SECTIONS 8401-8406 - California Statutes

REVENUE AND TAXATION CODE

SECTION 8401-8406

8401. It is unlawful for any person, firm, association, or
corporation, or any officer or agent thereof, through false
statement, trick or device, or otherwise, to do any of the following:
(a) Obtain motor vehicle fuel for export and fail to export it, or
cause it not to be exported.
(b) Divert motor vehicle fuel, or cause it to be diverted, from
interstate or foreign transit begun in this state.
(c) Return motor vehicle fuel to this state and sell or use it, or
cause it to be used or sold in this state, without complying with
the provisions of this part and without notifying the supplier from
whom the motor vehicle fuel was originally purchased of his or her
act.
It is unlawful for any supplier or other person to conspire with
any person, firm, association, or corporation, or any officer or
agent thereof, to withhold motor vehicle fuel from export, or to
divert it from interstate or foreign transit begun in this state, or
to return it to this state for sale or use so as to avoid any of the
taxes imposed by this part.
Any person violating any provision of this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable as provided in Section 8402.
Each shipment illegally diverted or illegally returned constitutes
a separate offense, and the unit of each shipment is the cargo of
one vessel, or one railroad carload, or one automobile truck load, or
such truck and trailer load, or one drum, or one barrel, or one
case, or one can.

8402. It is unlawful for any person, firm, association, or
corporation, or any officer or agent thereof, to do any of the
following:
(a) Fail to pay the tax.
(b) Fail, neglect, or refuse to make and file any statement
required by this part in the manner or within the time required.
(c) Make any false statement or conceal any material fact in any
record, report, affidavit, or claim provided for in this part.
(d) Violate any other provision of this part.
Any person violating any provision of this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor, unless the act is by any other law of this state
declared to be a felony, and upon conviction is punishable by a fine
of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than five
thousand dollars ($5,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not
exceeding six months, or by both fine and imprisonment.

8403. It is unlawful for any person, firm, association, or
corporation, or any officer or agent thereof, to conduct any
activities requiring a license under this part without a license or
after a license has been surrendered, canceled, or revoked. Any
violation of this section is subject to the same punishment as is
prescribed in Section 8402.

8404. (a) Any person required to make, render, sign, or verify any
return or report who makes any false or fraudulent return or report
with intent to defeat or evade the determination of an amount due
required by law to be made is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable as
provided in Section 8402.
(b) Any person who willfully aids or assists in, or procures,
counsels, or advises in the preparation or presentation under, or in
connection with any matter arising under this part, of a return,
report, affidavit, claim, or other document which is fraudulent or is
false as to any material matter, whether or not the falsity or fraud
is with knowledge or consent of the person authorized or required to
present the return, report, affidavit, claim, or document is guilty
of a misdemeanor punishable as provided in Section 8402.

8405. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, any
person who willfully evades or attempts in any manner to evade or
defeat the payment of the tax imposed by this part is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than five thousand
dollars ($5,000) and not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000),
imprisonment, or both the fine and imprisonment in the discretion of
the court. In addition to the fine or imprisonment, or both, each
person convicted under this section shall pay up to two dollars ($2)
for each gallon of motor vehicle fuel, or portion thereof, knowingly
removed, entered, blended, or possessed, kept, stored, or retained
for the purpose of removal or removed, or offered for removal, or
entry, or entered, or for sale, or actually sold, or offered for
sale, in violation of this section, as determined by the court.
(b) Proceeds of the assessed penalty shall be distributed to the
treasurer of the county in which the action was brought for
allocation to the prosecuting agency in the amount necessary to
reimburse the agency for its costs of prosecution, and to the county
for its reasonable costs of administration of this paragraph. Any
remaining proceeds shall be deposited in the Motor Vehicle Fuel
Account in the Transportation Tax Fund, and shall be available, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, to pay administrative costs of the
board to enforce this part.

8406. Any prosecution for violation of any of the penal provisions
of this part shall be instituted within three years after the
commission of the offense, or within two years after the violation is
discovered, whichever is later.