77-2705. Sales and use tax; retailer; registration; permit; form; revocation; restoration; appeal; exempt sale certificate; violations; penalty; wrongful disclosure; online registration system.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (10) of this section, every retailer shall register with the Tax Commissioner and give:

(a) The name and address of all agents operating in this state;

(b) The location of all distribution or sales houses or offices or other places of business in this state;

(c) The name and address of any officer, director, partner, limited liability company member, or employee, other than an employee whose duties are purely ministerial in nature, or any person with a substantial interest in the applicant, who is or who will be responsible for the collection or remittance of the sales tax;

(d) Such other information as the Tax Commissioner may require; and

(e) If the retailer is an individual, his or her social security number.

(2) Every person furnishing public utility service as defined in subsection (2) of section 77-2701.16 shall register with the Tax Commissioner and give:

(a) The address of each office open to the public in which such public utility service business is transacted with consumers; and

(b) Such other information as the Tax Commissioner may require.

(3)(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in or transact business as a seller within this state after June 1, 1967, unless a permit or permits shall have been issued to him or her as prescribed in this section.

(b) Every person desiring to engage in or to conduct business as a seller within this state shall file with the Tax Commissioner an application for a permit for each place of business. There shall be no charge to the retailer for the application for or issuance of a permit except as otherwise provided in this section.

(c) If a retailer becomes engaged in business in this state during a calendar year by exceeding one of the thresholds in subsection (2) or (3) of section 77-2701.13 for the first time, the retailer must obtain a permit and begin collecting the sales tax on or before the first day of the second calendar month after the threshold was exceeded. Such retailer shall also be subject to the Local Option Revenue Act and sections 13-319 and 13-2813 and shall collect and remit the sales tax due under such act and sections.

(4) Every application for a permit shall:

(a) Be made upon a form prescribed by the Tax Commissioner;

(b) Set forth the name under which the applicant transacts or intends to transact business and the location of his or her place or places of business;

(c) Set forth such other information as the Tax Commissioner may require; and

(d) Be signed by the owner and include his or her social security number if he or she is a natural person; in the case of an association or partnership, by a member or partner; in the case of a limited liability company, by a member or some person authorized by the limited liability company to sign such kinds of applications; and in the case of a corporation, by an executive officer or some person authorized by the corporation to sign such kinds of applications.

(5) After compliance with subsections (1) through (4) of this section by the applicant, the Tax Commissioner shall grant and issue to each applicant a separate permit for each place of business within the state. A permit shall not be assignable and shall be valid only for the person in whose name it is issued and for the transaction of business at the place designated therein. It shall at all times be conspicuously displayed at the place for which issued and shall be valid and effective until revoked by the Tax Commissioner.

(6)(a) Whenever the holder of a permit issued under subsection (5) of this section or any person required to be identified in subdivision (1)(c) of this section (i) fails to comply with any provision of the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967 relating to the retail sales tax or with any rule or regulation of the Tax Commissioner relating to such tax prescribed and adopted under such act, (ii) fails to provide for inspection or audit any book, record, document, or item required by law, rule, or regulation, or (iii) makes a misrepresentation of or fails to disclose a material fact to the Department of Revenue, the Tax Commissioner upon hearing, after giving the person twenty days' notice in writing specifying the time and place of hearing and requiring him or her to show cause why his or her permit or permits should not be revoked, may revoke or suspend any one or more of the permits held by the person. The Tax Commissioner shall give to the person written notice of the suspension or revocation of any of his or her permits. The notices may be served personally or by mail in the manner prescribed for service of notice of a deficiency determination.

(b) The Tax Commissioner shall have the power to restore permits which have been revoked but shall not issue a new permit after the revocation of a permit unless he or she is satisfied that the former holder of the permit will comply with the provisions of such act relating to the retail sales tax and the regulations of the Tax Commissioner. A seller whose permit has been previously suspended or revoked under this subsection shall pay the Tax Commissioner a fee of twenty-five dollars for the renewal or issuance of a permit in the event of a first revocation and fifty dollars for renewal after each successive revocation.

(c) The action of the Tax Commissioner may be appealed by the taxpayer in the same manner as a final deficiency determination.

(7) For the purpose of more efficiently securing the payment, collection, and accounting for the sales and use taxes and for the convenience of the retailer in collecting the sales tax, it shall be the duty of the Tax Commissioner to formulate and promulgate appropriate rules and regulations providing a form and method for the registration of exempt purchases and the documentation of exempt sales.

(8) If any person, firm, corporation, association, or agent thereof presents an exempt sale certificate to the seller for property which is purchased by a taxpayer or for a use other than those enumerated in the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967 as exempted from the computation of sales and use taxes, the Tax Commissioner may, in addition to other penalties provided by law, impose, assess, and collect from the purchaser or the agent thereof a penalty of one hundred dollars or ten times the tax, whichever amount is larger, for each instance of such presentation and misuse of an exempt sale certificate. Such amount shall be in addition to any tax, interest, or penalty otherwise imposed.

(9) Any report, name, or information which is supplied to the Tax Commissioner regarding a violation specified in this section, including the identity of the informer, shall be subject to the pertinent provisions regarding wrongful disclosure in section 77-2711.

(10) Pursuant to the streamlined sales and use tax agreement, the state shall participate in an online registration system that will allow retailers to register in all the member states. The state hereby agrees to honor and abide by the retailer registration decisions made by the governing board pursuant to the agreement.

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