Ohio Code 5743.61 – License required for distribution of tobacco or vapor products – suspension of license
(A)(1) No distributor or vapor distributor shall engage in the business of distributing tobacco products, vapor products, or both within this state without having a license issued by the department of taxation to engage in that business.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 5743.61
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
- Distributor: means :
(1) Any manufacturer who sells, barters, exchanges, or distributes tobacco products to a retail dealer in the state, except when selling to a retail dealer that has filed with the manufacturer a signed statement agreeing to pay and be liable for the tax imposed by section 5743. See Ohio Code 5743.01
- in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures; this provision does not affect any law relating to signatures. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Person: includes individuals, firms, partnerships, associations, joint-stock companies, corporations, combinations of individuals of any form, and the state and any of its political subdivisions. See Ohio Code 5743.01
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
- Vapor distributor: means any person that:
(1) Sells vapor products to a retail dealer;
(2) Is a retail dealer that receives vapor products with respect to which the tax imposed by this chapter has not or will not be paid by another person that is a vapor distributor;
(3) Is a secondary manufacturer;
(4) Is a wholesale dealer located in this state that receives vapor products from a manufacturer, or receives vapor products on which the tax imposed by this chapter has not been paid;
(5) Is a wholesale dealer located outside this state that sells vapor products to a wholesale dealer in this state. See Ohio Code 5743.01
(2) On the dissolution of a partnership by death, the surviving partner may operate under the license of the partnership until the expiration of the license, and the heirs or legal representatives of deceased persons, and receivers and trustees in bankruptcy appointed by any competent authority, may operate under the license of the person succeeded in possession by the heir, representative, receiver, or trustee in bankruptcy if the partner or successor notifies the department of taxation of the dissolution or succession within thirty days after the dissolution or succession.
(B)(1) Each applicant for a license described by division (A)(1) of this section, annually, on or before the first day of February, shall make and deliver to the tax commissioner, upon a form furnished by the commissioner for that purpose, a statement showing the name of the applicant, each physical place from which the applicant distributes to distributors, vapor distributors, retail dealers, or wholesale dealers, and any other information the commissioner considers necessary for the administration of sections 5743.51 to 5743.66 of the Revised Code.
(2) At the time of making the application for a license to engage either in the business of distributing tobacco products or in the business of distributing both tobacco products and vapor products, the applicant shall pay an application fee of one thousand dollars for each place listed on the application where the applicant proposes to carry on that business. The application fee for a license to engage solely in the business of distributing vapor products shall be one hundred twenty-five dollars for each place listed on the application where the applicant proposes to carry on that business. The fee charged for the application shall accompany the application and shall be made payable to the treasurer of state for deposit into the cigarette tax enforcement fund.
(3) Upon receipt of the application and payment of any licensing fee required by this section, the commissioner shall verify that the applicant has filed all returns, submitted all information, and paid all outstanding taxes, charges, or fees as required for any taxes, charges, or fees administered by the commissioner, to the extent the commissioner is aware of the returns, information, taxes, charges, or fees at the time of the application. Upon approval, the commissioner shall issue to the applicant a license for each place of distribution designated in the application authorizing the applicant to engage in business at that location for one year commencing on the first day of February. For licenses issued after the first day of February, the license application fee shall be reduced proportionately by the remainder of the twelve-month period for which the license is issued, except that the application fee required to be paid under this section shall be not less than two hundred dollars. If the original license is lost, destroyed, or defaced, a duplicate license may be obtained from the commissioner upon payment of a license replacement fee of twenty-five dollars.
(C) The holder of a tobacco or vapor products license may transfer the license to a place of business on condition that the licensee’s ownership and business structure remains unchanged and the licensee applies to the commissioner for the transfer on a form issued by the commissioner, and pays a transfer fee of twenty-five dollars.
(D) If a distributor or vapor distributor fails to file forms as required under Chapter 1346. or section 5743.52 of the Revised Code or pay the tax due for two consecutive periods or three periods during any twelve-month period, the commissioner may suspend the license issued to the distributor or vapor distributor under this section. The suspension is effective ten days after the commissioner notifies the distributor or vapor distributor of the suspension in writing in the manner provided in section 5703.37 of the Revised Code. The commissioner shall lift the suspension when the distributor or vapor distributor files the delinquent forms and pays the tax due, including any penalties, interest, and additional charges. The commissioner may refuse to issue the annual renewal of the license required by this section and may refuse to issue a new license for a location of the distributor until all delinquent forms are filed and outstanding taxes are paid. This division does not apply to any unpaid or underpaid tax liability that is the subject of a petition or appeal filed pursuant to section 5743.56, 5717.02, or 5717.04 of the Revised Code.
(E)(1) The tax commissioner may impose a penalty of up to one thousand dollars on any person found to be engaging in the business of distributing tobacco products or vapor products without a license as required by this section.
(2) Any person engaging in the business of distributing tobacco products or vapor products without a license as required by this section shall comply with divisions (B)(1) and (2) of this section within ten days after being notified of the requirement to do so. Failure to comply with division (E)(2) of this section subjects a person to penalties imposed under section 5743.99 of the Revised Code.
Last updated October 6, 2023 at 2:49 PM