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Public Act 098-0974 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning revenue.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Retailers' Occupation Tax Act is amended by | ||||
changing Section 2a as follows: | ||||
(35 ILCS 120/2a) (from Ch. 120, par. 441a) | ||||
Sec. 2a. It is unlawful for any person to engage in the | ||||
business of
selling tangible personal property at retail in | ||||
this State without a
certificate of registration from the | ||||
Department. Application
for a certificate of registration | ||||
shall be made to the Department upon
forms furnished by it. | ||||
Each such application shall be signed and verified
and shall | ||||
state: (1) the name and social security number of the
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applicant; (2) the address of his principal place
of business; | ||||
(3) the address of the principal place of business from which
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he engages in the business of selling tangible personal | ||||
property at retail
in this State and the addresses of all other | ||||
places of business, if any
(enumerating such addresses, if any, | ||||
in a separate list attached to and
made a part of the | ||||
application), from which he engages in the business of
selling | ||||
tangible personal property at retail in this State; (4)
the
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name and address of the person or persons who will be | ||||
responsible for
filing returns and payment of taxes due under |
this Act; (5) in the case of a publicly traded corporation, the | ||
name and title of the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating | ||
Officer, and any other officer or employee with responsibility | ||
for preparing tax returns under this Act, along with the last 4 | ||
digits of each of their social security numbers, and , in the
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case of
all other corporations, the name, title, and social | ||
security number of
each corporate officer; (6) in the case of a | ||
limited liability
company, the
name, social security number, | ||
and FEIN number of
each
manager and member; and (7) such other | ||
information
as the Department may reasonably require. The | ||
application shall contain
an acceptance of responsibility | ||
signed by the person or persons who will be
responsible for | ||
filing returns and payment of the taxes due under this
Act. If | ||
the applicant will sell tangible personal property at retail
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through vending machines, his application to register shall | ||
indicate the
number of vending machines to be so operated. If | ||
requested by the Department at any time, that person shall | ||
verify the total number of vending machines he or she uses in | ||
his or her business of selling tangible personal property at | ||
retail. | ||
The Department may deny a certificate of registration to | ||
any applicant
if a person who is named as the owner, a partner, | ||
a manager or member of a limited liability
company, or a | ||
corporate officer of the applicant on the application for the | ||
certificate of registration , is or
has been named as the owner, | ||
a partner, a manager or member of a limited
liability company, |
or a corporate officer , on the application for the certificate | ||
of registration of another retailer
that is in default for | ||
moneys due under this Act or any other tax or fee Act | ||
administered by the Department. For purposes of this paragraph | ||
only, in determining whether a person is in default for moneys | ||
due, the Department shall include only amounts established as a | ||
final liability within the 20 years prior to the date of the | ||
Department's notice of denial of a certificate of registration. | ||
The Department may require an applicant for a certificate | ||
of registration hereunder to, at
the time of filing such | ||
application, furnish a bond from a surety company
authorized to | ||
do business in the State of Illinois, or an irrevocable
bank | ||
letter of credit or a bond signed by 2
personal sureties who | ||
have filed, with the Department, sworn statements
disclosing | ||
net assets equal to at least 3 times the amount of the bond to
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be required of such applicant, or a bond secured by an | ||
assignment of a bank
account or certificate of deposit, stocks | ||
or bonds, conditioned upon the
applicant paying to the State of | ||
Illinois all moneys becoming due under
this Act and under any | ||
other State tax law or municipal or county tax
ordinance or | ||
resolution under which the certificate of registration that is
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issued to the applicant under this Act will permit the | ||
applicant to engage
in business without registering separately | ||
under such other law, ordinance
or resolution. In making a | ||
determination as to whether to require a bond or other | ||
security, the Department shall take into consideration whether |
the owner, any partner, any manager or member of a limited | ||
liability company, or a corporate officer of the applicant is | ||
or has been the owner, a partner, a manager or member of a | ||
limited liability company, or a corporate officer of another | ||
retailer that is in default for moneys due under this Act or | ||
any other tax or fee Act administered by the Department; and | ||
whether the owner, any partner, any manager or member of a | ||
limited liability company, or a corporate officer of the | ||
applicant is or has been the owner, a partner, a manager or | ||
member of a limited liability company, or a corporate officer | ||
of another retailer whose certificate of registration has been | ||
revoked within the previous 5 years under this Act or any other | ||
