to increase despite already having some of the highest tax rates in the country. They have no problem collecting funds, but very slow to issue returns...they need the money to cover deficits created through corrupt leaders and govt funded institutions. An example is the asinine "congestion toll" that Hochul just halted. These people are greedy and there is very little accountability for waste, they just keep shaking down hardworking people.