Reporting annual gross sales of food; confidential; department of state revenue; verification

Sec. 5. (a) As used in this section, "annual gross sales of food" refers to annual gross sales of food for human consumption that are exempt from the state gross retail tax. (b) The holder of a permit issued to a grocery store that is generally known as a convenience store or food mart as described in IC 7.1-1-3-18.5(a)(2) shall report annually to the commission the amount of the permit holder's establishment's annual gross sales of food. (c) An applicant who: (1) is applying for a beer dealer's permit; and (2) is the proprietor of a grocery store that is generally known as a convenience store or food mart as described in IC 7.1-1-3-18.5(a)(2); shall report to the commission the amount of the applicant's establishment's annual gross sales of food. (d) The information provided to the commission under subsections (b) and (c) regarding the amount of annual gross sales of food is confidential information and may not be disclosed to the public under IC 5-14-3. However, the commission may disclose the information: (1) to the department of state revenue to verify the accuracy of the amount of annual gross sales of food reported to the commission under subsections (b) and (c); and (2) in any administrative or judicial proceeding to revoke or suspend the holder's permit as a result of a discrepancy in the amount of annual gross sales discovered by the department of state revenue. (e) The department of state revenue shall verify the accuracy of the reports provided to the commission under this section. The department of state revenue shall report to the commission any discrepancy that the department discovers between: (1) the amount of annual gross sales of food that the permit holder has reported to the department; and (2) the amount of annual gross sales of food that the permit holder has reported to the commission. (f) Notwithstanding IC 6-8.1-7-1 or any other law, in fulfilling its obligations under this section, the department of state revenue may provide to the commission confidential information. The commission shall maintain the confidentiality of information provided by the department of state revenue under this section. However, the commission may disclose the information in any administrative or judicial proceeding to revoke or suspend the holder's permit as a result of a discrepancy discovered by the department of state revenue under subsection (e).