                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

WILLFUL COMMISSION OF PROHIBITED ACTS; CRIMINAL PENALTIES (§ 58.1-2273)

Any person who willfully commits any of the following acts, with the intent to
(i) evade or circumvent the Commonwealth&#8217;s fuels tax laws or (ii) assist
any other person in efforts to evade or circumvent such laws, shall be guilty of
a Class 6 felony, if he:

1. Alters, manipulates, replaces, or in any other manner tampers or interferes
with, or causes to be altered, manipulated, replaced, tampered or interfered
with, a totalizer attached to fuel pumps to measure the dispensing of fuel;

2. Does not pay fuels taxes and diverts such tax proceeds for other purposes;

3. Is a licensee or the agent or representative of a licensee, converts or
attempts to convert fuel tax proceeds for the use of the licensee or the
licensee&#8217;s agent or representative, with the intent to defraud the
Commonwealth;

4. Illegally collects fuel taxes when not authorized or licensed by the
Commissioner to do so;

5. Illegally imports fuel into the Commonwealth;

6. Conspires with any other person or persons to engage in an act, plan, or
scheme to defraud the Commonwealth of fuels tax proceeds;

7. Uses any dyed diesel fuel for a use that the user knows or has reason to know
is a taxable use of the fuel, or sells any dyed diesel fuel to a person who the
seller knows or has reason to know will use the fuel for a taxable purpose;
however, if the amount of fuel involved is not more than twenty gallons, such
person shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor;

8. Alters or attempts to alter the strength or composition of any dye or marker
in any dyed diesel fuel intended to be used for a taxable purpose;

9. Fails to remit to the Commissioner any tax levied pursuant to this chapter,
if he (i) has added, or represented that he has added, the tax to the sales
price for the fuel and (ii) has collected the amount of the tax;

10. Applies for or collects from the Department a refund for fuels tax when the
person knows or has reason to know that fuel for which the refund is claimed has
been or will be used for a taxable purpose; however, if the amount of fuel
involved is not more than 20 gallons, such person shall be guilty of a Class 1
misdemeanor; or

11. Uses any fuel for a taxable purpose for which the person knows or has reason
to know that a refund of fuels tax has been issued; however, if the amount of
fuel involved is not more than 20 gallons, such person shall be guilty of a
Class 1 misdemeanor.

HISTORY: 2000, cc. 729, 758; 2006, c. 594.