Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:5075 – Reporting of information; escrow installments
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:5075
- Brand family: means all styles of cigarettes sold under the same trade mark and differentiated from one another by means of additional modifiers or descriptors, including but not limited to "menthol" "lights" "kings" and "100s" and includes any brand name (alone or in conjunction with any other word), trademark, logo, symbol, motto, selling message, recognizable pattern of colors, or any other indicia of product identification identical or similar to, or identifiable with, a previously known brand of cigarettes. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:5072
- Commissioner: means the commissioner of alcohol and tobacco control. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:5072
- Days: means calendar days unless otherwise specified. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:5072
- Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
- Importer: means any person in the United States to whom non-tax-paid cigarettes manufactured in a foreign country are shipped or consigned, any person who removes cigarettes for sale or consumption in the United States from a customs bonded manufacturing warehouse, and any person who smuggles or otherwise unlawfully brings cigarettes into the United States. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:5072
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Nonparticipating manufacturer: means any tobacco product manufacturer that is not a participating manufacturer. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:5072
- Sales Entity Affiliate: means an entity that sells cigarettes that it acquires directly from a manufacturer or importer and is affiliated with that manufacturer or importer as established by documentation received directly from that manufacturer or importer to the satisfaction of the attorney general. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:5072
- Secretary: means the head of the Department of Revenue, which is the agency responsible for collection of the excise tax on cigarettes. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:5072
- Stamping agent: means a dealer that is authorized to affix tax stamps to packages or other containers of cigarettes under Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:5072
A. Not later than twenty calendar days after the end of each calendar month, and more frequently if so directed by the secretary or the attorney general, each stamping agent shall submit such information as the secretary and attorney general require to facilitate compliance with this Part, including but not limited to a list by brand family of the total number of cigarettes, or, in the case of roll your own, the equivalent stick count, purchased from tobacco product manufacturers during the previous calendar month or otherwise paid the tax due for such cigarettes. The stamping agent shall maintain and make available to the secretary and the attorney general all invoices and documentation of purchases and sales of all tobacco product manufacturer cigarettes and any other information relied upon in reporting to the secretary and the attorney general for a period of three years.
B. The requirements of Subsection A of this Section shall be satisfied if the stamping agent timely submits to the secretary and attorney general reports required generally under La. Rev. Stat. 47:841 et seq. and this Chapter and certifies that the reports are complete and accurate.
C.(1) Each manufacturer and importer that sells any cigarettes in or into the state shall, within twenty days following the end of the month, file a report on a form to be prescribed by the attorney general and certify that the report is complete and accurate. The report shall contain the following information: (a) The total number of cigarettes sold by that manufacturer or importer in or into the state during that month, identified by name and number of cigarettes. (b) manufacturers of those cigarettes. (c) The brand families of those cigarettes. (d) The purchasers of those cigarettes.
(2) A manufacturer’s or importer’s report shall include cigarettes sold in or into the state through its sales entity affiliate.
D. The requirements of Subsection C of this Section shall be satisfied and no further report shall be required under this Section with respect to cigarettes if the manufacturer or importer timely submits to the attorney general and secretary the report or reports required to be submitted by it with respect to those cigarettes under 15 U.S.C. § 376 to the attorney general and certifies that the reports are complete and accurate.
E. Upon request by the attorney general, a manufacturer or importer shall provide copies of reports filed in other states containing information similar to those provided by Subsections A and C of this Section.
F. Any reports submitted to the secretary or commissioner under La. Rev. Stat. 47:841 et seq. or La. Rev. Stat. 26:901 et seq. shall also be submitted contemporaneously to the attorney general.
G. The secretary is authorized to disclose to the attorney general any information received under this Part and requested by the attorney general for purposes of determining compliance with and enforcing the provisions of this Part. The secretary, attorney general, and commissioner shall share with each other the information received under this Part and may share such information with other federal, state, or local taxing agencies or law enforcement authorities only for purposes of enforcement of this Part, La. Rev. Stat. 13:5061 et seq., or corresponding laws of other states. Additionally, the sharing of information by the secretary under this Chapter shall not constitute a violation of La. Rev. Stat. 47:1508.
H. The attorney general may require at any time from the nonparticipating manufacturer, proof from the financial institution in which such manufacturer has established a qualified escrow fund for the purpose of compliance with La. Rev. Stat. 13:5061 et seq., of the amount of money in such fund, exclusive of interest, the amount and date of each deposit to such fund, and the amount and date of each withdrawal from such fund.
I. In addition to the information required to be submitted pursuant to this Part and La. Rev. Stat. 13:5061 et seq. or La. Rev. Stat. 47:843 et seq., the secretary and the attorney general may require a stamping agent or tobacco product manufacturer to submit any additional information including but not limited to samples of the packaging or labeling of each brand family, as is necessary to enable the attorney general to determine whether a tobacco product manufacturer is in compliance with this Part.
J. All escrow deposits under La. Rev. Stat. 13:5061 et seq. shall be made on a quarterly basis, no later than forty-five days after the end of each calendar quarter in which the sales are made. Each failure to make a full quarterly installment deposit shall constitute a separate violation of the state’s escrow laws. The secretary and the attorney general may require production of information sufficient to enable the attorney general to determine the adequacy of the amount of the installment deposit. The attorney general shall promptly review the amount deposited by each nonparticipating manufacturer for each calendar quarter against the reports received and other information and shall provide notice to each nonparticipating manufacturer for which it concludes that an additional deposit was owed.
K. Importers of any brand families of a nonparticipating manufacturer in or into the state shall be jointly and severally liable with the nonparticipating manufacturer for all obligations to place funds into a qualified escrow fund, for payment of all civil penalties and for payment of all reasonable costs and expenses of investigation and prosecution, including attorney fees, and shall consent to personal jurisdiction in Louisiana for the purposes of claims by the state for payment of such obligations.
L.(1) Each manufacturer that sells cigarettes in the state and each importer that imports cigarettes into the state shall do either of the following:
(a) Submit its federal returns to the attorney general by sixty days after the close of the quarter in which the returns were filed.
(b) Submit to the United States Treasury a request or consent under Internal Revenue Code Section 6103(c) authorizing the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and, in the case of a foreign manufacturer or importer, the United States Customs Service to disclose the manufacturer’s or importer’s federal returns to the attorney general as of sixty days after the close of the quarter in which the returns were filed.
(2) For purposes of this Subsection, “federal returns” mean all federal excise tax returns and all monthly operational reports on Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau Form 5210.5, and all adjustments, changes, and amendments to the foregoing.
Acts 2004, No. 544, §1, eff. June 25, 2004; Acts 2013, No. 221, §1; Acts 2014, No. 358, §1.