When any tax provided for in this chapter becomes delinquent, the commissioner shall issue warrants directed to the sheriff of any county wherein the same, or any part thereof accrued, for the collection of said tax, interest, and penalty; and the sheriff to whom said warrant is directed, shall proceed to levy upon the property, assets, and effects of the person liable for such tax, and shall sell the same and make return thereof, as upon execution. The state of North Dakota, through the commissioner, is authorized to make bids at any such sale to the amount of tax, penalty, and costs accrued.
N.D.C.C. § 57-51-12