Chap. 550.—An ACT to amend and reenact Sections 35-b and 36 and to repeal
Section 35-aa of Chapter 342 of the Acts of Assembly of 1932, as
heretofore amended by Chapter 196 of the Acts of 1946; said chapters of said
acts and amendments thereto being known and designated as the “Motor Vehicle
Code of Virginia,” said Sections as amended relating to fees for registration,
licenses of motor vehicles, reduction of fees after certain periods, gross
receipts taxes upon certain motor vehicle carriers, registration of certain
common and contract carriers of property and fees therefor. [S 205]

Approved April 7, 1948

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That sections thirty-five-b and thirty-six of chapter three hundred
forty-two of the Acts of Assembly of nineteen hundred thirty-two, as
hereto amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows; and said
act of nineteen hundred thirty-two, as heretofore amended by chapter one
hundred ninety-six of Acts of Assembly of nineteen hundred forty-six,
be further amended by repealing section thirty-five-aa thereof, as herein-
after set forth.

Section 35-b. Fees reduced after certain periods. One-half of the
annual fees prescribed by sections thirty-five and thirty-five-a shall be
collected whenever any registration certificate and license plates are
issued during the period beginning on the first day of October in any
year, and ending on the fifteenth day of January in the same license year,
and one-third of such fees shall be collected whenever any registration
certificate and license plates are issued after the fifteenth day of January
in any license year.

Section 36. Gross receipts tax common and contract carriers of
passengers and property.—(a) Except as hereinafter otherwise pro-
vided, every person who operates, or causes to be operated, on any
highway in Virginia, any motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer for the
transportation of property for compensation, whether for rent, or for
hire, or as a contract carrier, or as a common carrier, and every common
carrier by motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer of passengers, shall pay
quarterly to the State Treasurer, on or before the fifteenth day of April,
July, October and January of each year, in addition to any other fees
and taxes imposed by law upon motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers,
and upon the operation thereof, and in addition to any motor fuel tax
paid or payable by such person, a road tax calculated on the gross receipts
derived from such operations during the quarter year ending with the
preceding month, according to the following schedule:

(1) Two per centum (2%) of the gross receipts derived by such
person from all intrastate operation ; and

(2) Two per centum (2%) of such proportion of the gross receipts
derived by such person from all interstate operations as the total number
of miles traveled in interstate operations by the vehicle of such person
on the public highways of Virginia bears to the total number of miles
traveled in interstate operations by the vehicles of such person both within
and without Virginia, including miles traveled on streets in cities and
towns embraced within the highway system of Virginia, but exclusive in
each case of the miles traveled in Virginia on any street maintained
exclusively by any city or town. All taxes so collected shall be credited
to the highway maintenance and construction fund.

(b) Each person subject to the tax imposed by subsection (a) of
this section shall be entitled to an exemption from the payment of such
tax on three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500.00) of his gross re-
_ceipts in each calendar year; provided that any such person operating
exclusively as a common carrier shall be entitled to an annual exemption
of only one thousand dollars ($1,000.00). The provisions of this section
shall not apply to for-hire common or contract carriers of property who
operate less than three motor vehicles, trailers or semi-trailers of the
one and one-half ton rating or less which do not exceed fifteen thousand
pounds gross load on the road each, and whose gross yearly earnings
from the operations of said vehicles do not exceed five thousand dollars
($5,000.00).

(c) Every person subject to the tax imposed by subsections (a)
of this section shall make to the State Corporation Commission, herein-
after called the Commission, such reports, with respect to the operations
of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers operated or caused to be
operated by him, as the Commission may require, from time to time;
provided, that no person shall be required to make any such report unless
and until his gross receipts for the calendar year have exceeded the
amount upon which he is exempted pursuant to subsection (b) of this
section.

(d) The Commission, and its authorized agents and representatives,
shall have the right, at any reasonable time, to inspect the books and
records of any person engaged in any of the operations described in
subsection (a) of this section.

(e) The Commission may, after a hearing had upon notice, duly
served not less than ten days prior to the date set for such hearing,
impose a penalty, not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) upon
any person who violates any provision of this section, or who fails to
comply with any regulation of the Commission promulgated pursuant
to this section, 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 evidence of right issued by the Commis-
sion which the person so found in default holds. Any person convicted
under this subsection (e) shall have the right of appeal to the Supreme
Court of Appeals as in other cases of appeals of right from the Commis-
sion.

(f) This section thirty-six shall not apply to motor vehicles engaged
exclusively in transporting persons or property solely within the limits
of any city or town in this State, nor to any person, firm or corporation
operating taxicabs or passenger motor vehicles equipped with taximeters
or to 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 who may occasionally operate be-
yond said limits, nor to public passenger vehicles offered for hire and
not conforming to the definition of a taxicab and/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 occasion-
ally operated beyond said limits.

(g) The provisions of this section as hereby amended shall apply
for the tax year beginning January first, nineteen hundred forty-nine
and annually thereafter until otherwise provided by law.

Be it further enacted that Section 35-aa of chapter one hundred
ninety-six of Acts of Assembly of nineteen hundred forty-six be and is
hereby repealed to take effect March fifteenth nineteen hundred forty-
nine. All vehicles heretofore required to be licensed under the provisions
of Section 35-aa shall be licensed under and pay the fees required by
Section 35-a of chapter three hundred seventy-seven of the Acts of
Assembly of nineteen hundred forty-two.