§ 24-4.5-1-102 — Purposes; rules of construction; related rules or guidance adopted by department; applicability to disguised consumer credit transactions; violations of other consumer credit laws; enforcement of disclosure requirements for mortgage transactions

(1) This article shall be liberally
construed and applied to promote its underlying purposes and policies.
(2) The underlying purposes and policies of this article are:
(a) to simplify, clarify, and modernize the law governing retail
installment sales, consumer credit, small loans, and usury;
(b) to provide rate ceilings to assure an adequate supply of credit
to consumers;
(c) to further consumer understanding of the terms of credit
transactions and to foster competition among suppliers of
consumer credit so that consumers may obtain credit at
reasonable cost;
(d) to protect consumer buyers, lessees, and borrowers against
unfair practices by some suppliers of consumer credit, having due
regard for the interests of legitimate and scrupulous creditors;
(e) to permit and encourage the development of fair and
economically sound consumer credit practices;
(f) to conform the regulation of consumer credit transactions to
the policies of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C.
1601 et seq.) and to applicable state and federal laws, rules,
regulations, policies, and guidance; and
(g) to make uniform the law, including administrative rules,
among the various jurisdictions.
(3) A reference to a requirement imposed by this article includes
reference to a related rule or guidance of the department adopted
pursuant to this article.
(4) A reference to a federal law in this article is a reference to the
law as in effect December 31, 2024.
(5) This article applies to a transaction if the director determines
that the transaction:
(a) is in substance a disguised consumer credit transaction; or
(b) involves the application of subterfuge for the purpose of
avoiding this article.
A determination by the director under this subsection must be in
writing and shall be delivered to all parties to the transaction. IC 4-21.5-3 applies to a determination made under this subsection.
(6) The authority of this article remains in effect, whether a licensee,
an individual, or a person subject to this article acts or claims to act
under any licensing or registration law of this state, or claims to act
without such authority.
(7) A violation of a state or federal law, regulation, or rule
applicable to consumer credit transactions is a violation of this article.
(8) The department may enforce penalty provisions set forth in 15
U.S.C. 1640 for violations of disclosure requirements applicable to
mortgage transactions.
Formerly: Acts 1971, P.L.366, SEC.2. As amended by
P.L.14-1992, SEC.2; P.L.122-1994, SEC.1; P.L.45-1995, SEC.2;
P.L.176-1996, SEC.1; P.L.172-1997, SEC.1; P.L.80-1998, SEC.2;
P.L.23-2000, SEC.1; P.L.63-2001, SEC.1 and P.L.134-2001, SEC.1;
P.L.82-2002, SEC.1; P.L.258-2003, SEC.1; P.L.73-2004, SEC.15;
P.L.141-2005, SEC.1; P.L.10-2006, SEC.1 and P.L.57-2006, SEC.1;
P.L.213-2007, SEC.5; P.L.217-2007, SEC.4; P.L.90-2008, SEC.4;
P.L.182-2009(ss), SEC.370; P.L.35-2010, SEC.36; P.L.89-2011,
SEC.10; P.L.27-2012, SEC.13; P.L.216-2013, SEC.5; P.L.137-2014,
SEC.5; P.L.186-2015, SEC.10; P.L.73-2016, SEC.4; P.L.159-2017,
SEC.5; P.L.69-2018, SEC.12; P.L.176-2019, SEC.9; P.L.129-2020,
SEC.4; P.L.54-2021, SEC.2; P.L.29-2022, SEC.2; P.L.197-2023,
SEC.8; P.L.30-2024, SEC.2; P.L.206-2025, SEC.2.