                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

COLLECTION OF TAX (§ 58.1-625)

A. The tax levied by this chapter shall be paid by the dealer, but the dealer
shall separately state the amount of the tax and add such tax to the sales price
or charge. Thereafter, such tax shall be a debt from the purchaser, consumer, or
lessee to the dealer until paid and shall be recoverable at law in the same
manner as other debts. No action at law or suit in equity under this chapter may
be maintained in this Commonwealth by any dealer that is not registered under
&#xA7; 58.1-613 or is delinquent in the payment of the taxes imposed under this
chapter.

B. Notwithstanding any exemption from taxes which any dealer now or hereafter
may enjoy under the Constitution or laws of this or any other state, or of the
United States, such dealer shall collect such tax from the purchaser, consumer,
or lessee and shall pay the same over to the Tax Commissioner as herein
provided.

C. Any dealer collecting the sales or use tax on transactions exempt or not
taxable under this chapter shall transmit to the Tax Commissioner such
erroneously or illegally collected tax unless or until it can affirmatively show
that the tax has since been refunded to the purchaser or credited to its
account.

D. 1. Any dealer that neglects, fails, or refuses to collect such tax upon every
taxable sale, distribution, lease, or storage of tangible personal property made
by it, its agents, or employees shall be liable for and pay the tax itself, and
such dealer shall not thereafter be entitled to sue for or recover in this
Commonwealth any part of the purchase price or rental from the purchaser until
such tax is paid. Moreover, any dealer that neglects, fails, or refuses to pay
or collect the tax herein provided, either by itself or through its agents or
employees, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

   2. Notwithstanding subdivision 1, any remote seller or marketplace facilitator
   that has collected an incorrect amount of sales and use tax shall be relieved
   from liability for such amount, including any penalty or interest, if the
   error is a result of the remote seller&#8217;s or marketplace
   facilitator&#8217;s reasonable reliance on information provided by the
   Commonwealth.

E. All sums collected by a dealer as required by this chapter shall be deemed to
be held in trust for the Commonwealth.

F. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, any dealer is
authorized during the period of time set forth in &#xA7; 58.1-611.2 not to
collect the tax levied by this chapter or levied under the authority granted in
&#xA7;&#xA7; 58.1-605 and 58.1-606 from the purchaser, and to absorb such tax
itself. A dealer electing to absorb such taxes shall be liable for payment of
such taxes to the Tax Commissioner in the same manner as it is for tax collected
from a purchaser pursuant to this section.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 58-441.18; 1966, c. 151; 1972, c. 355; 1979, c. 198;
1984, c. 675; 2006, cc. 579, 593; 2013, c. 766; 2019, cc. 815, 816, 854.