(A) Peddlers. Every person engaged in business or employed as a peddler shall obtain a license for the privilege of peddling goods and shall pay a tax for the license as set forth in this chapter. A PEDDLER is a person who travels from place to place with an inventory of goods, who sells the goods at retail or offers the goods for sale at retail and who delivers the identical goods he or she carries with him or her. A peddler of only farm products shall pay a tax of $25. A peddler who travels from place to place on foot, selling goods other than or in addition to farm products, shall pay a tax of $10. A peddler who travels from place to place by vehicle, selling goods other than or in addition to farm products, shall pay a tax of $25.
(B) Itinerant merchants. Every person engaged in business as an itinerant merchant shall obtain a license as set forth in this chapter for the privilege of engaging in business and shall pay a tax for the license of $100. An ITINERANT MERCHANT is a merchant, other than a merchant with an established retail store in the town, who transports an inventory of goods to a building, vacant lot or other location in the town and who, at that location, displays the goods for sale and sells the goods at retail or offers the goods for sale at retail. An itinerant merchant’s license is not required to engage in the business of a specialty market vendor at a location licensed as a specialty market under division (C) or at a specialty market that is exempt from the license requirement under division (C) of this section because the specialty market operator is the state or a unit of local government. A merchant who sells goods, other than farm products, in the town for less than six consecutive months is considered an itinerant merchant unless he or she stopped selling goods in the town because of his or her death or disablement, the insolvency of his or her business or the destruction of his or her inventory by fire or other catastrophe.
(C) Specialty market operators. Every person, other than the state or a unit of local government, engaged in business as a specialty market operator shall obtain a license as set forth in this chapter for the privilege of engaging in business and shall pay a tax for the license of $200. A SPECIALTY MARKET OPERATOR is a person, other than the state or a unit of local government, who rents space, at a location other than a permanent retail store, to others for the purpose of selling goods at retail or offering goods for sale at retail.
(D) Specialty market vendors. The requirements and penalties set out in divisions (I) through (L) of this section apply to every person engaged in business as a specialty market vendor who is liable for retail sales tax under G.S. §§ 105-164.1 et seq. A SPECIALTY MARKET VENDOR is a merchant, other than a merchant with an established retail store in the town, who transports an inventory of goods to a specialty market licensed under division (C) above and who, at that location, displays the goods for sale and sells the goods at retail or offers the goods for sale at retail. A specialty market is a location, other than a permanent retail store, where space is rented to others for the purpose of selling goods at retail or offering goods for sale at retail.
(E) Exemptions. This section does not apply to the following:
(1) A peddler or itinerant merchant who:
(a) Sells farm or nursery products produced by him or her;
(b) Sells crafts or goods made by him or her or his or her own household personal property;
(c) Is a nonprofit charitable, educational, religious, scientific or civic organization;
(d) Sells printed material, wood for fuel, ice, seafood, meat, poultry, livestock, eggs, dairy products, bread, cakes or pies; or
(e) Is an authorized automobile dealer licensed pursuant to G.S. §§ 20-1 et seq.
(2) A peddler who maintains a fixed permanent location from which he or she makes at least 90% of his or her sales, but who sells some goods in the town of his or her fixed location by peddling;
(3) An itinerant merchant who:
(a) Locates at a farmer’s market;
(b) Is part of the State Fair or an agriculture fair which is licensed by the State Commissioner of Agriculture pursuant to G.S. § 106-520.3; or
(c) Sells goods at an auction conducted by an auctioneer licensed pursuant to G.S. §§ 85B-1 et seq.
(4) A peddler who complies with the requirements of G.S. §§ 25A-38 through 25A-42 or who complies with the requirements of G.S. § 14-401.13.
(F) Person defined. As used in this section, PERSON has the same meaning as in G.S. § 105-164.3(11).
(G) Town exemption. The Chief of Police, upon proper application, may exempt from the annual license tax levied upon peddlers and itinerant merchants in this section disabled veterans of World War I, World War II, Korean Conflict and Vietnam Era, who have been bona fide residents of the town for 12 or more months continuously and widows with dependent children; and when so exempted, the Chief of Police shall furnish the person or persons with a certificate of exemption and the certificate shall entitle the holder thereof to sell within the limits of the town without payment of any license tax to the town.
