§249-10  Delinquent penalties; seizure and
sale for tax.  (a)  Any tax imposed by sections 249-1 to 249-13 for any
year and not paid when due, shall become delinquent and a penalty shall be
added to, and become part of, the delinquent tax.  The amount of the
delinquency penalty shall be established by the county's legislative body.  If
the date that the tax is due is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the tax
shall become delinquent at the end of the next day that is not a Saturday,
Sunday, or legal holiday.  The director of finance may require the payment of
any delinquent tax and penalty as a condition precedent to the registration,
renewal, or transfer of ownership of such vehicle.  Any vehicle not having the
number plates required by sections 249-1 to 249-13, or any vehicle upon which
taxes are delinquent as provided in this section, may be seized, wherever
found, by the director of finance or by any police officer, and held for a
period of ten days, during which time the vehicle shall be subject to redemption
by its owner by payment of the taxes due, together with the delinquent
penalties and the cost of storage and other charges incident to the seizure of
the vehicle.  The director of finance, chief of police, or any police officer
shall be deemed to have seized and taken possession of any vehicle, after
having securely sealed it where located and posted a notice upon the vehicle,
setting forth the fact that it has been seized for taxes and warning all other
persons from molesting it under penalty provided by section 249-11.



(b)  All vehicles seized and sealed shall
remain at the place of seizure or at any other place that the director of
finance may direct, at the expense and risk of the owner.  If the owner of the
vehicle fails to redeem it within ten days after seizure, the vehicle may be
sold by the director of finance at public auction to the highest bidder for
cash, after giving ten days public notice in the county and by posting notices
in at least three public places in the district where the vehicle was seized;
provided that the requirements of public auction may be waived when the
appraised value of any vehicle is less than $250 as determined by the director
of finance or authorized representative, in which case the vehicle may be
disposed of in the same manner as when a vehicle is put up for public auction
and for which no bid is received.  The amount realized at the sale, less the
amount of the tax and penalty due, together with all costs incurred in giving
public notice, storing, and selling the vehicle and all other charges incident
to the seizure and sale, shall be paid to the owner of the vehicle.  If no
claim for the surplus is filed with the director of finance within sixty days
from the date of the sale, the surplus shall be paid into the county treasury
as a government realization and all claim to that sum shall thereafter be
forever barred.



(c)  The owner of any antique motor vehicle
shall be exempt from the tax and delinquent penalty imposed under this chapter
for the entire period of nonuse; provided that the owner of the antique motor
vehicle shall first present to the director of finance a signed and sworn
certificate attesting to the antique motor vehicle's period of nonuse. [RL
1935, pt of §2157; am L 1937, c 214, §1, subs 7; RL 1945, §5711; am L 1951, c
162, §5; RL 1955, §130-10; HRS §249-10; am L 1982, c 295, §1; am L 1989, c 158,
§2; am L 1993, c 151, §1; am L 1995, c 164, §1; am L 1998, c 2, §71]



 



Case Notes



 



  As this section does not create the offense of expired weight
tax or delinquent motor vehicle tax, motorist was improperly found
"guilty" of violating this section and part of judgment that found
motorist "guilty" of delinquent motor vehicle tax reversed.  107 H.
519 (App.), 115 P.3d 698.