A. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 58.1-605, whenever any locality imposes a license tax applicable to motor vehicle dealers measured by the gross receipts of such dealer, the dealer may separately state the amount of tax applicable to each sale of a motor vehicle and add such tax to the sales price of the motor vehicle. It shall be unlawful for a motor vehicle dealer to collect an amount stated separately as such if such dealer knows the amount to be greater than the tax applicable to such sale. The failure of such merchant to recover the tax from the purchaser shall not relieve such merchant from the obligation to pay the tax to the locality. Any locality may provide by ordinance for the quarterly collection of the gross receipt taxes on such dealers who separately state during the year such receipts are earned.

B. A motor vehicle dealer who collects excess business license tax shall exercise due diligence to refund such tax, in excess of one dollar, to the purchaser within 120 days of discovering such overpayment, and such dealer shall produce evidence of such refund to the commissioner of the revenue or other local assessing officer upon the request of either. Any amounts that are not refunded to purchasers shall be remitted to the commissioner of the revenue or other local assessing officer. During a three-year period after receipt of such amounts, the commissioner of the revenue or other local assessing officer and the treasurer, as that term is defined in § 58.1-3123, shall refund such amounts as appropriate to purchasers who produce documentation verifying such overpayment. At the expiration of this period, the commissioner of the revenue or other local assessing officer shall consider these funds as additional business license tax. The locality may recover from the motor vehicle dealer its costs of mailing, printing, and other reasonably necessary administrative costs related to refunding such amounts to purchasers.

Code 1950, § 58-266.1; 1950, p. 155; 1956, c. 242; 1964, c. 424; 1968, c. 619; 1970, cc. 231, 547; 1974, cc. 196, 438; 1975, cc. 23, 621; 1976, cc. 521, 719; 1977, c. 320; 1978, cc. 772, 799, 817; 1979, cc. 565, 568, 570; 1980, cc. 318, 736; 1981, cc. 419, 636; 1982, cc. 348, 548, 552, 554, 558, 633; 1983, c. 554; 1984, cc. 247, 675, 695; 1999, cc. 862, 957.