212.18 Administration of law; registration of dealers; rules.—
(1) The cost of preparing and distributing the reports, forms, and paraphernalia for the collection of said tax and the inspection and enforcement duties required herein shall be borne by the revenue produced by this chapter, provisions for which are hereinafter made.
(2) The department shall administer and enforce the assessment and collection of the taxes, interest, and penalties imposed by this chapter. It has authority to adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to enforce the provisions of this chapter in order that there shall not be collected on the average more than the rate levied herein. The department is authorized to and it shall provide by rule a method for accomplishing this end. It shall prepare instructions to all persons required by this chapter to collect and remit the tax to guide such persons in the proper collection and remission of such tax and to instruct such persons in the practices that may be necessary for the purpose of enforcement of this chapter and the collection of the tax imposed hereby. The use of tokens in the collection of this tax is hereby expressly forbidden and prohibited.
(3)(a) A person desiring to engage in or conduct business in this state as a dealer, or to lease, rent, or let or grant licenses in living quarters or sleeping or housekeeping accommodations in hotels, apartment houses, roominghouses, or tourist or trailer camps that are subject to tax under s. 212.03, and a person who sells or receives anything of value by way of admissions, must file with the department an application for a certificate of registration for each place of business. The application must include the names of the persons who have interests in such business and their residences, the address of the business, and other data reasonably required by the department. However, owners and operators of vending machines or newspaper rack machines are required to obtain only one certificate of registration for each county in which such machines are located. The department, by rule, may authorize a dealer that uses independent sellers to sell its merchandise to remit tax on the retail sales price charged to the ultimate consumer in lieu of having the independent seller register as a dealer and remit the tax. The department may appoint the county tax collector as the department’s agent to accept applications for registrations. The application must be submitted to the department before the person, firm, copartnership, or corporation may engage in such business.
(b) The department, upon receipt of such application, shall grant to the applicant a separate certificate of registration for each place of business, which may be canceled by the department or its designated assistants for any failure by the certificateholder to comply with this chapter. The certificate is not assignable and is valid only for the person, firm, copartnership, or corporation to which it is issued. The certificate must be placed in a conspicuous place in the business or businesses for which it is issued and must be displayed at all times. Except as provided in this subsection, a person may not engage in business as a dealer or in leasing, renting, or letting of or granting licenses in living quarters or sleeping or housekeeping accommodations in hotels, apartment houses, roominghouses, or tourist or trailer camps, or sell or receive anything of value by way of admissions, without a valid certificate. A person may not receive a license from any authority within the state to engage in any such business without a valid certificate. A person may not engage in the business of selling or leasing tangible personal property or services as a dealer; engage in leasing, renting, or letting of or granting licenses in living quarters or sleeping or housekeeping accommodations in hotels, apartment houses, roominghouses, or tourist or trailer camps that are taxable under this chapter; or engage in the business of selling or receiving anything of value by way of admissions without a valid certificate.
(c) A marketplace provider that is a dealer under this chapter or a person who is required to collect and remit sales tax on remote sales must file with the department an application for a certificate of registration electronically.
(d)1. A person who engages in acts requiring a certificate of registration under this subsection and who fails or refuses to register commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. Such acts are subject to injunctive proceedings as provided by law. A person who engages in acts requiring a certificate of registration and who fails or refuses to register is also subject to a $100 registration fee. However, the department may waive the registration fee if it finds that the failure to register was due to reasonable cause and not to willful negligence, willful neglect, or fraud.
2.a. A person who willfully fails to register after the department provides notice of the duty to register as a dealer commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
b. The department shall provide written notice of the duty to register to the person by personal service or by sending notice by registered mail to the person’s last known address. The department may provide written notice by both methods described in this sub-subparagraph.
(e) In addition to the certificate of registration, the department shall provide to each newly registered dealer an initial resale certificate that will be valid for the remainder of the period of issuance. The department shall provide each active dealer with an annual resale certificate. For purposes of this section, the term “active dealer” means a person who is currently registered with the department and who is required to file at least once during each applicable reporting period.
