(a) Every retailer engaged in the retail sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products upon which a tax is required to be paid under this chapter shall obtain a retail tobacco permit.
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Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-2.5

  • Attorney general: means the state attorney general or deputy attorneys general. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-1
  • Cigarette: means any roll for smoking made wholly or in part of tobacco, irrespective of size and shape and whether or not the tobacco is flavored, adulterated, or mixed with any other ingredient, the wrapper or cover of which is made of paper or any other substance or material except tobacco. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-1
  • county: includes the city and county of Honolulu. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 1-22
  • Dealer: means any person coming into the possession of cigarettes or tobacco products which have not been acquired from an authorized permit holder or licensee under this chapter, or any person rendering a distribution service who buys and maintains, at the person's place of business, a stock of cigarettes or tobacco products that have not been acquired from a licensee and who distributes or uses such cigarettes or tobacco products. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-1
  • Department: means the department of taxation. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-1
  • distribution: means to sell, ship, transfer, give, or deliver to another, or to leave, barter, or exchange with another, or to offer or agree to do the same. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-1
  • E-liquid: means any liquid or like substance, which may or may not contain nicotine, that is designed or intended to be used in an electronic smoking device, whether or not packaged in a cartridge or other container. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-1
  • Entity: means one or more individuals, a company, corporation, a partnership, an association, or any other type of legal entity. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-1
  • Permittee: means the holder of a retail tobacco permit in accordance with this chapter. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-1
  • place of business: means the entire premises occupied by a retail tobacco permit applicant or an entity required to hold a retail tobacco permit under this chapter and shall include but is not limited to any store, stand, outlet, vehicle, cart, location, vending machine, or structure from which cigarettes or tobacco products are sold or distributed to a consumer. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-1
  • Possession: means knowingly having direct physical control at a given time or knowingly having the power and the intention, at a given time, to exercise dominion or control, either directly or through another entity. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-1
  • Retail tobacco permit: means a permit granted under this chapter that authorizes an entity to engage in the business of selling cigarettes and tobacco products to consumers. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-1
  • Retailer: means an entity that engages in the practice of selling cigarettes or tobacco products to consumers and includes the owner of a cigarette or tobacco product vending machine. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-1
  • Sale: includes every act of selling and includes any sale or act of selling that originates from any order that is placed or submitted by means of a telephonic or other method of voice transmission, the mail, or any other delivery service, or the Internet or other online service. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-1
  • Sell: means to:

    (1) Solicit and receive an order for;

    (2) Have, keep, offer, or expose for sale;

    (3) Deliver for value or deliver in any other way than purely gratuitously;

    (4) Peddle;

    (5) Keep with intent to sell; and

    (6) Traffic in. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-1

  • sold: includes any delivery of cigarettes or tobacco products, whether cash is actually paid therefor or not. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-1
  • Stamp: means a stamp printed, manufactured, or made by authority of the department, as provided in this chapter, that is issued, sold, or circulated by the department, and by the use of which the tax levied under this chapter is paid. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-1
  • Tobacco products: means :

