INSURANCE. 283

amined by an examiner or examiners appointed by the Commissioner and
a report of the examination filed with the aforesaid papers, the cost of
such examination to be paid by the company examined; and sixthly, there
shall have been granted by the Commissioner a license or certificate of
authority to said corporation.

An. Code, 1924, sec. 33. 1922, ch. 492, sec. 33. 1927, ch. 394, sec. 33.

33. Conditions Precedent to Beginning Business. No person shall act
as agent or solicitor in this State for any insurance company in any man-
ner whatever relating; to insurance risks, until all the provisions of this
article relating thereto have been complied with, and there has been
granted by the insurance commissioner a certificate of authority or license
to said company. All such licenses shall be issued annually on the first
day July for the period of one year, upon the payment of the license fee
hereinafter specified. All licenses issued for a period less than a year, ex-
cept in the case of domestic companies embraced within the provisions
of Section 38, shall pay pro rata for such fractional part of the year. Pro-
vided, however, that all such licenses to be issued January 1, 1928, shall
be issued and paid for pro rata for the period of eighteen months ending
June 30, 1929.

An. Code, 1924, sec. 39. 1922, ch. 492, sec. 39. 1922, ch. 547.
39. ¹ Tax on Premiums. Every insurance company (including Fidel-
ity, Surety, Casualty, Liability, Compensation, Livestock and Miscellane-
ous companies), other than such as may be chartered under the laws of
the State of Maryland, and every company of this State writing fidelity,
surety, casualty, liability, and compensation insurance, shall pay annu-
ally to the Insurance Commissioner a tax on gross premiums written in
this State during the preceding year, without deduction for any cause
whatever except as herein provided, which said tax shall be at the rate of
two per cent, for foreign companies on their fire or marine insurance
writings, at the rate of one per cent, for all companies, foreign and domes-
tic, on their fidelity, surety, casualty, liability, and compensation insurance
writings, and at the rate of one and one-half per cent, for foreign compa-
nies on insurance writing other than those above mentioned. A report
under oath of the premiums so written during the preceding year must
be made to the Insurance Commissioner in January of each year by the
chief accounting officer or officers of such company. The Insurance Com-
missioner, in computing taxes upon premiums written in this State by in-
surance companies shall allow credit for return premiums on cancelled
policies and for premiums on reinsurance effected in companies authorized
to do business in this State.

An. Code, 1924, sec. 40. 1922, ch. 492, sec. 40. 1929, ch. 424.
40. Miscellaneous Fees. Every insurance company doing business in
this State shall also pay the following fees to the Insurance Commissioner:

¹ Through inadvertence the amendment to this section by ch. 547 of the acts of
1922 was not included in the 1924 Edition of the Code.