§ 24-7-7-2 — Record keeping requirements; lessor's ownership rights; examinations and investigations

(a) A person subject to this article shall make
the books and records of the person reasonably available for inspection
by the department or the department's representative.
(b) At a minimum, every lessor shall keep a record of all payments
remitted by the lessee on a rental purchase agreement, including the
following:
(1) The name of the lessee.
(2) The date of each transaction.
(3) The total amount of each payment.
(4) A breakdown of each payment reflecting:
(A) each type of charge; and
(B) the amount of each type of charge.
(c) A person subject to this article shall maintain books and records
that demonstrate to the department that a lessor has acquired, before
entering into a rental purchase agreement with a lessee, complete and
total ownership rights to the property subject to the rental purchase
agreement.
(d) The method of maintaining any data required under this section
is at the discretion of the lessor, if hard copies of the required data are
readily available. The record keeping system of the lessor shall be
made available in Indiana for examination. The director shall determine
the sufficiency of the records and whether the lessor has made the
required information reasonably available.
(e) In administering this article and in order to determine
compliance with this article, the department or the department's
representative may examine the books and records of persons subject
to the article and may make investigations of persons necessary to
determine compliance. For this purpose, the department may
administer oaths or affirmations, and, upon the department's own
motion or upon request of any party, may subpoena witnesses, compel
attendance, compel testimony, and require the production of any matter
that is relevant to the investigation, including the existence,
description, nature, custody, condition, and location of any books,
documents, or other tangible things and the identity and location of
persons having knowledge of relevant facts, or any other matter
reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.
(f) If the person's records are located outside Indiana, but within the
continental United States, the person shall, at the person's option, either
make them available to the department at a convenient location in
Indiana, or pay the reasonable and necessary expenses for the
department or the department's representative to examine them at the
place where they are maintained within the continental United States.
The department may designate representatives, including comparable
officials of the state in which the records are located, to inspect them
on the department's behalf.
(g) Upon failure without lawful excuse to obey a subpoena or to
give testimony and upon reasonable notice to all persons affected
thereby, the department may apply to a court for an order compelling
compliance.
(h) The department may not make public the name or identity of a
person whose acts or conduct the department investigates under this
section or the facts disclosed in the investigation, but this subsection
does not apply to disclosures in actions or enforcement proceedings
under this article.
(i) A lessor shall use United States generally accepted accounting
principles and practices in keeping books and records so that the
department or the department's representative may determine if the
lessor is in compliance with this article or a rule adopted under this
article.
(j) A lessor shall keep the lessor's books and records that pertain to
a rental purchase agreement for at least two (2) years after the rental
purchase agreement has terminated.
(k) To discover violations of this article or to secure information
necessary for the enforcement of this article, the department may
investigate:
(1) any person subject to this article; and
(2) any person that the department suspects to be operating in
violation of this article.
The department has all investigatory and enforcement authority under
this article that the department has under IC 28-11 with respect to
financial institutions. If the department conducts an investigation under
this section, the person investigated shall pay all reasonably incurred
costs of the investigation in accordance with the fee schedule adopted
under IC 28-11-3-5. Any costs required to be paid under this section
shall be paid not later than sixty (60) days after the person receives a
notice from the department of the costs being assessed. The department
may impose a fee, in an amount fixed by the department under IC 28-11-3-5, for each day that the assessed costs are not paid, beginning
on the first day after the sixty (60) day period described in this
subsection.
(l) If a lessor contracts with an outside vendor to provide a service
that would otherwise be undertaken internally by the lessor and be
subject to the department's routine examination procedures, the person
that provides the service to the lessor shall, at the request of the
director, submit to an examination by the department. If the director
determines that an examination under this subsection is necessary or
desirable, the examination may be made at the expense of the person
to be examined. If the person to be examined under this subsection
refuses to permit the examination to be made, the director may order
any lessor that receives services from the person refusing the
examination to:
(1) discontinue receiving one (1) or more services from the
person; or
(2) otherwise cease conducting business with the person.

Legislative History

As added by P.L.254-1987, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.138-1990, SEC.13; P.L.172-1997, SEC.13; P.L.35-2010, SEC.92; P.L.137-2014, SEC.20; P.L.5-2015, SEC.55; P.L.186-2015, SEC.27; P.L.69-2018, SEC.44.