Guam § 71102 - Regulatory Division; Additional Special Functions, Powers

§ 71102. Regulatory Division; Additional Special Functions, Powers

and Duties.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, there is provided

within the Department of Revenue and Taxation, Regulatory Division,

additional special functions, powers and duties to carry out civil

enforcement efforts of this Act as directed by DRT. The Director of

DRT (Director) may staff the Division as the exigencies of the public

service may require.

In addition to the existing powers and duties already provided by

law, the Regulatory Division shall also have the following additional

powers pursuant to this Chapter:

(a) investigate reported or suspected violations of business

license laws for civil enforcement purposes, including through

covert means allowable pursuant to the Internal Revenue Manual of

the Internal Revenue Service, with a stated priority of investigating

cash-based businesses as defined in this Chapter. Any criminal

investigations originating as a result of information reported by a

member of the general public shall require that the Department

obtain the identity of the person providing the information;

(b) enforce the business license laws by issuing, enforcing, or

executing citations, fines, infractions and assessments;

(c) serve as fraud referral specialists to assist in the

development and review of fraud cases for appropriate disposition

of potentially fraudulent activities, including referral to criminal

investigators and assessment of civil fraud penalties; provided, that

COL292017

11 GCA FINANCE & TAXATION

personnel assigned to the Regulatory Division may not participate in

any criminal investigation;

(d) organize and hold public informational meetings on issues

of business license laws, including compliance deficiencies in

segments of the economy, and undertake any other activities to

encourage taxpayers, practitioners, and others to maintain

responsibility and compliance with their tax obligations;

(e) coordinate with other sections or divisions within DRT,

other departments or branches of the government of Guam, or the

federal government on matters relating to civil enforcement of the

tax laws, including joint investigations, information-sharing

arrangements, or concurrent collection efforts; provided, that

personnel assigned to the Regulatory Division may not participate in

any criminal investigation;

(f) compile information received by third parties, including

taxpayers, competitors, government agencies, confidential sources,

or public sources, and delegate this information within the

Department for proper handling. Proper handling may include

referral internally to other civil or criminal enforcement divisions;

(g) conduct investigations, research, and studies of matters

relevant to the complex or sensitive civil enforcement of the

business license laws; and

(h) perform such other acts as may be incidental to the

exercise of the functions, powers, and duties set forth in this Section

and existing law, or as otherwise directed by the Director of the

DRT.