§ 9-615. Dealers in Precious Metals. 868

   (1)   Definitions.

      (a)   Precious metals. Items of gold, silver, platinum, and their alloys, including, but not limited to, jewelry, but excluding coins and bullion.

      (b)   Dealer in precious metals or dealer. 869 An individual, partnership, association, corporation, or other business entity including an itinerant merchant doing business in the City of Philadelphia which purchases or makes appraisals of precious metals and their alloys for resale to refiners, brokers, or the public.

   (2)   Licenses. 870 No person shall engage in the business of, or be employed as a dealer in precious metals unless he or she first obtains a license from the Department of Licenses and Inspections for each location from which that person seeks to act as a dealer in precious metals.

      (a)   No registration shall be accepted unless the applicant furnishes the Department with an application setting forth:

         (.1)   the name, home and business address and telephone number of the dealer in precious metals;

         (.2)   the exact location(s), if other than the business address of the dealer, where transactions in precious metals are to be conducted;

         (.3)   the former business address of the dealer for the preceding three years; and

         (.4)   such other information as the Department may require.

      (b)   The registrant shall notify the Department, in writing, within seventy-two (72) hours, of any changes in the information supplied to the Department.

      (c)   The applicant for a license hereunder shall pay an annual license fee of two hundred dollars ($200) for each location from which the applicant intends to operate. 871

      (d)   All registrations shall be conditioned upon continued compliance with the provisions of this Section.

   (3)   Weighing Devices. 872 All scales or other devices used by dealers to weigh precious metals must be of a type approved for commercial use in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and must be inspected and sealed by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Ride and Measurement Standards' Weights and Measures Division.

      (a)   The dealer in precious metals must notify the Pennsylvania Bureau of Ride and Measurement Standards' Weights and Measures Division whenever a weighing device is moved from one location to another. 873

      (b)   All weighing devices shall be so positioned that their indications may be accurately read and the weighing operation observed by the seller.

   (4)   Price Posting. The dealer shall post a conspicuous sign in proximity to the place where weighings are made quoting the prices offered for the various units and fineness of precious metals.

   (5)   Reserved. 874

   (6)   Customer Identification. 875 No dealer in precious metals may purchase or receive precious metals for resale from, or may exchange precious metals with, a customer without first securing adequate identification from the customer. "Securing adequate identification" means that at the time of the transaction, the dealer shall take a digital photograph of the customer, obtain a clear imprint of the customer's left thumbprint and have the customer present one of the following types of identification:

      (a)   A valid identification document issued by a state or federal government containing a photograph;

      (b)   A valid motor vehicle operators license issued by any state and containing a photograph;

      (c)   A valid military identification card containing a photograph;

      (d)   A valid passport;

      (e)   A valid alien registration card containing a photograph;

      (f)   A valid senior citizens identification card containing a photograph.

   (7)   Electronic Inventory Tracking. 876

      (a)   Every dealer in precious metals shall utilize a secure, internet-accessible electronic inventory tracking system, as designated by the Police Department. Each dealer shall maintain on its premises a computer which is capable of securely and confidentially uploading all required tracking information, as specified by the Police Department, via the internet to an entity designated by the Police Department. No later than the conclusion of each business day, every dealer must upload, in the manner specified by the Police Department, the required tracking information for all precious metals purchased or exchanged during the course of business on that day.

      (b)   The Department of Licenses and Inspections shall issue regulations designating the internet- accessible electronic inventory tracking system to be used by each dealer in precious metals and the required tracking information to be recorded for each transaction. The entity chosen by the Police Department to administer the electronic inventory tracking system shall insure that all data remains secure and confidential by providing login security protocols to each dealer which meet current industry standards and shall employ state of the art technology to protect the data from all forms of unauthorized access and malicious intrusion. The Department of Licenses and Inspections may, by regulation, provide for a fee of up to four hundred dollars ($400) per location to defray the costs of the internet-accessible electronic inventory tracking system.

   (8)   Holding Period. 877

      (a)   Every dealer in precious metals shall keep any purchased, received or exchanged precious metals for at least 30 days from the date of receipt either on the dealers' premises or, if permitted under state law, at another suitable place for safekeeping; except that any person who presents adequate identification as set forth in subsection (6)(a) to (6)(f) to demonstrate that he or she is the person named in the electronic inventory tracking system as the owner of the precious metals may retrieve the precious metals prior to the expiration of the holding upon repayment to the dealer in precious metals of the purchase price paid to the customer by the dealer in precious metals and payment of any storage fee not to exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of that purchase price.

      (b)   During the holding period, any precious metals subject to the holding period shall be segregated from the dealer's other inventory to insure that it is not placed in an area or section where precious metals are offered for sale and may not be altered in any manner. The dealer shall permit any law enforcement officer to inspect any purchased precious metals during the holding period without the need to present a warrant or subpoena. Where any precious metals are held off the premises, a dealer shall make the item available for inspection within 24 hours after receiving the written request of a law enforcement officer to inspect an item. Any law enforcement officer who has reason to believe any precious metals were not sold or exchanged by the lawful owner may direct a dealer to hold those precious metals for a reasonable length of time that the law enforcement officer considers necessary to identify it.

