Chap. 150.—An ACT to amend and re-enact Sections 5 and 9, as amended, of
Chapter 212 of the Acts of Assembly of 1932, approved March 23, 1932, re-
lating to taxes on motor fuel, and penalty for failure to make certain reports.

[H 219)
Approved March 7, 1944

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That sections five and nine, as amended, of chapter two hundred
twelve of the Acts of Assembly of nineteen hundred thirty-two, approved
March twenty-three, nineteen hundred thirty-two, be amended and re-
enacted, as follows:

Section 5. Amount of tax; reports; payments; exemptions.—(a)
There is hereby levied a tax of five cents per gallon on all motor fuel
as herein defined, which is sold and delivered or used in this State, in-
cluding all motor fuel as herein defined, sold by or through post ex-
changes, ship stores, ship service stores, conimussaries, filling stations,
licensed traders and other similar agencies located on United States
military or other reservations, within the boundaries of the State, when
such fuels are not for the exclusive use of the United States, and 1s not
under the protection of the interstate commerce clause of the Constitu-
tion of the United States; provided, that the tax herein imposed and
assessed shall be collected by and paid to the State of Virginia but once
in respect to any motor fuel. Nothing herein shall be construed to ex-
empt from this tax any dealer in motor fuel on the motor fuel used in
making such distribution. The tax herein levied shall be collected im
the manner hereinafter provided.

(b) On or before the last day of each calendar month, each dealer
in motor fuel shall render to the Commissioner a statement on forms
prepared and furnished by the Commissioner, which shall be sworn to
by one of the principal officers in the case of domestic corporations, or
by the resident general agent or attorney-in-fact ; by chief accountant or
officer in case of foreign corporations; by the managing agent or owner
in case of a firm or association of persons; or by the dealer in all other
cases; which statement shall show the quantity of motor fuel on hand on
the first and last day of the preceding calendar month; the quantity of
motor fuel received, produced, manufactured, refined or compounded
during the preceding calendar month; and the quantities of motor fuel
sold and delivered or used within the State of Virginia during the pre-
ceding calendar month, and such dealer shall at the time of rendering
such report, pay to the Commissioner the tax or taxes herein levied on
all motor fuel sold and delivered or used within the State of Virginia
during the preceding calendar month. Provided that no dealer shall pay
such tax on motor fuel received by such dealer from a point within the
State, from another duly licensed dealer who has paid or assumed the
payment of such tax.

(c) Bills shall be rendered to all purchasers of motor fuels by deal-
ers selling the same. Such bills shall contain a statement thereon in a
conspicuous place that the liability to the State for the tax or taxes here-
by imposed has been assumed, and that the dealer will pay the tax or
taxes thereon on or before the last day of the following month.

(d) The tax shall be payable upon motor fuel sold and delivered to
or used by the State of Virginia and every political subdivision thereof.

(e) Motor fuel used by the United States or any of the govern-
mental agencies thereof shall not be subject to tax hereunder.

Section 9. Failure to submit reports——When any dealer fails to
submit its monthly report to the Commissioner by the last day of the
following month, or when such dealer fails to submit the data required
by section five (5) of this act in such monthly report, or when such
dealer fails to pay to the Commissioner the amount of taxes hereby im-
posed when the same are payable, there shall be automatically added
thereto a penalty equal to twenty-five per centum (25%) of the tax, to
be paid by such dealer. Thereafter the tax and penalty shall bear interest
at the rate of one per centum (19%) per month until the tax is paid.

If any such dealers fail to pay such tax, penalty and interest within
thirty (30) days after the tax shall be due, the Attorney General or the
Commissioner shall bring appropriate action for the recovery of such tax.
penalty and interest, and judgment shall be rendered for the amount
so found to be due together with costs, provided that if it shall be found
as a fact such failure to pay was willful on the part of such dealer, judg-
ment shall be rendered for double the amount of the tax found to be
due, with costs. All remedies now, or which may hereafter be, given
by the laws of this State for the collection or enforcement of taxes are
hereby expressly given for the collection and enforcement of judgments
recovered under this section, and the Commissioner may employ an at-
torney at law to institute and prosecute proper proceedings to entorce
payment of the taxes, penalty and interest, provided for by this act and
fix the compensation for the services of such attorney at law, which in
no case shall exceed twenty per centum (20) of the amount recovered.
if any, and shall be paid only out of any such recovery.

Any dealer licensed under this act who or which engages in the
business of distributing or reselling motor fucl on which the tax im-
posed under this act has been paid, and who incurs no liability for such
tax, shall report any and all purchases of motor fuel to the division on
or before the last day of the month succeeding that in which such pur-
chase or purchases were made. Any person failing to make such report
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be
punished by a fine of not less than ten dollars, nor more than fifty dollars.

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