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Business Taxes Law Guide—Revision 2024

BTLG Table of Contents > Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law > Chapter 11 > entire chapter

Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law

Revenue and Taxation Code

Division 2. Other Taxes
Part 2. Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law

Chapter 11. Violations.1


1Added by Stats. 2000, Ch. 1053 (AB 2114), operative January 1, 2002.

8401. Penalty for fraudulent export statement. 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. Penalties. 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. Unlicensed operations; penalty. 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. False or fraudulent return; intent to evade. (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. Additional misdemeanor and fine. (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. Limitation period. 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.

8407. Restitution order collection. (a) (1) Restitution orders or any other amounts imposed by a court of competent jurisdiction for criminal offenses upon a person or any other entity that are due to the State of California and payable to the Controller may be collected by the Controller in any manner provided by law for collection of a delinquent motor vehicle fuel tax liability, including, but not limited to, issuance of an order and levy under Article 4 (commencing with Section 706.070) of Chapter 5 of Division 2 of Title 9 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure in the manner provided for earnings withholding orders for taxes.

(2) Amounts imposed by a court of competent jurisdiction as an order of restitution for criminal offenses shall be treated as final and due and payable to the State of California on the date that amount is established on the records of the board.

(b) This part shall apply to amounts collected under this section in the same manner and with the same force and effect and to the full extent as if the language of those laws had been incorporated in full into this section, except to the extent that any provision is either inconsistent with this section or is not relevant to this section.

(c) Notwithstanding Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8101), no refund or credit may be allowed for any amounts paid or payments applied under this section.

(d) Amounts authorized to be collected pursuant to this section may accrue interest at the greater of the rate applicable to the amounts being collected or the rate provided under Section 6591.5 from and after the date the amounts are established on the records of the board.

(e) Amounts authorized to be collected pursuant to this section are not subject to any statute of limitations set forth in Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 7851).

(f) Notwithstanding Section 7872 or Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 7150) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, any portion of the amounts authorized to be collected under this section that remain unsatisfied may be collected by the recording of a notice of state tax lien. The Controller may record or extend a recorded notice of state tax lien at any time until the amount due, including any accrued interest, is paid in full.

(g) This section shall apply on and after January 1, 2012, to amounts authorized to be collected pursuant to this section that are due to the State of California and payable to the Controller before, on, or after January 1, 2012.

History—Added by Stats. 2011, Ch. 727 (AB 242), in effect January 1, 2012.