(ii) Provided, however, that the commissioner shall refund or credit an application fee paid with respect to the registration of an adult-use cannabis business in this state if, prior to the beginning of the period with respect to which such registration relates, the certificate of registration described in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph is returned to the department or, if such certificate has been destroyed, the operator of such business satisfactorily accounts to the commissioner for the missing certificate, but such business may not sell adult-use cannabis products in this state during such period, unless it is re-registered. Such refund or credit shall be deemed a refund of tax paid in error, provided, however, no interest shall be allowed or paid on any such refund.
(b) (1) The commissioner shall refuse to issue a certificate of registration to any applicant and shall revoke the certificate of registration of any such person who does not possess a valid license from the office of cannabis management. The commissioner may refuse to issue a certificate of registration to any applicant where such applicant:
(i) has a past-due liability as that term is defined in section one hundred seventy-one-v of this chapter;
(ii) has had a certificate of registration under this article, a license from the office of cannabis management, or any license or registration provided for in this chapter revoked or suspended where such revocation or suspension was in effect on the date the application was filed or ended within one year from the date on which such application was filed;
(iii) has been convicted of a crime provided for in this chapter within one year from the date on which such application was filed or the certificate was issued, as applicable;
(iv) willfully fails to file a report or return required by this article;
(v) willfully files, causes to be filed, gives or causes to be given a report, return, certificate or affidavit required by this article which is false; or
(vi) willfully fails to collect or truthfully account for or pay over any tax imposed by this article.
(2) In addition to the grounds for revocation in paragraph (1) of this subdivision, where a person who holds a certificate of registration is determined to have possessed or sold illicit cannabis: (1) such registration may be revoked for a period of up to one year for the first such possession or sale; (2) for a second such possession or sale within a period of five years by such person, the registration of such person may be revoked for a period of up to three years; (3) for a third such possession or sale within a period of up to five years by such person, the registration of such person may be revoked for a period of five years. A certificate of registration may be revoked pursuant to this paragraph immediately upon such person's receipt of written notice of revocation from the commissioner.
(c) A certificate of registration shall be valid for the period specified thereon, unless earlier suspended or revoked. Upon the expiration of the term stated on a certificate of registration, such certificate shall be null and void.
(d) Every holder of a certificate of registration must notify the commissioner of changes to any of the information stated on the certificate, or of changes to any information contained in the application for the certificate of registration. Such notification must be made on or before the last day of the month in which a change occurs and must be made electronically on a form prescribed by the commissioner.
(e) Every holder of a certificate of registration under this article shall be required to reapply prior to such certificate's expiration, during a reapplication period established by the commissioner. Such reapplication period shall not occur more frequently than every two years. Such reapplication shall be subject to the same requirements and conditions as an initial application, including grounds for refusal and the payment of the application fee.
(f) Any person who is required to obtain a certificate of registration under subdivision (a) of this section who possesses adult-use cannabis products without such certificate shall be subject to a penalty of five hundred dollars for each month or part thereof during which adult-use cannabis products are possessed without such certificate, not to exceed ten thousand dollars in the aggregate. * NB Effective April 1, 2022