    (1) Tobacco in any form, other than cigarettes or little cigars, that is prepared or intended for consumption or for personal use by humans, including large cigars and any substitutes thereof other than cigarettes that bear the semblance thereof, snuff, chewing or smokeless tobacco, and smoking or pipe tobacco; or
    (2) Electronic smoking devices; or
    (3) E-liquid. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-1
  • Wholesaler: means a person rendering a distribution service who buys and maintains, at the person's place of business, a stock of cigarettes or tobacco products that the person uses, possesses, or distributes only to retailers, or other wholesalers, or both. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 245-1
(b) It shall be unlawful for any retailer engaged in the retail sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products upon which a tax is required to be paid under this chapter to sell, possess, keep, acquire, distribute, or transport cigarettes or other tobacco products for retail sale unless a retail tobacco permit has been issued to the retailer under this section and the retail tobacco permit is in full force and effect.
(c) The retail tobacco permit shall be issued by the department upon application by the retailer in the form and manner prescribed by the department, and the payment of a fee of $50. Permits shall be valid for one year, from December1 to November 30, and renewable annually. Whenever a retail tobacco permit is defaced, destroyed, or lost, or the permittee relocates the permittee’s business, the department may issue a duplicate retail tobacco permit to the permittee for a fee of $5 per copy.
(d) A separate retail tobacco permit shall be obtained for each place of business owned, controlled, or operated by a retailer. In seeking a retail tobacco permit, the applicant shall specify whether each place of business sells electronic smoking devices, e-liquid, or both. A retailer that owns or controls more than one place of business may submit a single application for more than one retail tobacco permit. Each retail tobacco permit issued shall clearly describe the place of business where the operation of the business is conducted and whether the place of business sells electronic smoking devices, e-liquid, or both.
(e) Any entity that operates as a dealer or wholesaler and also sells cigarettes or other tobacco products to consumers at retail shall acquire a separate retail tobacco permit.
(f) A retail tobacco permit shall be nonassignable and nontransferable from one entity to another entity. A retail tobacco permit may be transferred from one business location to another business location after an application has been filed with the department requesting that transfer and approval has been obtained from the department.
(g) A retail tobacco permit issued under this section shall be displayed at all times in a conspicuous place at the place of business requiring the retail tobacco permit.
(h) Any sales of cigarettes or tobacco products made through a cigarette or tobacco product vending machine are subject to the terms, conditions, and penalties of this chapter. A retail tobacco permit need not be displayed on cigarette or tobacco product vending machines if the retail tobacco permit holder is the owner of the cigarette or tobacco product vending machines and the cigarette or tobacco product vending machines are operated at the location described in the retail tobacco permit.
(i) No retailer shall purchase any pack of cigarettes without the appropriate tax stamp being affixed to the bottom of the pack as required by this chapter.
(j) A vehicle from which cigarettes or tobacco products are sold is considered a place of business and requires a retail tobacco permit. Retail tobacco permits for a vehicle shall be issued bearing a specific motor vehicle identification number and are valid only when physically carried in the vehicle having the corresponding motor vehicle identification number. Retail tobacco permits for vehicles shall not be moved from one vehicle to another.
(k) A permittee shall be subject to the inspection and investigation requirements of this chapter and shall provide the department or the attorney general with any information deemed necessary to verify compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
(l) A permittee shall keep a complete and accurate record of the permittee’s cigarette or tobacco product inventory. The records shall:

(1) Include:

(A) A written statement containing the name and address of the permittee’s source of its cigarettes and tobacco products;
(B) The date of delivery, quantity, trade name or brand, and price of the cigarettes and tobacco products; and
(C) Documentation in the form of any purchase orders, invoices, bills of lading, other written statements, books, papers, or records in whatever format, including electronic format, which substantiate the purchase or acquisition of the cigarettes and tobacco products stored or offered for sale; and
(2) Be offered for inspection and examination within twenty-four hours of demand by the department or the attorney general, and shall be preserved for a period of five years; provided that:

(A) Specified records may be destroyed if the department and the attorney general both consent to their destruction within the five-year period; and
(B) Either the department or the attorney general may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 that require specified records to be kept longer than a period of five years.
(m) The department may suspend, revoke, or decline to renew any retail tobacco permit issued under this chapter whenever the department finds that the applicant or permittee has failed to comply with this chapter or any rule adopted under this chapter, or for any other good cause. Good cause includes but is not limited to instances where an applicant or permittee has:

(1) Submitted a false or fraudulent application or provided a false statement in an application;
(2) Possessed or displayed a false or fraudulent retail tobacco permit;
(3) Failed to comply with, violated, or been convicted of violating any county, state, or federal law directly pertaining to the sale, importation, acquisition, possession, stamping, distribution, transportation, or smuggling of cigarettes, counterfeit cigarettes, counterfeit tax stamps, or other tobacco products; or
(4) Failed to maintain complete and accurate records when and if required to be kept.

Upon suspending or revoking any retail tobacco permit, the department may request that the permittee immediately surrender any retail tobacco permit or duplicate issued to or printed by the permittee, and the permittee shall surrender the permit or duplicate promptly to the department as requested.

(n) Whenever the department suspends, revokes, or declines to renew a retail tobacco permit, the department shall notify the applicant or permittee immediately and afford the applicant or permittee a hearing, if requested; provided that a hearing has not already been afforded. The department shall provide no less than thirty days’ notice to the applicant or permittee of a hearing afforded under this subsection. After the hearing, the department shall:

(1) Rescind its order of suspension;
(2) Continue the suspension;
(3) Revoke the retail tobacco permit;
(4) Rescind its order of revocation;
(5) Decline to renew the retail tobacco permit; or
(6) Renew the retail tobacco permit.
(o) Any cigarette, package of cigarettes, carton of cigarettes, container of cigarettes, tobacco product, package of tobacco products, or any container of tobacco products unlawfully sold, possessed, kept, stored, acquired, distributed, or transported in violation of this section may be seized and ordered forfeited pursuant to chapter 712A.

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