(H) Display and possession of licenses and identification.
(1) An itinerant merchant shall keep both the license required by this section and the retail sales tax license conspicuously and prominently displayed, so as to be visible for inspection by patrons of the itinerant merchant, at the places or locations at which the goods are to be sold or offered for sale. A peddler shall have the license required by this section and the retail sales tax license with him or her at all times he or she offers goods for sale and must produce them upon the request of any customer, state or local revenue or law enforcement agent. A specialty market vendor shall keep the retail sales tax license conspicuously and prominently displayed, so as to be visible for inspection by patrons of the specialty market vendor at the places or locations at which the goods are to be sold or offered for sale. A specialty market operator shall have the license required by this section available for inspection during all times that the specialty market is open and must produce it upon the request of any customer, state or local revenue or law enforcement agent.
(2) Upon the request on any customer, state or local revenue or law enforcement agent, a peddler, itinerant merchants, specialty market operator or specialty market merchant, specialty market operator or specialty market vendor is not a corporation, he or she shall, upon the request of any customer, state or local revenue or law enforcement agent, provide a valid driver’s license, a special identification card issued under G.S. § 20-37.7, military identification or a passport bearing a physical description of the person named reasonably describing the peddler, itinerant merchant, specialty market operator or specialty market vendor. If the peddler, itinerant merchant, specialty market operator or specialty market vendor is a corporation, it shall, upon the request of any customer, state, local revenue or law enforcement agent, give the name and registered agent of the corporation and the address of the registered office of the corporation, as filed with the Secretary of State.
(I) Permission of property owner. An itinerant merchant or a peddler who travels from place to place by vehicle, in addition to other requirements of this section, shall obtain a written statement signed by the owner or lessee of any property upon which the itinerant merchant or peddler offers goods for sale giving the owner’s or lessee’s permission to offer goods for sale upon the property of the owner or lessee. The statement shall clearly state the name of the owner or lessee, the location of the premises for which the permission is granted and the dates during which the permission is valid. Further, the statement shall be conspicuously and prominently displayed, so as to be visible for inspection by patrons of the itinerant merchant or peddler, at the places or locations at which the goods are to be sold or offered for sale.
(J) Specialty market registration list. A specialty market operator shall maintain a daily registration list of all specialty market vendors selling or offering goods for sale at the specialty market. This registration list shall clearly and legibly show the specialty market vendor’s name, permanent address and retail sales and use tax registration number. The specialty market operator shall require each specialty vendor to exhibit a valid retail sales tax license for visual inspection by the specialty market operator at the time of registration and shall require each specialty market vendor operator at the time of registration and shall require each specialty market vendor to keep the retail sales tax license conspicuously and prominently displayed, so as to be visible for inspection by patrons of the specialty market vendor at the places or locations at which the goods are offered for sale. Each daily registration list maintained pursuant to this section shall be retained by the specialty market operator for no less than two years and shall at any time be made available upon request to any law enforcement officer.
(K) Violations. No person shall:
(1) Fail to obtain a license as required by this section;
(2) Knowingly give false information in the application process for a license or when registering pursuant to division (J) above;
(3) If the person is an itinerant merchant, fail to display the license as required by division (H) or if the person is a peddler or specialty market operator, fail to produce the license as required by division (H) or if the person is required to do so, fail to comply with division (I); and (Whenever satisfactory evidence shall be presented in any court of the fact that a license was required by this section and the license was not displayed or produced as required by division (H) or that permission was required by division (I) of this section and was not displayed, the peddler, itinerant merchant or specialty market operator shall be found not guilty of that violation provided he or she produces in court a valid license or valid permission which had been issued prior to the time he or she was charged with the violation.)
(4) Fail to provide name, address or identification upon request as required by division (H) of this section or provide false information in response to such a request.
(L) Display requirement satisfied. For the purposes of this section, the requirement that a retail sales tax license be displayed is satisfied if the vendor displays either a copy of the license or evidence that the license has been applied for and the applicable license fee has been paid within 30 days before the date the license was required to be displayed. Whenever satisfactory evidence shall be presented in any court of the fact that display of a retail sales tax license was required by this section and the license was not displayed, the specialty market operator or vendor shall not be found guilty of that violation provided he or she produces in court a valid license which had been issued prior to the time he or she was charged with this violation.