Section 1141. Proceedings to recover tax

(a) Whenever any person required
  to collect tax shall fail to collect or pay over  any  tax,  penalty  or
  interest  imposed  by  this article as therein provided, or whenever any
  customer shall fail to pay  any  such  tax,  penalty  or  interest,  the
  attorney general shall, upon the request of the tax commission, bring or
  cause  to  be  brought  an  action to enforce the payment of the same on
  behalf of the state of New York in any court of the state of New York or
  of any other state or of the United States.
    (b) As an additional or alternate remedy, the tax commission may issue
  a warrant, directed to the sheriff of any county commanding him to  levy
  upon  and  sell  the real and personal property of any person liable for
  the tax, which may be found within his county, for the  payment  of  the
  amount  thereof,  with  any  penalties  and  interest,  and  the cost of
  executing the warrant, and to return such warrant to the tax  commission
  and  to  pay  it the money collected by virtue thereof within sixty days
  after the receipt of such warrant. The sheriff shall  within  five  days
  after  the  receipt  of  the  warrant  file with the county clerk a copy
  thereof, and thereupon such clerk shall enter in the judgment docket the
  name of the person mentioned in the warrant and the amount of  the  tax,
  penalties and interest for which the warrant is issued and the date when
  such  copy  is  filed.  Thereupon the amount of such warrant so docketed
  shall become a lien upon the title to and interest in real and  personal
  property  of  the  person  against whom the warrant is issued. Such lien
  shall not apply to personal property unless such warrant is filed in the
  department of state. The sheriff shall then proceed upon the warrant, in
  the same manner, and with like  effect,  as  that  provided  by  law  in
  respect  to executions issued against property upon judgments of a court
  of record and for services in executing the warrant he shall be entitled
  to the same fees, which he may  collect  in  the  same  manner.  In  the
  discretion  of  the  tax  commission  a warrant of like terms, force and
  effect may be issued and directed to any  officer  or  employee  of  the
  department  of  taxation  and finance, and in the execution thereof such
  officer or employee shall have all the  powers  conferred  by  law  upon
  sheriffs,  but  shall be entitled to no fee or compensation in excess of
  the actual expenses paid in the performance of such  duty.    Upon  such
  filing  of  a  copy of a warrant, the tax commission shall have the same
  remedies to enforce the amount  due  thereunder  as  if  the  state  had
  recovered judgment therefor.
    (c)  Whenever  a  person  required  to  collect tax shall make a sale,
  transfer, or assignment in bulk of any part or the whole of his business
  assets,  otherwise  than  in  the  ordinary  course  of  business,   the
  purchaser,  transferee or assignee shall at least ten days before taking
  possession of the subject of  said  sale,  transfer  or  assignment,  or
  paying  therefor,  notify  the  tax commission by registered mail of the
  proposed sale and of the price, terms and conditions thereof whether  or
  not the seller, transferrer or assignor, has represented to, or informed
  the  purchaser,  transferee or assignee that he owes any tax pursuant to
  this article, and whether or not the purchaser, transferee, or  assignee
  has  knowledge that such taxes are owing, and whether any such taxes are
  in fact owing.
    Whenever the purchaser, transferee or  assignee  shall  fail  to  give
  notice  to the tax commission as required by the preceding paragraph, or
  whenever the tax commission shall inform the  purchaser,  transferee  or
  assignee that a possible claim for such tax or taxes exists, any sums of
  money,  property  or choses in action, or other consideration, which the
  purchaser, transferee or assignee is required to transfer  over  to  the
  seller,  transferrer  or  assignor  shall be subject to a first priority
  right and lien for any such taxes theretofore or  thereafter  determined

  to be due from the seller, transferrer or assignor to the state, and the
  purchaser,  transferee  or  assignee  is  forbidden  to  transfer to the
  seller, transferrer or assignor any such  sums  of  money,  property  or
  choses  in  action  to  the  extent  of the amount of the state's claim.
  Within ninety days of receipt of the notice of the  sale,  transfer,  or
  assignment   from   the  purchaser,  transferee  or  assignee,  the  tax
  commission shall give notice to the purchaser,  transferee  or  assignee
  and  to  the seller, transferrer, or assignor of the total amount of any
  tax or taxes  which  the  state  claims  to  be  due  from  the  seller,
  transferrer,  or  assignor to the state, and whenever the tax commission
  shall fail to give such notice to the purchaser, transferee, or assignee
  and the seller, transferrer, or assignor within ninety days from receipt
  of notice of the  sale,  transfer,  or  assignment,  such  failure  will
  release   the   purchaser,  transferee  or  assignee  from  any  further
  obligation to withhold any sums of money, property or choses in  action,
  or  other  consideration, which the purchaser, transferee or assignee is
  required to transfer over to the seller, transferrer or assignor, except
  that with respect to pending matters such ninety day periods  shall  not
  begin  to  run  until  ninety  days  after  the  effective  date of this
  provision. For failure to comply with the provisions of this subdivision
  the purchaser, transferee or assignee, in addition to being  subject  to
  the liabilities and remedies imposed under the provisions of article six
  of  the  uniform  commercial  code,  shall  be personally liable for the
  payment to the  state  of  any  such  taxes  theretofore  or  thereafter
  determined  to  be  due  to  the  state  from the seller, transferrer or
  assignor, except that the liability  of  the  purchaser,  transferee  or
  assignee  shall  be  limited  to an amount not in excess of the purchase
  price or fair market value of the business assets sold,  transferred  or
  assigned  to  such  purchaser,  transferee,  or  assignee,  whichever is
  higher, and such liability may be assessed  and  enforced  in  the  same
  manner  as the liability for tax under this article. Upon receipt within
  the ninety days as aforesaid of the notice of the total  amount  of  the
  state's  claim  from the tax commission, and demand for payment thereof,
  the purchaser, transferee or assignee may make payment of such claim  to
  the state from any sums of money, property, or choses in action withheld
  in  accord  with  the  provisions  of  this  paragraph, except that such
  payment shall be limited to an amount not  in  excess  of  the  purchase
  price  or fair market value of the business assets sold, transferred, or
  assigned to  such  purchaser,  transferee,  or  assignee,  whichever  is
  higher,  and  upon  making  the  payment, such purchaser, transferee, or
  assignee shall be relieved of all liability  for  such  amounts  to  the
  seller,  transferrer,  or  assignor,  and such amounts paid to the state
  shall be deemed  satisfaction  of  the  tax  liability  of  the  seller,
  transferrer, or assignor to the extent of the amount of such payment.
    Where  the  liability  of a purchaser, transferee or assignee, for the
  payment to the state of any such taxes determined to  be  due  from  the
  seller, transferrer or assignor, has been wholly paid or satisfied or no
  longer  exists,  the  tax  commission  shall  mail  to  such  purchaser,
  transferee or assignee a notice, addressed to his  last  known  address,
  setting  forth  that such liability has been wholly paid or satisfied or
  no longer exists. The tax commission shall include in  such  notice  the
  following additional information:
    (1)  the  name  and last known address of the purchaser, transferee or
  assignee;
    (2) the amount of the lien paid, satisfied or vacated; and
    (3) a statement to the effect that consumer  reporting  agencies  must
  delete  from  a  credit  file  any  reference to the particular tax lien
  within thirty days of receipt from the purchaser, transferee or assignee

  of such notice. Provided, however, no order or decree  in  a  bankruptcy
  proceeding shall be construed as giving rise to the requirement that the
  notice provided for in this paragraph be given.