Any public service company which fails or refuses to prepare and deliver to the Department of Revenue any report required by this Article shall forfeit and pay to the State of North Carolina one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each day the report is delayed beyond the date on which it is required to be submitted. This penalty may be recovered in an action in the appropriate division of the General Court of Justice of Wake County in the name of the State on the relation of the Secretary of Revenue. When collected, the penalty  shall be paid into the general fund of the State. The Secretary shall  have the power to reduce or waive the penalty provided in this section for good cause. (1939, c. 310, s. 1606; 1971, c. 806, s. 1; 1973, c. 476, s. 193.)