Compensation of dealers for reporting and paying tax; reimbursement deduction.

(b) Each dealer required to file a return under this article shall include such dealer’s certificate of registration number or numbers for each sales location or affiliated entity of such dealer on such return. In reporting and paying the amount of tax due under this article, each dealer shall be allowed the following deduction, but only if the return was timely filed and the amount due was not delinquent at the time of payment; and that deduction shall be subject to the provisions of subsection (f) of this Code section pertaining to calculation of the deduction when more than one tax is reported on the same return:

(1) With respect to each certificate of registration number on such return, a deduction of 3 percent of the first $3,000.00 of the combined total amount of all sales and use taxes reported due on such return for each location other than the taxes specified in paragraph (3) of this subsection;

(2) With respect to each certificate of registration number on such return, a deduction of one-half of 1 percent of that portion exceeding $3,000.00 of the combined total amount of all sales and use taxes reported due on such return for each location other than the taxes specified in paragraph (3) of this subsection; and

(3) With respect to each certificate of registration number on such return, a deduction of 3 percent of the combined total amount due of all sales and use taxes on motor fuel as defined under paragraph (9) of Code Section 48-9-2, which are imposed under any provision of this title, including, but not limited to, sales and use taxes on motor fuel imposed under any of the provisions described in subsection (f) of this Code section.

(c) The department shall compile and maintain a master registry of the certificate of registration numbers filed on such returns with respect to all the affiliated business entities and multiple locations of each dealer and shall assign a master number to each dealer. Each dealer required to file a return under this article shall also include such dealer’s master number on such return if such number has been assigned by the department under this subsection.

(d) With respect to a dealer which consists of only a single sales location or which consists of a group of fewer than four sales locations or affiliated entities, or any combination thereof, claiming such deduction, a separate return shall be filed for each sales location and affiliated entity for each reporting period. With respect to a dealer which consists of a group of four or more sales locations or affiliated entities, or any combination thereof, claiming such deduction, a single, consolidated return shall be filed for such entire group. A consolidated return under this subsection shall be used for the purpose of identifying the sales locations or affiliated entities of a dealer and such consolidated return shall identify separately the reporting and paying of the tax due under this article for each sales location or affiliated entity of such dealer. The deduction requirements of subsection (b) of this Code section shall apply separately to each certificate of registration number on such return.

(e) No deduction shall be allowed under this Code section unless all of the requirements of subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this Code section have been satisfied.

(f) The deduction authorized under this Code section shall be combined with and calculated with the deductions authorized under Code Section 48-8-87, Code Section 48-8-104, Code Section 48-8-113, Code Section 48-8-204, Section 25 of an Act approved March 10, 1965 (Ga. L. 1965, p. 2243), as amended, the “Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Act of 1965,” and any other sales tax, use tax, or sales and use tax which is levied and imposed in an area consisting of less than the entire state, however authorized, by applying the deduction rate specified in this Code section against the combined total of all such taxes reported due on the same return.

(g) The reimbursement deduction authorized under Section 25 of an Act approved March 10, 1965 (Ga. L. 1965, p. 2243), as amended, the “Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Act of 1965,” shall be at the rate and subject to the requirements specified under subsections (b) through (f) of this Code section.

(h) Each certified service provider as defined in Code Section 48-8-161 shall receive the amount provided in the contract between the certified service provider and the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board. History. Ga. L. 1951, p. 360, § 16; Ga. L. 1964, p. 57, § 1; Ga. L. 1965, p. 321, § 1; Ga. L. 1966, p. 505, § 1; Ga. L. 1975, p. 101, § 1; Code 1933, § 91A-4522, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 309, § 2; Ga. L. 1992, p. 815, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 995, § 1; Ga. L. 2003, p. 355, § 5; Ga. L. 2003, p. 665, § 15; Ga. L. 2004, p. 425, § 1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 159, § 23/HB 488; Ga. L. 2007, p. 309, § 3/HB 219; Ga. L. 2009, p. 8, § 48/SB 46; Ga. L. 2010, p. 662, § 14/HB 1221; Ga. L. 2015, p. 236, § 5-7/HB 170. Code Commission notes. Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2003, “subsection (f) of this Code section” was substituted for “subsection (f) of Code section” near the end of paragraph (b)(3). Editor’s notes. Ga. L. 2003, p. 665, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘State and Local Tax Revision Act of 2003.’ ” Ga. L. 2005, p. 159, § 1/HB 488, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘State and Local Tax Revision Act of 2005.’ ” Ga. L. 2015, p. 236, § 8-1/HB 170, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Transportation Funding Act of 2015.’ ” Ga. L. 2015, p. 236, § 8-2/HB 170, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “It is the intention of the General Assembly, subject to appropriations and other constitutional obligations of this state, that year to year revenue increases be prioritized to fund education, transportation, and health care in this state.” Ga. L. 2015, p. 236, § 9-1(b)/HB 170, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “Tax, penalty, and interest liabilities and refund eligibility for prior taxable years shall not be affected by the passage of this Act and shall continue to be governed by the provisions of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated as it existed immediately prior to the effective date of this Act.” This Act became effective July 1, 2015. Law reviews. For note on the 2003 amendment to this Code section, see 20 Georgia St. U.L. Rev. 233 (2003). For article on the 2015 amendment of this Code section, see 32 Georgia St. U.L. Rev. 261 (2015). JUDICIAL DECISIONS Seller acts as collecting agent for state. — Ultimate liability for a use tax is laid upon the purchaser, not the seller, whose role is merely that of collecting agent for the state. For this service the seller is compensated, provided the taxes due are not delinquent at the time of payment. Independent Publishing Co. v. Hawes, 119 Ga. App. 858, 168 S.E.2d 904, 1969 Ga. App. LEXIS 1280 (1969).