(a) Every person who violates any provision of this act shall upon summary conviction thereof for the first offense be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than three hundred dollars ($300) and costs of prosecution, and in default of payment thereof shall undergo imprisonment for thirty (30) days; and for a second or subsequent offense shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree and upon conviction thereof shall be sentenced to pay a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), or to undergo imprisonment for a period not to exceed two (2) years, or both. If the violation shall be by a corporation, partnership or association, the officers and directors of such corporation, or the members of such partnership or association, its agents and employes, with guilty knowledge of the fact, shall be guilty and upon conviction shall be punished as herein before provided.

(b) The right of the licensor to suspend and revoke licenses granted and issued under this act shall be in addition to the penalties set forth in this section.

(c) Upon conviction of a violation of any provision of this act, the sentencing court shall impose upon and collect from the defendant a surcharge of fifty dollars ($50) in addition to and independent of any fine and cost imposed upon the defendant. The surcharge shall be paid into the city or county treasury for purposes of assisting in enforcement of this act.

(d) The provisions of this act shall not apply to fundraising activities performed by or on the behalf of charitable organizations that qualify as an exempt organization under section 501(c) or 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (68A Stat. 3, 26 U.S.C. § 501(c) or 527) or to political fundraising performed in accordance with the provisions of the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L. 1333, No. 320), known as the “Pennsylvania Election Code.”¹