      (c)   Exception for customer return or exchange. Nothing in this subsection (8) shall apply to the return or exchange of any precious metals purchased from or exchanged with that dealer.

   (9)   Records Required. 878 All dealers in precious metals shall maintain records of each transaction in which they purchase precious metals from the public or give a statement of appraisal. Such records shall be retained for a period of two (2) years from the date of the transaction. These records shall include:

      (a)   the date of the transaction;

      (b)   a description of the precious metal or metals involved in the transaction including:

         (.1)   net weight in terms pounds Troy, ounces Troy, pennyweight (Troy) or kilograms/grams;

         (.2)   fineness in terms "karat" for gold and "sterling or coin" for silver;

      (c)   legal name and address of the purchaser or appraiser;

      (d)   the seller's name and address;

      (e)   the seller's motor vehicle operator's number, or Social Security number, or other comparable identification number; and

      (f)   the seller's left thumbprint.

   (10)   Compliance with State Law. 879 All dealers in precious metals shall comply with all provisions of applicable state law, in particular the Act of February 24, 1984, Pa. Laws 92, No. 17, as amended (codified at 73 P.S. §§ 1931 et seq.).

   (11)   Penalties, Cease Operations Orders and License Revocations.  880 A violation of any provision of this Section shall be classified as a Class III offense and the penalty for such violation is, in addition to any other sanctions provided, a fine not exceeding the maximum fine for Class III offenses as set forth in Section 1-109. In addition to the penalties provided in Section 1-109, any dealer in precious metals who violates any provisions of this Section shall have all of his licenses revoked for ninety (90) days for the first offense and for a period of one (1) year upon each succeeding offense. The provisions of Section 9-105 shall not apply to violations of this Section.

      (a)   During any period of license revocation, each and every location of the dealer's business where violations have occurred shall cease operation as a dealer in precious metals. The Department shall issue a Cease Operations Order for each business location operated by the dealer whose license(s) have been revoked in accordance with The Philadelphia Administrative Code, provided that the Cease Operations Order shall identify the prohibited operations and shall state that the applicable license has been revoked for violation(s) of the Code. The Cease Operations Order shall be in force for the full period of any license revocation, and shall set forth this period in the Order. The Department shall not remove any posted Cease Operations Order until the Department is satisfied that all revoked licenses have been restored, or the property interests in the location have changed so that neither the person under license revocation nor any member of his immediate family, or in the case of a corporation, the corporation or any affiliated business entities retain a pecuniary interest therein.

      (b)   No new dealer in precious metals shall be issued a license for a business location that has been posted with a Cease Operation Order, so long as any person under a license revocation, or any member of such person's immediate family, or in the case of a corporation, the corporation or any affiliated business entities, retain a pecuniary interest in the property at that location.

 

Notes

868	Added, 1981 Ordinances, p. 132; amended by deleting subsection (6), 1990 Ordinances, p. 715.
869	Amended, Bill No. 090910-A (approved September 1, 2010). See note 751 for effective date provisions.
870	Amended, Bill No. 090777-A (approved February 17, 2010); amended, Bill No. 090910-A (approved September 1, 2010). See note 751 for effective date provisions.
871	Amended, 1992 Ordinances, p. 550; amended, Bill No. 090910-A (approved September 1, 2010). See note 751 for effective date provisions.
872	Amended, Bill No. 090777-A (approved February 17, 2010); amended, Bill No. 090910-A (approved September 1, 2010). See note 751 for effective date provisions.
873	Amended, Bill No. 090910-A (approved September 1, 2010). See note 751 for effective date provisions.
874	Former subsection (5) renumbered as subsection (9), Bill No. 090910-A (approved September 1, 2010). Enrolled bill did not provide for a new subsection (5); reserved by Code editor. See note 751 for effective date provisions.
875	Added, Bill No. 090910-A (approved September 1, 2010). See note 751 for effective date provisions.
876	Added, Bill No. 090910-A (approved September 1, 2010). See note 751 for effective date provisions.
877	Added, Bill No. 090910-A (approved September 1, 2010). See note 751 for effective date provisions.
878	Amended, Bill No. 090777-A (approved February 17, 2010); renumbered, Bill No. 090910-A (approved September 1, 2010). See note 751 for effective date provisions.
879	New subsection added, 1993 Ordinances, p. 124 ; renumbered, Bill No. 090910-A (approved September 1, 2010). See note 751 for effective date provisions.
880	Amended, Bill No. 090777-A (approved February 17, 2010); renumbered and amended, Bill No. 090910-A (approved September 1, 2010). See note 751 for effective date provisions.