Tennessee § 38-1-202 - Holding period before transfer or alteration of purchased items.

§ 38-1-202. Holding period before transfer or alteration of purchased items.

It is unlawful for any person or corporation engaging in the activity described in § 38-1-201 to sell, exchange, barter or remove from the place in which such business is conducted, or to change the form of any such items by remounting, melting, cutting up, or otherwise changing the form of any such items for a period of twenty (20) days from the date of purchase; provided, however, that the person or corporation may remove the items for the purpose of holding the items in a secure location, including a storage facility or bank vault, for the required twenty-day period. This section does not apply to persons or corporations engaged in the reclamation of precious metals through the reprocessing of used film or other similar materials that in their original form contain precious metals but were not intended to be items of jewelry, or become antiques or be marketed exclusively for the precious metals contained in the materials. No person acting as a buyer or dealer under this section shall purchase any item covered by this section from a person under eighteen (18) years of age, nor accept any item covered by this section from anyone who appears intoxicated, nor from any person known to the person to be a thief, or to have been convicted of larceny, burglary or robbery, without first notifying a police officer. Any person acting as a buyer or dealer under this section shall exercise due care to comply with this section. No person acting as a buyer or dealer under this section shall take any item covered by this section under a buy-sell agreement, when the article is known to the person to be stolen. Acts 1980, ch. 766, § 2; 1981, ch. 424, §§ 1, 2; T.C.A., § 38-607; Acts 1985, ch. 311, § 1; 1992, ch. 943, § 1; 2009, ch. 282, § 1; 2012, ch. 675, § 1; 2014, ch. 632, § 1. Compiler's Notes. The offense in this section may have been affected by the Criminal Sentencing Reform Act of 1989. See §§ 39-11-114 , 40-35-110 , 40-35-111 . Amendments. The 2014 amendment added the proviso to the first sentence of (a). Effective Dates. Acts 2014, ch. 632, § 2. April 4, 2014. Attorney General Opinions. Holding period location requirements of scrap jewelry and metal dealer's act of 1980. OAG 11-69, 2011 Tenn. AG LEXIS 71 (9/15/2011). Pawnbroker compliance with scrap jewelry and metal dealers act. OAG 12-101, 2012 Tenn. AG LEXIS 102 (10/31/12).