tax or fee Act administered by the Department. If a bond or | ||
other security is required, the Department shall fix the amount | ||
of the bond or other security, taking into consideration the | ||
amount of money expected to become due from the applicant under | ||
this Act and under any other State tax law or municipal or | ||
county tax ordinance or resolution under which the certificate | ||
of registration that is issued to the applicant under this Act | ||
will permit the applicant to engage in business without | ||
registering separately under such other law, ordinance, or | ||
resolution. The amount of security required by
the Department | ||
shall be such as, in its opinion, will protect the State of
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Illinois against failure to pay the amount which may become due | ||
from the
applicant under this Act and under any other State tax | ||
law or municipal or
county tax ordinance or resolution under |
which the certificate of
registration that is issued to the | ||
applicant under this Act will permit the
applicant to engage in | ||
business without registering separately under such
other law, | ||
ordinance or resolution, but the amount of the security | ||
required
by the Department shall not exceed three times the | ||
amount of the
applicant's average monthly tax liability, or | ||
$50,000.00, whichever amount
is lower. | ||
No certificate of registration under this Act shall be | ||
issued by the
Department until the applicant provides the | ||
Department with satisfactory
security, if required, as herein | ||
provided for. | ||
Upon receipt of the application for certificate of | ||
registration in
proper form, and upon approval by the | ||
Department of the security furnished
by the applicant, if | ||
required, the Department shall issue to such applicant a
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certificate of registration which shall permit the person to | ||
whom it is
issued to engage in the business of selling tangible | ||
personal property at
retail in this State. The certificate of | ||
registration shall be
conspicuously displayed at the place of | ||
business which the person so
registered states in his | ||
application to be the principal place of business
from which he | ||
engages in the business of selling tangible personal property
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at retail in this State. | ||
No certificate of registration issued to a taxpayer who | ||
files returns
required by this Act on a monthly basis shall be | ||
valid after the expiration
of 5 years from the date of its |
issuance or last renewal. The expiration
date of a | ||
sub-certificate of registration shall be that of the | ||
certificate
of registration to which the sub-certificate | ||
relates. A certificate of
registration shall automatically be | ||
renewed, subject to revocation as
provided by this Act, for an | ||
additional 5 years from the date of its
expiration unless | ||
otherwise notified by the Department as provided by this
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paragraph. Where a taxpayer to whom a certificate of | ||
registration is
issued under this Act is in default to the | ||
State of Illinois for delinquent
returns or for moneys due
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under this Act or any other State tax law or municipal or | ||
county ordinance
administered or enforced by the Department, | ||
the Department shall, not less
than 60 120 days before the | ||
expiration date of such certificate of
registration, give | ||
notice to the taxpayer to whom the certificate was
issued of | ||
the account period of the delinquent returns, the amount of
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tax,
penalty and interest due and owing from the
taxpayer, and | ||
that the certificate of registration shall not be
automatically | ||
renewed upon its expiration date unless the taxpayer, on or
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before the date of expiration, has filed and paid the | ||
delinquent returns or
paid the defaulted amount in full. A
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taxpayer to whom such a notice is issued shall be deemed an | ||
applicant for
renewal. The Department shall promulgate | ||
regulations establishing
procedures for taxpayers who file | ||
returns on a monthly basis but desire and
qualify to change to | ||
a quarterly or yearly filing basis and will no longer
be |
subject to renewal under this Section, and for taxpayers who | ||
file
returns on a yearly or quarterly basis but who desire or | ||
are required to
change to a monthly filing basis and will be | ||
subject to renewal under
this Section. | ||
The Department may in its discretion approve renewal by an | ||
applicant
who is in default if, at the time of application for | ||
renewal, the applicant
files all of the delinquent returns or | ||
pays to the Department such
percentage of the defaulted amount | ||
as may be
determined by the Department and agrees in writing to | ||
waive all limitations
upon the Department for collection of the | ||
remaining defaulted amount to the
Department over a period not | ||
to exceed 5 years from the date of renewal of
the certificate; | ||
however, no renewal application submitted by an applicant
who | ||
is in default shall be approved if the immediately preceding | ||
renewal by
the applicant was conditioned upon the installment | ||
payment
agreement described in this Section. The payment | ||
agreement herein provided
for shall be in addition to and not | ||
in lieu of the security that may be required by
this Section of | ||
a taxpayer who is no longer considered a prior continuous
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compliance taxpayer. The execution of the payment agreement as | ||
provided in
