§ 116B-77 — Interest and penalties; waiver

(a) A holder who fails to report, pay, or deliver property within the time prescribed by this Chapter shall pay to the Treasurer interest at the rate established pursuant to this subsection on the property or value of the property from the date the property should have been reported, paid, or delivered. On or before June 1 and December 1 of each year, the Treasurer shall establish the interest rate to be in effect during the six-month period beginning on the next succeeding July 1 and January 1, respectively, after giving due consideration to current market conditions. If no new rate is established, the rate in effect during the preceding six-month period shall continue in effect. The rate established by the Treasurer may not be less than five percent (5%) per year and may not exceed sixteen percent (16%) per year.
(b) A holder who willfully fails to report, pay, or deliver property within the time prescribed by this Chapter, or willfully fails to perform other duties imposed by this Chapter, including the duties imposed by G.S. 116B-59, shall pay to the Treasurer, in addition to interest as provided in subsection (a) of this section, a civil penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each day the report, payment, or delivery is withheld, or the duty is not performed, up to a maximum of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), plus twenty-five percent (25%) of the value of any property that should have been but was not reported.
(c) A holder who makes a fraudulent report shall pay to the Treasurer, in addition to interest as provided in subsection (a) of this section, a civil penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each day from the date a report under this Chapter was due, up to a maximum of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), plus twenty-five percent (25%) of the value of any property that should have been but was not reported.
(d) The Treasurer for good cause may waive, in whole or in part, interest under subsection (a) of this section and penalties under subsection (b) of this section. (1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1311, s. 1; 1989, c. 114, s. 4; 1999-460, s. 6; 2017-134, s. 2(b).)