Chap. 270.—An ACT to impose a road tax on certain motor carriers operating
over the highways of this State; to provide for credits on such tax; to require
reports to be made by such carriers; to provide for the administration of this
act by the State Corporation Commission; to prescribe remedies for the en-
forcement of this act and penalties for violations thereof; and to repeal Chap-
ter 108 of the Acts of the General Assembly of 1942, approved March 6, 1942.

[S B 178}
Approved March 26, 1946

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. Whenever used in this act.

(a) The term “motor carrier’ means every person, firm or corpora-
tion which operates or causes to be operated on any highway in Virginia,
whether engaged in intrastate or interstate commerce, or both, and
whether or not by virtue of any certificate or permit issued by the Com-
missioner of Motor Vehicles or by the State Corporation Commission,
any motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer for the transportation of prop-
erty for compensation, whether for rent, or for hire, or as a contract or
common carrier, and every common carrier and contract carrier by mo-
tor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer of passengers for compensation. The
term “motor carrier” shall not include any person, firm or corporation op-
erating or causing to be operated any motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer
engaged exclusively in transporting persons or property solely within the
limits of any city or town in this State, or any carrier operating taxicabs
or passenger motor vehicles equipped with taximeters or taxicabs or
passenger motor vehicles without taximeters operated at a flat rate whose
business originates wholly within the corporate limits of any city or town
in this State, but which may occasionally operate beyond said limits, or
public passenger vehicles offered for hire and not conforming to the
definition of a taxicab, or property carrying vehicles offered for hire
whose business originates wholly within the corporate limits of any city
or town in this State and which are occasionally operated beyond said
limits.

(b) The term “Commission” means the State Corporation Com-
mission.
2. Every motor carrier shall pay a road tax equivalent to six cents
er gallon calculated on the amount of gasoline or other motor fuel used
in its operations within this State. Every motor carrier subject to the
tax hereby imposed shall be entitled to a credit on such tax equivalent
to six cents per gallon on all gasoline or other motor fuel purchased by
such carrier within this State for use in its operations either within or
without this State, and upon which gasoline or other motor fuel the tax
imposed by the laws of this State has been paid by such carrier. Evidence
of the payment of such tax in such form as may be required by, or 1s
satisfactory to, the Commission shall be furnished by each such carrier
claiming the credit herein allowed. When the amount of the credit here-
in provided to which any motor carrier is entitled for any quarter exceeds
the amount ot the tax for which such carrier is liable for the same quarter,
such excess may under regulations of the Commission be allowed as a
credit on the tax for which such carrier would be otherwise liable for
another quarter or quarters or upon application within ninety days from
the end of any quarter, duly verified and presented, in accordance with
regulations promulgated by the Commission and supported by such evi-
dence as may be satisfactory to the Commission, such excess may be re-
funded if it shall appear that the applicant has paid to another State of
the United States or the District of Columbia under a lawful require-
ment of such jurisdiction a tax, similar.in effect to the tax herein pro-
vided, on the use or consumption of the same gasoline without this State,
to the extent of such payment in such other jurisdiction but in no case
to exceed the rate per gallon of the then current Virginia State gasoline
tax. Upon receipt of such application the Commission shall proceed in
the manner provided in section four hundred eight of the Tax Code of
Virginia, as amended, except insofar as such section may be inconsistent
with some provision hereof, to grant or deny the same, and whenever
any refund is ordered it shall be paid out of the highway maintenance
and construction fund.

3. The tax hereby imposed shall be paid by each motor carrier
quarterly to the State Treasurer on or before the last day of April, July,
October and January of each year and calculated upon the amount of
gasoline or other motor fuel used in its operations within this State by
each such carrier during the quarter ending with the last day of the
preceding month. All taxes paid under the provisions of this act shall be
credited to the highway maintenance and construction fund. The
amount of gasoline or other motor fuel used in the operations of any
motor carrier within this State shall be such proportion of the total
amount of such gasoline or other motor fuel used in its entire operations
within and without this State as the total number of miles traveled within
this State bears to the total number of miles traveled within and without
this State, excluding in each case the number of miles traveled in Vir-
ginia on any street maintained exclusively by any city or town.

4, Every motor carrier subject to the tax imposed by this act shall
on or before the last day of April, July, October and January of each
year make to the Commission such reports of its operations during the
quarter ending the last day of the preceding month as the Commission
may require and such other reports from time to time as the Commission
may deem necessary. The Commission and its authorized agents and
representatives shall have the right at any reasonable time to inspect the
books and records of any motor carrier subject to the tax imposed by this
act.

5. The Commission may, after a hearing had upon notice, duly
served not less than ten days prior to the date set for such hearing, im-
pose a penalty, which shall be in addition to any other penalty imposed
by this act, not exceeding five hundred dollars, upon any motor carrier
which fails to file any report within the time prescribed which may be
required by this act or by the Commission pursuant to this act, or which
violates any other provision of this act, or which fails to comply with any
regulation of the Commission promulgated pursuant to this act, each such
failure or violation constituting a separate offense, which penalty shall
be collectible by the process of the Commission as provided by law. In
addition to imposing such penalty, or without imposing any penalty, the
Commission may suspend or revoke any certificate, permit or other evi-
dence of right issued by the Commission which the motor carrier so found
in default holds. Any motor carrier convicted under this section shall
have the right of appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeals as in other
cases of appeals of right from the Commission.

6. The taxes imposed on motor carriers by this act are in addition
to any taxes of whatever character imposed on such carriers by any other
provision of law.

7. Chapter one hundred and eight of the Acts of the General As-
sembly of Virginia of nineteen hundred and forty-two, approved March
sixth, nineteen hundred and forty-two, is hereby repealed.

8. This act shall be in effect on and after July first, nineteen hun-
dred forty-six, and the first tax to be paid hereunder shall be for the
quarter ending September thirtieth, nineteen hundred forty-six, which
tax shall be paid on or before October thirty-first, nineteen hundred
forty-six.