.03 Returns.

A. Filing Requirements.

(1) Sales and Use Tax.

(a) Subject to §A(1)(b) of this regulation, a person who makes taxable sales or purchases during the course of a month shall file with the Comptroller a report of those sales or purchases, accompanied by payment of the taxes due, by the 20th day of the succeeding calendar month.

(b) A person who makes retail sales, sales for use, or purchases for use of cannabis, as defined in COMAR 03.06.01.47, during the course of a month shall file a separate report and payment for each physical location in the State at which the person makes retail sales, sales for use, or purchases for use of cannabis.

(2) A person deriving gross receipts subject to the admissions and amusement tax shall file with the Comptroller a report of those gross receipts, accompanied by payment of the tax due, by the 10th day of the succeeding calendar month.

B. Filing Bases.

(1) If the Comptroller determines from an application for a license, previous reporting history, or through audit that a taxpayer is expected to remit less than $100 per month in taxes, the Comptroller may assign a filing basis that is less frequent than monthly. Under those circumstances, the Comptroller may also specify a due date other than that specified in §A, above. In addition, vendors who do not normally make taxable sales subject to the sales and use tax or derive gross receipts subject to the admissions and amusement tax in each calendar month may be assigned a seasonal or other irregular filing basis as the Comptroller deems appropriate.

(2) A person assigned a filing basis which is other than monthly shall notify the Comptroller whenever the person has reason to believe that future tax payment obligations will average more than $100 per month.

(3) A person assigned a filing basis which is less frequent than four times per year, shall file with the Comptroller a supplemental return for any month other than the month or months for which scheduled returns are due, in which taxes due for that month exceed $100. This return, which is due by the due date set forth in §A, above, shall also encompass any previously unreported taxes accrued since the person's most recently filed return. Filing of this return does not affect a person's liability to file the next scheduled return.

C. The Comptroller shall mail appropriate returns to registrants who request them well in advance of due dates. The failure to receive a return from the Comptroller does not, however, alter a person's obligation to file on time. A person who has not received a return from the Comptroller far enough in advance of the due date to avoid a late filing shall request an additional form from the Comptroller or file a signed schedule providing the information normally required on a return, together with the taxes due, on or before the due date.

D. A person registered with the Comptroller for sales and use tax purposes and admissions and amusement tax purposes shall file returns in accordance with that person's filing schedule, even if taxes are not due.

E. Late Charges.

(1) Statutory late charges are applicable to a person who files a return without payment in full or after the due date specified for the return.

(2) The Comptroller is authorized to abate late charges for cause shown. The Comptroller shall consider a record of timely filing of returns as cause shown for abating late charges on one occurrence during any 12-month period, absent evidence of other noncompliance during this period. Abatements shall be made by the Comptroller without a request if qualification can be determined on an automated basis.

(3) A person whose late charges have been waived on the basis of a previous record of timely filing is expected to take whatever steps are necessary to file subsequent returns on time. A second abatement of late charges during any 12-month period may not be authorized in the absence of a clear showing of cause relating to that return alone. The fact that late charges might have been abated on the first late return, for reasons other than a previous good filing record, is not relevant to this determination.