17-49-101.Title.
This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Transient Merchant Licensing Act of 1983”.
17-49-102.Purpose.
(a)The General Assembly finds that because of the temporary nature of the business conducted by
transient merchants, consumers in the State of Arkansas are not likely to be able to obtain proper contact information to
resolve disputes with, serve legal process upon, or satisfy monetary judgments against transient merchants doing business
in the State of Arkansas.
(b)It is the purpose and intent of this subchapter to:
(1)Provide the consumers of the State of Arkansas with contact information regarding potential
monetary recourse against transient merchants; and
(2)Provide that the registration fees
and bonding requirements in this subchapter for transient merchants shall be minimum registration fees and bonding requirements
and shall not be construed to limit or restrict the authority of counties, cities, and towns in the state to levy additional
license fees and to require additional bonding for transient merchants engaged in business in counties, cities, and towns.
17-49-103.Definitions.
As used in this subchapter:
(1)“Person” means any individual, corporation, partnership, association, or other entity;
(2)“Temporary or transient business” means any business conducted for the sale or offer
for sale of goods, wares, or merchandise that is carried on in any building, structure, motor vehicle, railroad car, or real
estate for a period of less than six (6) months in each year without written evidence of a right to occupy the premises on
which a person is conducting business; and
(3)“Transient merchant” means
any person, firm, corporation, partnership, or other entity that engages in, does, or transacts any temporary or transient
business in the state, either in one (1) locality or in traveling from place to place in the state, offering for sale or selling
goods, wares, merchandise, or services.
17-49-104.Exemptions.
(a)The provisions of this subchapter shall not apply to:
(1)Sales
at wholesale to retail merchants by commercial travelers or selling agents in the usual course of business;
(2)Wholesale trade shows or conventions;
(3)Sales of goods, wares,
or merchandise by sample catalogue or brochure for future delivery;
(4)Fairs and convention
center activities conducted primarily for amusement or entertainment;
(5)Any general
sale, fair, auction, or bazaar sponsored by any church or religious organization;
(6)Garage
sales held on the premises devoted to residential use;
(7)Sales of crafts or items made
by hand and sold or offered for sale by the person making the crafts or handmade items;
(8)Sales
of agricultural products, except nursery products and foliage plants;
(9)Sales made by
a seller at residential premises pursuant to an invitation issued by the owner or legal occupant of the premises; or
(10)School-sponsored bazaars and sales, concessions at school athletic and other events, and sales
of paraphernalia used in the celebration of any nationally recognized holiday or used in connection with any public school,
university, or college-related activities, flea markets, retail fireworks establishments, gun shows, sales by charitable organizations,
sales of coins, and expositions sponsored by government entities or by nonprofit trade associations.
(b)A transient merchant not otherwise exempted from the provisions of this subchapter shall not be relieved or
exempted from the provisions of this subchapter by reason of associating himself or herself temporarily with any local dealer,
auctioneer, trader, contractor, or merchant or by conducting such temporary or transient business in connection with or in
the name of any local dealer, auctioneer, trader, contractor, or merchant.
17-49-105.Enforcement.
It
is the duty of the county sheriff and other law enforcement officers in each county and the prosecuting attorney for each
county to enforce the provisions of this subchapter
17-49-106.Registration
required — Penalty for violation.
(a)It is unlawful for any transient
merchant to transact business in any county in this state unless the merchant and the owners of any goods, wares, or merchandise
to be offered for sale or sold, if such are not owned by the merchant, shall have first secured a registration certificate
and shall have otherwise complied with the requirements of this subchapter.
(b)Any person
or entity that transacts a transient business as defined in § 17-49-103 without having first registered in accordance
with the provisions of this subchapter, or who knowingly advertises, offers for sale, or sells any goods, wares, merchandise,
or services in violation of the provisions of this subchapter, shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(c)The penalty prescribed in this section shall be in addition to any other penalties prescribed by law for any
criminal offense committed by the licensee.
17-49-107.Registration
for business.
(a)Any transient merchant desiring to transact business in any
county in this state shall register in each county in which the merchant desires to transact business.
