(a) The Charitable Bingo Operations Director, for good cause shown, may waive a penalty if a licensee holding a license to conduct bingo or license to lease bingo premises exercised reasonable diligence to comply with Occupations Code, §2001.504. The Charitable Bingo Operations Division will not consider a request for a penalty or interest waiver until the principal related to the specific request is paid in full. To be considered, a written request stating the reason(s) penalty should be waived must be sent to the Charitable Bingo Operations Division within 14 days of the date the quarterly report and prize fees were due.
  (1) The Charitable Bingo Operations Division will inform the licensee in writing within three days of the Charitable Bingo Operations Division's decision regarding the penalty waiver request after considering:
    (A) Whether the licensee is current in the filing of all reports;
    (B) Whether the licensee is current in the payment of all prize fees due for the last eight consecutive quarters;
    (C) Whether a penalty has been waived within the last eight consecutive quarters;
    (D) Whether the licensee has a good record of timely filing and paying past returns; and
    (E) Whether the licensee has taken the necessary steps to correct the problem for future reporting.
  (2) If a licensee has had a penalty waived within the last eight consecutive quarters, the current request will be denied.
(b) If a prize fee is owed for an inactive account, the Charitable Bingo Operations Division will not consider a request for a penalty or interest waiver until the principal is paid in full. The Division will notify the inactive account that a prize fee is owed and provide the inactive account with any existing documents that support the delinquency determination. The Division may provide such notice and documentation to any officer, director, or business contact listed in the inactive account's most recent filing with the Commission.
(c) Settlement of prize fees, penalty or interest on an inactive account. The Commission may settle a claim for prize fees, penalty, or interest if the total cost of collection, as determined by the Commission, would exceed the total amount due.

Source Note: The provisions of this §402.602 adopted to be effective March 21, 2005, 30 TexReg 1630; amended to be effective August 1, 2016, 41 TexReg 5505; amended to be effective October 22, 2020, 45 TexReg 7414