this Act shall not toll the accrual of interest at | ||
the statutory rate. | ||
The Department may suspend a certificate of registration if | ||
the Department finds that the person to whom the certificate of | ||
registration has been issued knowingly sold contraband | ||
cigarettes. |
A certificate of registration issued under this Act more | ||
than 5 years
before the effective date of this amendatory Act | ||
of 1989 shall expire and
be subject to the renewal provisions | ||
of this Section on the next
anniversary of the date of issuance | ||
of such certificate which occurs more
than 6 months after the | ||
effective date of this amendatory Act of 1989. A
certificate of | ||
registration issued less than 5 years before the effective
date | ||
of this amendatory Act of 1989 shall expire and be subject to | ||
the
renewal provisions of this Section on the 5th anniversary | ||
of the issuance
of the certificate. | ||
If the person so registered states that he operates other | ||
places of
business from which he engages in the business of | ||
selling tangible personal
property at retail in this State, the | ||
Department shall furnish him with a
sub-certificate of | ||
registration for each such place of business, and the
applicant | ||
shall display the appropriate sub-certificate of registration | ||
at
each such place of business. All sub-certificates of | ||
registration shall
bear the same registration number as that | ||
appearing upon the certificate of
registration to which such | ||
sub-certificates relate. | ||
If the applicant will sell tangible personal property at | ||
retail through
vending machines, the Department shall furnish | ||
him with a sub-certificate
of registration for each such | ||
vending machine, and the applicant shall
display the | ||
appropriate sub-certificate of registration on each such
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vending machine by attaching the sub-certificate of |
registration to a
conspicuous part of such vending machine. If | ||
a person who is registered to sell tangible personal property | ||
at retail through vending machines adds an additional vending | ||
machine or additional vending machines to the number of vending | ||
machines he or she uses in his or her business of selling | ||
tangible personal property at retail, he or she shall notify | ||
the Department, on a form prescribed by the Department, to | ||
request an additional sub-certificate or additional | ||
sub-certificates of registration, as applicable. With each | ||
such request, the applicant shall report the number of | ||
sub-certificates of registration he or she is requesting as | ||
well as the total number of vending machines from which he or | ||
she makes retail sales. | ||
Where the same person engages in 2 or more businesses of | ||
selling
tangible personal property at retail in this State, | ||
which businesses are
substantially different in character or | ||
engaged in under different trade
names or engaged in under | ||
other substantially dissimilar circumstances (so
that it is | ||
more practicable, from an accounting, auditing or bookkeeping
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standpoint, for such businesses to be separately registered), | ||
the
Department may require or permit such person (subject to | ||
the same
requirements concerning the furnishing of security as | ||
those that are
provided for hereinbefore in this Section as to | ||
each application for a
certificate of registration) to apply | ||
for and obtain a separate certificate
of registration for each | ||
such business or for any of such businesses, under
a single |
certificate of registration supplemented by related
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sub-certificates of registration. | ||
Any person who is registered under the "Retailers' | ||
Occupation Tax Act"
as of March 8, 1963, and who, during the | ||
3-year period immediately prior to
March 8, 1963, or during a | ||
continuous 3-year period part of which passed
immediately | ||
before and the remainder of which passes immediately after
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March 8, 1963, has been so registered continuously and who is | ||
determined by
the Department not to have been either delinquent | ||
or deficient in the
payment of tax liability during that period | ||
under this Act or under any
other State tax law or municipal or | ||
county tax ordinance or resolution
under which the certificate | ||
of registration that is issued to the
registrant under this Act | ||
will permit the registrant to engage in business
without | ||
registering separately under such other law, ordinance or
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resolution, shall be considered to be a Prior Continuous | ||
Compliance
taxpayer. Also any taxpayer who has, as verified by | ||
the Department,
faithfully and continuously complied with the | ||
condition of his bond or
other security under the provisions of | ||
this Act for a period of 3
consecutive years shall be | ||
considered to be a Prior Continuous Compliance
taxpayer. | ||
Every Prior Continuous Compliance taxpayer shall be exempt | ||
from all
requirements under this Act concerning the furnishing | ||
of a bond or other security as a
condition precedent to his | ||
being authorized to engage in the business of
selling tangible | ||
personal property at retail in this State. This exemption
shall |
continue for each such taxpayer until such time as he may be
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determined by the Department to be delinquent in the filing of | ||
any returns,
or is determined by the Department (either through | ||
the Department's
issuance of a final assessment which has | ||
become final under the Act, or by
the taxpayer's filing of a | ||
return which admits tax that is not paid to be
due) to be | ||
delinquent or deficient in the paying of any tax under this Act