(b)The registration shall be filed with the county clerk and shall include the following information:
(1)The name and permanent address of the transient merchant making the application and, if the
applicant is a firm or corporation, the name and address of the members of the firm or the officers of the corporation, as
the case may be;
(2)If the applicant is a corporation, there shall be stated on the application
form the date of incorporation, the state of incorporation, and, if the applicant is a corporation formed in a state other
than the State of Arkansas, the date on which the corporation qualified to transact business as a foreign corporation in the
State of Arkansas;
(3)A statement showing the kind of business proposed to be conducted,
the length of time for which the applicant desires to transact such business, and the location of the proposed place of business;
(4)The name and permanent address of the transient merchant's registered agent or office;
(5)Proof that the applicant has acquired all other required city, county, and state permits and
licenses; and
(6)There shall be attached to the application a receipt or statement showing
that any personal property taxes due on goods, wares, or merchandise to be offered for sale have been paid.
(c)The county clerk in each county shall design and cause to be printed appropriate forms for applications
for registration and for the registration certificates to be issued to applicants under this subchapter.
17-49-108.Service of process,
notice, or demand.
(a)Each registered agent designated by a transient merchant
shall be a resident of the county and shall be agent of the transient merchant upon whom any process, notice, or demand required
or permitted by law to be served upon the transient merchant may be served.
(b)The registered
agent shall agree in writing to act as such agent, and a copy of the agreement to so act shall be filed by the transient merchant
with the registration.
(c)The county clerk of each county shall maintain an alphabetical
list of all transient merchants in the county and the names and addresses of their registered agents.
(d)If any transient merchant doing business or having done business in any county within the state shall fail
to have or maintain a registered agent in the county or if the registered agent cannot be found at his or her permanent address,
the county clerk shall be an agent of the transient merchant for service of all process, notices, or demands.
(e)Service on the county clerk shall be made by delivering to and leaving with him or her, or any person
designated by the clerk to receive the service, duplicate copies of the process, notice, or demand.
(f)When any process, notice, or demand is served on the clerk, he or she shall immediately cause one (1) copy
to be forwarded by registered or certified mail to the permanent address of the transient merchant.
(g)The provisions of this section shall not limit or otherwise affect the right of any person to serve any process,
notice, or demand in any other manner now or hereafter authorized by law.
17-49-109.Registration fee and bond.
(a)Each
application for a transient merchant registration certificate shall be accompanied by a registration fee of fifty dollars
($50.00) and by a cash bond or a surety bond issued by a corporate surety authorized to do business in the state in the amount
of two thousand dollars ($2,000) or five percent (5%) of the wholesale value of any goods, wares, merchandise, or services
to be offered for sale, whichever sum is lesser.
(b)The surety bond shall be in favor
of the State of Arkansas and shall assure the payment by the applicant of all taxes that may be due from the applicant to
the state or any political subdivision of the state, the payment of any fines that may be assessed against the applicant or
its agents or employees for violation of the provisions of this subchapter, and for the satisfaction of all judgments that
may be rendered against the transient merchant or its agents or employees in any cause of action commenced by any purchaser
of goods, wares, merchandise, or services within one (1) year from the date of the sale by the transient merchant.
(c)The bonds shall be maintained so long as the transient merchant conducts business in the county
and for a period of one (1) year after the termination of the business. The bonds shall be released only when the transient
merchant furnishes satisfactory proof to the county clerk that it has satisfied all claims of purchasers of goods, wares,
merchandise, or services from the merchant and that all state and local sales taxes and other taxes have been paid.
17-49-110.Issuance and terms of registration certificate.
(a)A transient business registration certificate shall be issued under this section only when all
requirements of this subchapter have been met.
(b)The registration certificate shall:
(1)Not be transferable;
(2)Be valid only within the territorial
limits of the issuing county;
(3)Be valid only for a period of ninety (90) days; and
(4)Be valid only for the business stated in the application.
(c)A
registration certificate so issued shall be valid for only one (1) person, unless the person is a member of a partnership
or employee of a firm or corporation obtaining the registration certificate.
