PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

§5603 Penalty Relating to Records, Returns, and Reports

Title 26 › 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 Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

People who must keep or file tax records, returns, reports, or other tax papers under this part of the tax code (except subchapters F and G) must not hide, change, destroy, or refuse to give those papers. That includes failing to make required entries, putting false information in them, stopping a tax official from looking at them, or getting someone else to do any of these things. If a person does any of this with the intent to defraud the United States, they can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to 5 years, or both, for each offense. If the same acts are done but without intent to defraud, the penalty is a fine up to $1,000, jail up to 1 year, or both, for each offense.

Title 26, §5603

Internal Revenue Code, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Fraudulent noncompliance

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;

or who shall, with intent to defraud the United States, cause or procure the same to be done, shall be fined not more than $10,000, or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both, for each such offense.

(b)Failure to comply

(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;

or who shall, otherwise than with intent to defraud the United States, cause or procure the same to be done, shall be fined not more than $1,000, or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both, for each such offense.

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.