---
type: "LegalText"
title: "26 U.S.C. § 7231"
description: "Failure to obtain license for collection of foreign items"
jurisdiction: "us"
corpus: "united_states_code"
kind: "code_section"
title_number: 26
title_name: "INTERNAL REVENUE CODE"
chapter_number: "75"
chapter_name: "CRIMES, OTHER OFFENSES, AND FORFEITURES"
section: "7231"
citation: "26 U.S.C. § 7231"
status: "current"
release_point: "119-100"
release_date: "2026-06-26"
source: "official"
source_url: "https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc26@119-100.zip"
source_identifier: "/us/usc/t26/s7231"
source_file: "data/legal/raw/us/code/title-26/usc26.xml"
source_hash: "78d261c6f8024ca944fdee2289e69368e902ec60dbed930602d433dc6caa2ada"
raw_snapshot_hash: "a261f094809116f42a96648a3d5eee80fa010379d67412551c21dd5c900b27f4"
text_hash: "550e86e09cf103a258271c6058db26e211d679dcaea9310d5cb6cff5159191d3"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-04"
confidence: "official"
tags: ["legal", "us-code"]
---

# 26 U.S.C. § 7231 - Failure to obtain license for collection of foreign items

## Text

Any person required by section 7001 (relating to collection of certain foreign items) to obtain a license who knowingly undertakes to collect the payments described in section 7001 without having obtained a license therefor, or without complying with regulations prescribed under section 7001, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.

(Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 857.)