(a)        General. – The Secretary may appoint employees of the Unauthorized Substances Tax Section of the Tax Enforcement Division to serve as revenue law enforcement officers having the responsibility and subject-matter jurisdiction to enforce the excise tax on unauthorized substances imposed by Article 2D of this Chapter.

The Secretary may appoint up to 11 employees of the Motor Fuels Investigations Section of the Tax Enforcement Division to serve as revenue law enforcement officers having the responsibility and subject-matter jurisdiction to enforce the taxes on motor fuels imposed by Articles 36B, 36C, and 36D of this Chapter and by Chapter 119 of the N.C. Gen. Stat..

The Secretary may appoint employees of the Criminal Investigations Section of the Tax Enforcement Division to serve as revenue law enforcement officers having the responsibility and subject-matter jurisdiction to enforce the following tax violations and criminal offenses:

(1)        The felony and misdemeanor tax violations in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-236

(2)        The misdemeanor tax violations in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-449.117 and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-449.120

(3)        The following criminal offenses when they involve a tax imposed under Chapter 105 of the N.C. Gen. Stat.:

a.         N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-91 (Embezzlement of State Property).

b.         N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-92 (Embezzlement of Funds).

c.         N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-100 (Obtaining Property By False Pretenses).

c1.       N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-113.20 (Identity Theft).

c2.       N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-113.20A (Trafficking in Stolen Identities).

d.         N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-119 (Forgery).

e.         N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-120 (Uttering Forged Paper).

f.          N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-401.18 (Sale of Certain Packages of Cigarettes).

g.         N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-118.7 (Possession, transfer, or use of automated sales suppression device).

h.         N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-259 (Secrecy of tax information).

(b)        Authority. – A revenue law enforcement officer is a State officer with jurisdiction throughout the State within the officer’s subject-matter jurisdiction. A revenue law enforcement officer may serve and execute notices, orders, warrants, or demands issued by the Secretary or the General Court of Justice in connection with the enforcement of the officer’s subject-matter jurisdiction. A revenue law enforcement officer has the full powers of arrest as provided by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-401 while executing the notices, orders, warrants, or demands.

(c)        Qualifications. – To serve as a revenue law enforcement officer, an employee must be certified as a criminal justice officer under Article 1 of Chapter 17C of the N.C. Gen. Stat.. The Secretary may administer the oath of office to revenue law enforcement officers appointed pursuant to this section. ?(1997-503, s. 1; 2000-119, s. 1; 2004-124, s. 23.4; 2013-414, s. 17; 2014-3, s. 14.12; 2020-58, s. 6.1.)

Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 105-236.1

  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3