(f) The department may revoke a dealer’s certificate of registration if the dealer fails to comply with this chapter. Before revocation of a dealer’s certificate of registration, the department must schedule an informal conference at which the dealer may present evidence regarding the department’s intended revocation or enter into a compliance agreement with the department. The department must notify the dealer of its intended action and the time, place, and date of the scheduled informal conference by written notification sent by United States mail to the dealer’s last known address of record furnished by the dealer on a form prescribed by the department. The dealer is required to attend the informal conference and present evidence refuting the department’s intended revocation or enter into a compliance agreement with the department which resolves the dealer’s failure to comply with this chapter. The department shall issue an administrative complaint under s. 120.60 if the dealer fails to attend the department’s informal conference, fails to enter into a compliance agreement with the department resolving the dealer’s noncompliance with this chapter, or fails to comply with the executed compliance agreement.
(g) As used in this paragraph, the term “exhibitor” means a person who enters into an agreement authorizing the display of tangible personal property or services at a convention or a trade show. The following provisions apply to the registration of exhibitors as dealers under this chapter:
1. An exhibitor whose agreement prohibits the sale of tangible personal property or services subject to the tax imposed in this chapter is not required to register as a dealer.
2. An exhibitor whose agreement provides for the sale at wholesale only of tangible personal property or services subject to the tax imposed by this chapter must obtain a resale certificate from the purchasing dealer but is not required to register as a dealer.
3. An exhibitor whose agreement authorizes the retail sale of tangible personal property or services subject to the tax imposed by this chapter must register as a dealer and collect the tax on such sales.
4. An exhibitor who makes a remote sale pursuant to s. 212.0596 must register as a dealer.
A person who conducts a convention or a trade show must make his or her exhibitor’s agreements available to the department for inspection and copying.
(4) The department is hereby given the authority to purchase such supplies and equipment as may be necessary and incur any other necessary expenses as are proper for the enforcement and administration of this chapter.
...ulations shall himself be liable for and pay the tax. " (Emphasis supplied.) A "sale" is defined to include lease or rental. [3] § 212.02(2)(a), Fla. Stat. Additionally, anyone who wants to engage in business as a dealer [4] must register with DOR. § 212.18(3), Fla....
...is case. [3] The "other than for resale" language, therefore, includes merchandise to be rented or leased out after purchase. [4] "Dealer" includes persons who rent or lease tangible personal property. § 212.06(2)(e), Fla. Stat. [5] §§ 212.17(6), 212.18(2), Fla....
Cited 12 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida
...tatute was an unlawful delegation of legislative authority and in violation of Article II, § 3, Florida Constitution. *838 I adopt this well-reasoned final judgment of Judge Larry G. Smith as my dissent. ROBERTS and HATCHETT, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] Section 212.18(3), Fla....
Cited 5 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida
...Such administrative interpretations, although made by an extrajudicial body, have "considerable persuasive force" before a court called upon to interpret the same statute. Harvey v. Green, Fla. 1956, 85 So.2d 829. The statute provides for administrative rules and regulations in Section 212.18(2), Florida Statutes 1955, F.S.A....
...The Foundation also sponsors "Foundation," a biannual journal of Naval Aviation history, and hosts annual symposiums designed to promote awareness of Naval Aviation history. The Department is an agency of the State of Florida, authorized by statute to administer to state tax laws. See § 212.18, Fla....
Cited 4 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 113, 1985 Fla. LEXIS 2932
...ion and by implication provides that the revenues collected will be segregated and paid to municipalities in contravention of section 212.20, Florida Statutes (1983). Further, the trial court found the ordinance to be in irreconcilable conflict with section 212.18, Florida Statutes (1983), because it purports to authorize collection of the tax by the Dade County tax collector....
...h independent collection mechanisms. The district court concluded that, pursuant to chapter 212, the tax must be collected by the Department of Revenue and paid to the state treasurer for deposit into the general revenue fund as mandated by sections 212.18 and 212.20, Florida Statutes (1983)....
Cited 4 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal
...determination that the tax collection section of the Ordinance is invalid. I. VALIDITY OF TWO ENACTMENTS The determined invalidity is based on a finding that the Act and Ordinance conflict with other provisions of Chapter 212, particularly Sections 212.18 and 212.20, Florida Statutes (1983). Section 212.18(2) provides: (2) The department [of Revenue] shall administer and enforce the assessment and collection of the taxes, interest, and penalties imposed by this chapter....
