Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:924 – A. The commissioner shall post on the website maintained by the office of alcohol and tobacco control the minimum wholesale and retail prices schedule of each cigarette brand within
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:924
- Cigarette: includes any roll for smoking made wholly or in part of tobacco, irrespective of size or shape and irrespective of the tobacco being flavored, adulterated, or mixed with any other ingredient, where such roll has a wrapper or cover made of paper, or any other material except where such wrapper is wholly or in greater part made of tobacco. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:901
- Commissioner: means the commissioner of alcohol and tobacco control. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:901
- Dealer: includes every person who manufactures or purchases cigars, cigarettes, or other tobacco products for distribution or resale in this state. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:901
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Manufacturer: means anyone engaged in the manufacture, production, or foreign importation of tobacco products who sells to wholesalers. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:901
- Markup: The process by which congressional committees and subcommittees debate, amend, and rewrite proposed legislation.
- Replacement cost: means the cost per unit at which the merchandise sold or offered for sale could have been bought by the seller at any time within thirty days prior to the date of sale or the date upon which it is offered for sale by the seller if bought in the same quantity as the seller's last purchase of the merchandise. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:901
- Retail dealer: includes every dealer other than a wholesale dealer, or manufacturer who sells or offers for sale cigars, cigarettes, other tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products, irrespective of quantity or the number of sales. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:901
- 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 26:901
- sell: means any transfer, exchange, or barter in any manner or by any means for any consideration. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:901
- Stamp: means the impression, device, stamp, label, or print manufactured or printed as prescribed by the secretary by the use of which the tax levied hereunder is paid. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:901
- Wholesale dealer: means a dealer whose principal business is that of a wholesaler, who sells cigarettes, cigars, other tobacco products, vapor products, or alternative nicotine products to retail dealers for the purpose of resale, who is a bona fide wholesaler, and fifty percent of whose total tobacco, vapor, and alternative nicotine sales are to retail stores other than its own or those of its subsidiaries or parent companies within Louisiana. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:901
A. The commissioner shall post on the website maintained by the office of alcohol and tobacco control the minimum wholesale and retail prices schedule of each cigarette brand within five business days of the effective date of the manufacturer‘s, importer’s, or sales entity affiliate‘s price change.
B. Every manufacturer, importer, or sales entity affiliate of cigarettes sold within Louisiana shall notify the commissioner, in writing, of any price change to any cigarette brand resulting from trade discounts, rebates, or coupons by the twenty-eighth day of the month preceding the effective date of the price changes resulting from trade discounts, rebates, or coupons and any such price change shall be valid for at least thirty days. Any price change not provided to the commissioner as required herein shall not be included in the commissioner’s price schedule and shall not be computed in determining the minimum retail prices for the product. No wholesale or retail dealer shall sell any cigarette brand at any price less than allowed in the minimum pricing schedule provided by the commissioner.
C. The minimum wholesale and retail price of all cigarettes sold within Louisiana shall be computed as follows:
(1) “Cost to the wholesaler” means the invoice cost or the replacement cost of the merchandise to the wholesaler, whichever is lower:
(a) Less all trade discounts except customary discounts for cash and discounts from the state or any governmental agency allowed for the payment of collection of any taxes;
(b) Plus the cost of doing business by the wholesaler, including freight charges and cartage costs presumed to be one percent of the invoice cost of cigarettes, and any fraction of cent shall be rounded to the next highest cent;
(c) Plus any existing tobacco stamp excise tax;
(d) Plus a markup of three percent; and
(e) Less any coupons or rebates, as defined in this Chapter which are required, either directly or indirectly, to be passed on to the retail dealer.
(2) “Cost to the retailer” means the invoice cost or the replacement cost of the merchandise to the retailer, whichever is lower:
(a) Less all trade discounts;
(b) Plus the cost of doing business by the retailer including freight charges and cartage, presumed to be one percent of the invoice cost of cigarettes, and any fraction of cent shall be rounded to the next highest cent;
(c) Plus a markup of six percent; and
(d) Less any coupons, rebates, or other incentives, as defined in this Chapter, which are required, either directly or indirectly, to be passed on to the retail dealer and are ultimately refunded to the retailer by the manufacturer, importer, sales entity affiliate, or wholesale dealer.
(3) In determining “cost to the retailer” in those cases where the retailer buys at wholesale and receives the wholesalers’ profits and discounts on merchandise to be sold at retail, both the wholesale markup of three percent and the retail markup of six percent, in the absence of proof of a lesser cost, shall be added to cover a proportionate part of the cost of doing business.
(4) When one or more items are advertised, offered for sale, or sold with one or more other items at a combined price, or are advertised, offered as a gift, or given with the sale of one or more items, each and all of the items shall for the purposes of this Subsection be considered, advertised, offered for sale, or sold, and the price of each item shall be governed by the provisions set forth herein.
(5) “Cost to the retailer” and “cost to the wholesaler” as defined by this Chapter means bona fide costs. Purchases made by retailers and wholesalers at prices which cannot be justified by prevailing market conditions within this state shall not be used in determining “cost to the retailer” and “cost to the wholesaler”.
(6) Failure to comply with these provisions may result in penalties up to and including the suspension or revocation of the wholesale or retail dealer’s permit.
Acts 1997, No. 1370, §2, eff. Oct. 1, 1997; Acts 2006, No. 454, §1, eff. June 15, 2006; Acts 2015, No. 406, §1.