Section 48-9-12. Powers of the commissioner; notice of cancellation of license; retention of bonds; public inspection of records; assessment based on commissioner's estimate; agreements for time extension; list of licensed distributors

   (a) In addition to his other duties and responsibilities to administer this article, the commissioner is empowered and authorized to do, but is not limited to, the following:

   (1) Deny or cancel any distributor's or aviation gasoline dealer's license if the commissioner is of the opinion that the license application is not filed in good faith or is filed by some person as a subterfuge for any other person;

   (2) Cancel any distributor's or aviation gasoline dealer's license for failure to comply with any provision of this article or with rules and regulations adopted by the commissioner;

   (3) Cancel a license upon receipt of a written request from any distributor or aviation gasoline dealer licensed under this article to cancel the license issued to the distributor or aviation gasoline dealer. The distributor or aviation gasoline dealer shall surrender to the commissioner the license certificate issued;

   (4) Cancel the license of a distributor if, upon investigation or information obtained from the distributor's monthly report, the commissioner ascertains that any distributor to whom a license has been issued is no longer engaged in the receipt, use, or sale of motor fuel and has not been so engaged for a period of six months, or no longer qualifies as a distributor under this article. Written notice of the cancellation shall be mailed to the last known address of the distributor, in which event the license certificate previously issued to the distributor shall be surrendered to the commissioner;

   (5) Reinstate a canceled license when information is provided at a hearing or otherwise within 30 days of cancellation which satisfies the commissioner that the license should be reinstated;

   (6) Decline to approve a refund payment until the applicant has complied with the laws of this state if in the opinion of the commissioner the refund application filed by an applicant contains a false statement or if the applicant is indebted to the state;

   (7) Suspend the right of the refund privilege of a person for a term of not more than 12 months if the commissioner concludes that any retail dealer, any person using gasoline for agricultural purposes, or any foreign government official has willfully violated this article or has willfully failed to comply with the rules and regulations adopted by the commissioner for the administration of this article;

   (8) Waive the bond and the report required of a licensed distributor of fuel oils, compressed petroleum gas, or special fuel if the distributor has no taxable sales of the fuel and his receipts do not exceed 12,000 gallons per year and with respect to such distributors waive requirements for record keeping on sales that do not exceed 25 gallons in one transaction;

   (9) Enter into agreements with appropriate authorities of other jurisdictions having statutes similar to this article for the cooperative audit of any taxpayer's reports and refunds. In performing the audits or parts of audits, the officers and employees of other jurisdictions shall be deemed authorized agents of the commissioner for the agreed upon purpose; and

   (10) Appoint revenue agents for the enforcement of this article. The appointed agents shall have all powers of a police officer of this state when engaged in the enforcement of this article.

(b) The commissioner shall notify the distributor or aviation gasoline dealer in writing of any cancellation of a license as provided in subsection (a) of this Code section by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery to the last known address of the distributor or aviation gasoline dealer appearing in the files of the commissioner.

(c) In the event that the license of any distributor is canceled by the commissioner under the authority of this article, the commissioner shall hold the bonds of the distributor for a period of three years against any liabilities of the distributor. In no event shall any bonds surrendered remove any liability.

(d) The commissioner shall make the motor fuel tax records available for inspection by the public at reasonable times. The commissioner may charge a fee for special requests of prepared information based on the cost to prepare the information.

(e) When any distributor neglects or refuses to file the required reports or fails to maintain auditable records that account for tax exemptions taken on motor fuel as required by this article or files an incorrect or fraudulent report, the commissioner or his authorized agents shall determine from the best information available the number of gallons of motor fuel to be taxed. The commissioner shall impose the tax, penalty, and interest due. Estimates by the commissioner or his authorized agents shall be prima-facie evidence of the claim of the state and the burden of proof to establish the accountability of motor fuel shall be on the distributor to show that the assessment is incorrect and contrary to law.

(f) Before the expiration of the time prescribed by this article for assessments and refunds of taxes, the commissioner or his delegates may enter into an agreement in writing with the taxpayer to extend such time. The period so agreed upon may be extended by subsequent agreements made in writing before the expiration of the period previously agreed upon.

(g) The commissioner shall prepare and furnish to each known selling licensed distributor a list showing the name and address of each licensed distributor of motor fuels as of the beginning of each fiscal year and shall thereafter during each year supplement the list monthly.

Code 1933, § 92-1413, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 186, § 1; Code 1933, §§ 91A-5003, 91A-5005, 91A-5006, 91A-5007, 91A-5008, 91A-5009, 91A-5017, 91A-5019, 91A-5020, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 309, § 2; Code 1933, § 91A-5011, enacted by Ga. L. 1979, p. 5, § 102; Ga. L. 1985, p. 1644, § 2; Ga. L. 1992, p. 6, § 48; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 3.