It shall be the duty of all persons, firms and corporations, and all business establishments of every kind, engaged in the wholesale business of selling merchandise in this state, to furnish in written form upon request of the Commissioner of this state, the name or names of any retailer or retailers, or other persons to whom such sales have been made, together with the amount of such sales for any given period, to be used by the Commissioner or his agents, for the purposes of collecting tax as may be due this state.