(a)        If a corporation or a limited liability company fails to file any report or return or to pay any tax or fee required by this Subchapter for 90 days after it is due, the Secretary shall inform the Secretary of State of this failure. The Secretary of State shall suspend the articles of incorporation, articles of organization, or certificate of authority, as appropriate, of the corporation or limited liability company. The Secretary of State shall immediately notify by mail every domestic or foreign corporation or limited liability company so suspended of its suspension. The powers, privileges, and franchises conferred upon the corporation or limited liability company by the articles of incorporation, the articles of organization, or the certificate of authority terminate upon suspension.

(b)        Any act performed or attempted to be performed during the period of suspension is invalid and of no effect, unless the Secretary of State reinstates the corporation or limited liability company pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-232 However, a suspended entity’s state tax filing obligations and the payment of its tax liability is not affected by the suspension, nor does a suspension affect the liability of a responsible person under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-242.2, whether the obligation or liability is enforced in the context of a civil or criminal proceeding or otherwise. ?(1939, c. 158, ss. 901, 902; 1957, c. 498; 1967, c. 823, s. 31; 1969, c. 965, s. 2; 1973, c. 476, s. 193; 1987, c. 644, s. 1; 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 1024, s. 19(a); 1993, c. 354, ss. 19, 20; 1998-212, s. 29A.14(l); 2001-387, s. 152; 2018-5, s. 38.10(a).)