§5603 — Title 26 Internal Revenue Code | U.S. Code

§5603 Penalty Relating to Records, Returns, and Reports

Title 26 › Subtitle Subtitle E— Alcohol, Tobacco, and Certain Other Excise Taxes › Chapter 51— DISTILLED SPIRITS, WINES, AND BEER › Subchapter J— Penalties, Seizures, and Forfeitures Relating to Liquors › Part I— PENALTY, SEIZURE, AND FORFEITURE PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO DISTILLING, RECTIFYING, AND DISTILLED AND RECTIFIED PRODUCTS › § 5603

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Makes it illegal for anyone who must keep or file certain tax records (excluding subchapters F and G) to try to cheat the United States by not keeping required records, putting false information in them, changing or destroying them, blocking a tax official from looking at them or copying them, or refusing to keep or hand them over when the law says to do so. The same list of actions is also forbidden even if the person did not mean to cheat. Records covered include returns, reports, summaries, transcripts, and similar documents.

Title 26, §5603

Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Any person required by this chapter (other than subchapters F and G) or regulations issued pursuant thereto to keep or file any record, return, report, summary, transcript, or other document, who, with intent to defraud the United States, shall—

(1)fail to keep any such document or to make required entries therein; or

(2)make any false entry in such document; or

(3)cancel, alter, or obliterate any part of such document or any entry therein, or destroy any part of such document or any entry therein; or

(4)hinder or obstruct any internal revenue officer from inspecting any such document or taking any abstracts therefrom; or

(5)fail or refuse to preserve or produce any such document, as required by this chapter or regulations issued pursuant thereto;

(b)Any person required by this chapter (other than subchapters F and G) or regulations issued pursuant thereto to keep or file any record, return, report, summary, transcript, or other document, who, otherwise than with intent to defraud the United States, shall—

(1)fail to keep any such document or to make required entries therein; or

(2)make any false entry in such document; or

(3)cancel, alter, or obliterate any part of such document or any entry therein, or destroy any part of such document, or any entry therein, except as provided by this title or regulations issued pursuant thereto; or

(4)hinder or obstruct any internal revenue officer from inspecting any such document or taking any abstracts therefrom; or

(5)fail to refuse to preserve or produce any such document, as required by this chapter or regulations issued pursuant thereto;

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 5603, act Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 684, related to penalty for failure or refusal of distiller or rectifier to give notice of intention to engage in such business, prior to the general revision of this chapter by Pub. L. 85–859. See section 5601(a)(2), (3) of this title. Provisions similar to those comprising this section were contained in prior section 5610, 5611, 5620, 5621, 5692, act Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 685 to 687, 703, prior to the general revision of this chapter by Pub. L. 85–859.

Amendments

2018—Pub. L. 115–141 inserted comma after “returns” in section catchline.