...implication provides that the revenues collected will be segregated and actually paid to municipalities for certain convention center projects in contravention of Section 212.20. Further, the Ordinance was found to be in irreconcilable conflict with Section 212.18, since it purports to authorize collection of the tax by the County Tax Collector....
...ues. Having enacted the Act as a part of Chapter 212, it was unnecessary for the legislature to republish those same extensive mechanisms. The Act is consistent with Chapter 212. The tax is to be collected by the Department of Revenue as mandated by Section 212.18, and the funds paid over to the State Treasurer for deposit into the General Revenue Fund of the state pursuant to Section 212.20....
Cited 2 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 1993 WL 120397
...I respectfully dissent from that portion of the opinion which reaches the constitutionality of section 212.0505, Florida Statutes (Supp. 1988), because this case *396 can be disposed of on other grounds. Singletary v. State, 322 So.2d 551 (Fla. 1975); McKibben v. Mallory, 293 So.2d 48 (Fla. 1974). Section 212.18(2), Florida Statutes (Supp....
...xes, interests, and penalties imposed by this chapter," including section 212.0505. See also § 212.0505(3), Fla. Stat. (Supp. 1988) (giving the Department of Revenue the authority to adopt rules for administering section 212.0505). [1] Furthermore, section 212.18(2) requires the Department of Revenue to prepare instructions to guide the taxpayers on how to comply with the requirements of chapter 212. Section 212.18(2), Fla....
...e required rules. Lavers, 326 So.2d at 82. This case is controlled by the holdings in Perkins, Bigelow, and Lavers. The Department of Revenue was required to implement rules, procedures, and instructions on how to comply with section 212.0505. See §§ 212.18(2), 212.0505(3), Fla....
...The Department was not under a mandate to adopt separate rules for section 212.0505, although it had the power to do so if it so chose. The method suggested by the dissent does not afford a means of avoiding the constitutional issue. [1] In my view, section 212.0505(3) and section 212.18(2) must be read in pari materia.
...The fact that the State may proceed against the seller does not preclude the State from proceeding against the purchaser. ‘. The Comptroller is charged with the duty of collecting the tax and the obligation is on him to use such efficient methods in the administration of the act as will be most effective in its collection. Section 212.18 of the Act provides that the Comptroller shall administer and enforce the assessment and collection of the tax with interest and penalties imposed and he is authorized to make and publish such rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, as he may deem necessary to enforcing its provisions....
...Florida Statutes Papa John’s claims that Florida law precludes a direct purchaser action against a retailer to recover alleged overpayments that have been remitted to the State. (Doc. # 15 at 4). Papa John’s cites to Florida Statutes § 212.07(l)(a) and § 212.18, alleging that under Florida law, when a retailer, vendor, or dealer collects sales tax from a purchaser, it does so as an involuntary agent of the State, and any sums collected as taxes from purchasers must be remitted to the Florida Department of Revenue....
...ess “is a dealer in this state, having purchased for re-lease and leased the vehicles in question.” It noted that a dealer desiring to conduct business in this state must apply for a certification of registration for each place of business under section 212.18(3) before it may engage in such business, and that engaging in business as a dealer without such certification first being obtained is prohibited and is punishable as a misdemeanor....
...Florida, of tangible personal property for use in Florida is considered a “dealer” who must, at the time of making the lease, collect the tax imposed by this chapter from the lessee. A careful examination of sections 212.05, 212.06, 212.07, and 212.18(3), as well as the documents in the record, demonstrates that Latin Express, which has an office in Miami and leased the buses to Fast Bus Lines for use in Florida as well as in other states, was required to register as a dealer before it ente...
...ss of whether the transactions were actually taxable, produced de facto tax funds due to the state, which either should have been immediately remitted to the state or refunded to Blackshears’ customers. As a registered sales tax dealer pursuant to section 212.18, Florida Statute (1989), whenever Blackshears collects funds from customers as taxes, it does so as the state’s agent....
...uthorizes the law to be applied with obviously necessary flexibility. The Department has not been shown to have exercised its delegated authority in an arbitrary or capricious manner or in excess of the statutory intent. On the contrary, pursuant to section 212.18, the Department promulgated rule 12-3.007(33), Florida Administrative Code, setting out clear, non-arbitrary guidelines for the exercise of that flexibility....
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