§ 65-38 — Violations and penalties

(a) When the amount due is under $300, any retailer of cannabis who fails to file a return, willfully fails or refuses to make any payment to the Department of the tax imposed by this Article, or files a fraudulent return, or any officer or agent of a corporation engaged in the business of selling cannabis to purchasers located in this State who signs a fraudulent return filed on behalf of the corporation, or any accountant or other agent who knowingly enters false information on the return of any taxpayer under this Article is guilty of a Class 4 felony. (b) When the amount due is $300 or more, any retailer of cannabis who files, or causes to be filed, a fraudulent return, or any officer or agent of a corporation engaged in the business of selling cannabis to purchasers located in this State who files or causes to be filed or signs or causes to be signed a fraudulent return filed on behalf of the corporation, or any accountant or other agent who knowingly enters false information on the return of any taxpayer under this Article is guilty of a Class 3 felony. (c) Any person who violates any provision of Section 65-20, fails to keep books and records as required under this Article, or willfully violates a rule of the Department for the administration and enforcement of this Article is guilty of a Class 4 felony. A person commits a separate offense on each day that he or she engages in business in violation of Section 65-20 or a rule of the Department for the administration and enforcement of this Article. If a person fails to produce the books and records for inspection by the Department upon request, a prima facie presumption shall arise that the person has failed to keep books and records as required under this Article. A person who is unable to rebut this presumption is in violation of this Article and is subject to the penalties provided in this Section. (d) Any person who violates any provision of Sections 65-20, fails to keep books and records as required under this Article, or willfully violates a rule of the Department for the administration and enforcement of this Article, is guilty of a business offense and may be fined up to $5,000. If a person fails to produce books and records for inspection by the Department upon request, a prima facie presumption shall arise that the person has failed to keep books and records as required under this Article. A person who is unable to rebut this presumption is in violation of this Article and is subject to the penalties provided in this Section. A person commits a separate offense on each day that he or she engages in business in violation of Section 65-20. (e) Any taxpayer or agent of a taxpayer who with the intent to defraud purports to make a payment due to the Department by issuing or delivering a check or other order upon a real or fictitious depository for the payment of money, knowing that it will not be paid by the depository, is guilty of a deceptive practice in violation of Section 17-1 of the Criminal Code of 2012. (f) Any person who fails to keep books and records or fails to produce books and records for inspection, as required by Section 65-36, is liable to pay to the Department, for deposit in the Tax Compliance and Administration Fund, a penalty of $1,000 for the first failure to keep books and records or failure to produce books and records for inspection, as required by Section 65-36, and $3,000 for each subsequent failure to keep books and records or failure to produce books and records for inspection, as required by Section 65-36. (g) Any person who knowingly acts as a retailer of cannabis in this State without first having obtained a certificate of registration to do so in compliance with Section 65-20 of this Article shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony. (h) A person commits the offense of tax evasion under this Article when he or she knowingly attempts in any manner to evade or defeat the tax imposed on him or her or on any other person, or the payment thereof, and he or she commits an affirmative act in furtherance of the evasion. As used in this Section, "affirmative act in furtherance of the evasion" means an act designed in whole or in part to (i) conceal, misrepresent, falsify, or manipulate any material fact or (ii) tamper with or destroy documents or materials related to a person's tax liability under this Article. Two or more acts of sales tax evasion may be charged as a single count in any indictment, information, or complaint and the amount of tax deficiency may be aggregated for purposes of determining the amount of tax that is attempted to be or is evaded and the period between the first and last acts may be alleged as the date of the offense. (1) When the amount of tax, the assessment or payment of which is attempted to be or is evaded is less than $500, a person is guilty of a Class 4 felony. (2) When the amount of tax, the assessment or payment of which is attempted to be or is evaded is $500 or more but less than $10,000, a person is guilty of a Class 3 felony. (3) When the amount of tax, the assessment or payment of which is attempted to be or is evaded is $10,000 or more but less than $100,000, a person is guilty of a Class 2 felony. (4) When the amount of tax, the assessment or payment of which is attempted to be or is evaded is $100,000 or more, a person is guilty of a Class 1 felony. Any person who knowingly sells, purchases, installs, transfers, possesses, uses, or accesses any automated sales suppression device, zapper, or phantom-ware in this State is guilty of a Class 3 felony. As used in this Section: "Automated sales suppression device" or "zapper" means a software program that falsifies the electronic records of an electronic cash register or other point-of-sale system, including, but not limited to, transaction data and transaction reports. The term includes the software program, any device that carries the software program, or an Internet link to the software program. "Phantom-ware" means a hidden programming option embedded in the operating system of an electronic cash register or hardwired into an electronic cash register that can be used to create a second set of records or that can eliminate or manipulate transaction records in an electronic cash register. "Electronic cash register" means a device that keeps a register or supporting documents through the use of an electronic device or computer system designed to record transaction data for the purpose of computing, compiling, or processing retail sales transaction data in any manner. "Transaction data" includes: items purchased by a purchaser; the price of each item; a taxability determination for each item; a segregated tax amount for each taxed item; the amount of cash or credit tendered; the net amount returned to the customer in change; the date and time of the purchase; the name, address, and identification number of the vendor; and the receipt or invoice number of the transaction. "Transaction report" means a report that documents, without limitation, the sales, taxes, or fees collected, media totals, and discount voids at an electronic cash register and that is printed on a cash register tape at the end of a day or shift, or a report that documents every action at an electronic cash register and is stored electronically. A prosecution for any act in violation of this Section may be commenced at any time within 5 years of the commission of that act. (i) The Department may adopt rules to administer the penalties under this Section. (j) Any person whose principal place of business is in this State and who is charged with a violation under this Section shall be tried in the county where his or her principal place of business is located unless he or she asserts a right to be tried in another venue. (k) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (h), a prosecution for a violation described in this Section may be commenced within 3 years after the commission of the act constituting the violation.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19.)