(1) Definitions. In this Section, the following definitions apply:

(a) Solid Fuel. Any anthracite, semi-anthracite, bituminous, semibituminous or lignite coal, briquettes, boulets, coke, gashouse coke, petroleum coke, petroleum carbon, firewood, or any other manufactured or patented fuel not sold by liquid or metered measure;

(b) Equipped Dealer. Any person regularly engaged in the sale, or sale and delivery, of solid fuel who maintains unloading, storage and service facilities equipped with wagon or truck scales or other approved weighing or measuring devices, and who maintains an office open to the public, and regularly carries a stock of solid fuel.

(2) Exemptions. This Section does not apply to the sale or delivery of solid fuel in carload or cargo lots, nor to the sale or delivery of solid fuel in loads of less than 100 pounds in closed containers plainly marked with the correct weight of the contents and the name and address of the person who is responsible for packing the solid fuel in the container.

(3) Licenses and Permits.

(a) No person shall engage in the business of selling or delivering solid fuel in the City unless he has obtained a license from the Department of Licenses and Inspections or is exempt pursuant to § 9-502(3)(f).

(b) The annual fee for the license is $200.00.[416]

(c) Upon payment of the license fee and its approval of the application, the Department shall issue to each applicant:

(.1) a license which shall be displayed in the licensee's place of business;

(.2) a permit to operate one vehicle in the business of delivering solid fuel, with a card to be in the possession of the operator of the vehicle and a metal plate to be attached to and prominently displayed on the vehicle.

(d) A licensee who employs more than one vehicle in the business of delivering solid fuel shall obtain a permit from the Department for each additional vehicle and pay $2.00 for each additional permit issued.[417]

(e) No permit shall be issued for any vehicle unless the applicant is the owner of the vehicle or possesses it under a financing statement and has the right to its exclusive use and control within the Commonwealth. No permit shall be denied because of the existence of any lien or encumbrance on the vehicle.
(f) Any person engaged in the business of selling or delivering solid fuel shall be exempt from the license required by § 9-502(3)(a) if he:

(.1) uses no more than one vehicle in this business; and

(.2) obtains all the solid that he sells and delivers from one licensed equipped dealer who has been in business as such for at least 5 years.

(g) Any person who loses his exemption under § 9-502(2) or (3)(f) shall obtain a license within 30 days after the exemption is lost.

(h) Any person engaged in the business of selling or delivering solid fuel who is not required to have a license shall obtain a permit from the Department for the vehicle used in such business and pay $1. for the permit. The application for the permit shall contain the information required by the Department relative to the applicant's business and shall be accompanied by a statement from the equipped dealer who will sell solid fuel to the applicant.

(i) All licenses and permits issued under this Section shall expire at the end of the calendar year and pro rata reductions in fees shall not be granted.

(j) The Department may require the furnishing of information necessary to make a decision as to the issuance or refusal of licenses or permits under this Section.

(k) The Department shall, after hearing, refuse a license or permit to, or revoke the license or permit of, any person convicted of violation of any provisions of this Section upon three separate occasions. Written notice of the refusal or revocation shall be mailed to the person affected.

(4) Regulation of Sale and Delivery.

(a) All solid fuel sold or delivered in the City shall be sold by weight and all solid fuel shall be weighed within the boundaries of the City except as provided in § 9-502(4)(c). A tolerance of 30 pounds per ton of 2000 pounds shall be allowed for wastage and variation in scales.

(b) The Department shall authorize the use of the scales of all licensed equipped dealers within the City, and scales at other convenient places if necessary, for the weighing required by § 9-502(4)(a), subject to the testing and approval of the scales by the Department.

(c) An equipped dealer whose place of business is not more than 15 miles outside of the City and who normally sells and delivers solid fuel within the City may have his scales authorized by the Department for the purpose of weighing the solid fuel sold and delivered by him, by procuring the license required by § 9-502(3)(a) and submitting to the Department satisfactory evidence of the reliability of his scales.

(d) Any person engaged in the sale, or sale and delivery, of solid fuel shall, except as provided in § 9-502(4)(e), pay a fee of $.65 per load to the owner of the scales on which the load is weighed, and an additional fee of $.05 for each consignment on such load after the first. The owner of scales shall furnish weight certificates signed by his weighmaster for each consignment of solid fuel.

(e) Persons engaged in the sale, or sale and delivery, of solid fuel purchased directly from and weighed at the time of purchase on the scales of an equipped dealer shall pay no fee for such weighing and shall be furnished, without charge, weight certificates signed by the weighmaster of the equipped dealer.

(f) The owner of the scales shall pay to the Department of Collections, from the fees collected pursuant to this Section for weighing $.10 per load by the 15th day of the month following that in which the load was weighed. The owner of the scales shall keep an accurate record of all fees collected and this record shall be available for inspection by the Department of Collections.

(g) Each separate consignment of solid fuel sold or delivered in the City shall be accompanied by a weight certificate showing the name and address of the person selling or delivering the solid fuel, the name and address of the consignee, the net weight of the consignment, and the signature of the weighmaster. One copy of the weight certificate shall be retained by the person selling the solid fuel and one shall be left with the consignee. These weight certificates shall be retained by the owner of the scales and by the person selling the solid fuel for two years and shall be available for inspection by the Department of Licenses and Inspections and the Department of Collections.

(h) No solid fuel shall be delivered in the City before 7 A.M. or after 7 P.M. or on Sunday without permission from the Department, except that the owner or operator of a vehicle engaged in the delivery of solid fuel after 7 P.M. shall not be in violation of this Section if the vehicle left its point of loading not later than 5 P.M. of the same day or the delivery began before 7 P.M. and the delay was unavoidable.

(i) The Department may inspect the weight of any solid fuel ready for or in process of delivery and may direct the person in charge of the vehicle to convey it to the nearest available scales operated by a weighmaster designated by the Department. The Department shall determine the gross weight of the solid fuel and the vehicle on which it is carried, and shall direct the person in charge of the vehicle to return to the scales immediately after unloading the solid fuel. Upon the return the Department shall determine the weight of the vehicle without load and the net weight of the solid fuel delivered.

(j) Any person in charge of a vehicle containing solid fuel, or from which solid fuel has been unloaded, shall comply with the orders of the department pursuant to this Section.