(1) Any person who is a nonresident of the state, who does not have a dealer’s contract from the manufacturer or manufacturer’s distributor of motor vehicles, mobile homes, or recreational vehicles authorizing the sale thereof in definite Florida territory, and who sells or engages in the business of selling said vehicles at retail within the state shall register with the Department of Revenue for a sales tax dealer registration number and comply with chapter 212, and pay a license tax of $2,000 per annum in each county where such sales are made; $1,250 of said tax shall be transmitted to the Department of Financial Services to be deposited in the General Revenue Fund of the state, and $750 thereof shall be returned to the county. The license tax shall cover the period from January 1 to the following December 31, and no such license shall be issued for any fractional part of a year.

(2) The acceptance by any person of a license under this section shall be deemed equivalent to an appointment by such person of the Secretary of State as the agent of such person upon whom may be served all lawful process in any action, suit, or proceeding against such person arising out of any transaction or operation connected with or incidental to any activities of such person carried on under such license, and the acceptance of such license shall be signification of the agreement of such person that any process against the person which is so served shall be of the same legal force and validity as if served personally on him or her. Service of such process shall be in accordance with and in the same manner as now provided for service of process upon nonresidents under the provisions of chapter 48.

History.—s. 1, ch. 20851, 1941; s. 2, ch. 57-388; ss. 12, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 30, ch. 77-357; s. 2, ch. 81-318; ss. 2, 20, ch. 88-147; ss. 20, 21, ch. 88-395; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 375, ch. 95-148; s. 361, ch. 2003-261.