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or under any other State tax law or municipal or county tax | ||
ordinance or
resolution under which the certificate of | ||
registration that is issued to
the registrant under this Act | ||
will permit the registrant to engage in
business without | ||
registering separately under such other law, ordinance or
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resolution, at which time that taxpayer shall become subject to | ||
all the
financial responsibility requirements of this Act and, | ||
as a condition of
being allowed to continue to engage in the | ||
business of selling tangible
personal property at retail, may | ||
be required to post bond or other
acceptable security with the | ||
Department covering liability which such
taxpayer may | ||
thereafter incur. Any taxpayer who fails to pay an admitted or
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established liability under this Act may also be required to | ||
post bond or
other acceptable security with this Department | ||
guaranteeing the payment of
such admitted or established | ||
liability. | ||
No certificate of registration shall be issued to any | ||
person who is in
default to the State of Illinois for moneys | ||
due under this Act or under any
other State tax law or |
municipal or county tax ordinance or resolution
under which the | ||
certificate of registration that is issued to the applicant
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under this Act will permit the applicant to engage in business | ||
without
registering separately under such other law, ordinance | ||
or resolution. | ||
Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Department | ||
under this
Section may, within 20 days after notice of such | ||
decision, protest and
request a hearing, whereupon the | ||
Department shall give notice to such
person of the time and | ||
place fixed for such hearing and shall hold a
hearing in | ||
conformity with the provisions of this Act and then issue its
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final administrative decision in the matter to such person. In | ||
the absence
of such a protest within 20 days, the Department's | ||
decision shall become
final without any further determination | ||
being made or notice given. | ||
With respect to security other than bonds (upon which the | ||
Department may
sue in the event of a forfeiture), if the | ||
taxpayer fails to pay, when due,
any amount whose payment such | ||
security guarantees, the Department shall,
after such | ||
liability is admitted by the taxpayer or established by the
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Department through the issuance of a final assessment that has | ||
become final
under the law, convert the security which that | ||
taxpayer has furnished into
money for the State, after first | ||
giving the taxpayer at least 10 days'
written notice, by | ||
registered or certified mail, to pay the liability or
forfeit | ||
such security to the Department. If the security consists of |
stocks
or bonds or other securities which are listed on a | ||
public exchange, the
Department shall sell such securities | ||
through such public exchange. If
the security consists of an | ||
irrevocable bank letter of credit, the
Department shall convert | ||
the security in the manner provided for in the
Uniform | ||
Commercial Code. If the security consists of a bank certificate | ||
of
deposit, the Department shall convert the security into | ||
money by demanding
and collecting the amount of such bank | ||
certificate of deposit from the bank
which issued such | ||
certificate. If the security consists of a type of stocks
or | ||
other securities which are not listed on a public exchange, the
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Department shall sell such security to the highest and best | ||
bidder after
giving at least 10 days' notice of the date, time | ||
and place of the intended
sale by publication in the "State | ||
Official Newspaper". If the Department
realizes more than the | ||
amount of such liability from the security, plus the
expenses | ||
incurred by the Department in converting the security into | ||
money,
the Department shall pay such excess to the taxpayer who | ||
furnished such
security, and the balance shall be paid into the | ||
State Treasury. | ||
The Department shall discharge any surety and shall release | ||
and return
any security deposited, assigned, pledged or | ||
otherwise provided to it by
a taxpayer under this Section | ||
within 30 days after: | ||
(1) such taxpayer becomes a Prior Continuous | ||
Compliance taxpayer; or |
(2) such taxpayer has ceased to collect receipts on | ||
which he is required
to remit tax to the Department, has | ||
filed a final tax return, and has paid
to the Department an | ||
amount sufficient to discharge his remaining tax
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liability, as determined by the Department, under this Act | ||
and under every
other State tax law or municipal or county | ||
tax ordinance or resolution
under which the certificate of | ||
registration issued under this Act permits
the registrant | ||
to engage in business without registering separately under
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such other law, ordinance or resolution. The Department | ||
shall make a final
determination of the taxpayer's | ||
outstanding tax liability as expeditiously
as possible | ||
after his final tax return has been filed; if the | ||
Department
cannot make such final determination within 45 | ||
days after receiving the
final tax return, within such | ||
period it shall so notify the taxpayer,
stating its reasons | ||
therefor. | ||
(Source: P.A. 97-335, eff. 1-1-12; 98-496, eff. 1-1-14; 98-583, | ||
eff. 1-1-14; revised 9-9-13.)
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