La. R.S. 47:851 — Monthly reports required; dealers receiving unstamped cigarettes, cigars, and smoking

tobaccos; dealers receiving certain items for which taxes are not paid; vending
machine restrictions
A. General requirements. All purchases of cigars, cigarettes, and smoking tobaccos
by any tobacco dealer shall be evidenced by an invoice from the seller correctly showing the
date of the purchase and the quantity of each of said articles purchased by said dealer. Every
tobacco dealer shall, at the time of shipping or delivering any cigars, cigarettes, or smoking
tobaccos, make a true duplicate invoice of the same which shall show full and complete
details of the sale or delivery of the taxable article and shall retain the same subject to the use
and inspection of the secretary of revenue and taxation or his authorized representative until
the taxes to which they relate have prescribed. Tobacco dealers shall also keep a record of
all cigarettes, cigars, and smoking tobaccos purchased by them, and hold all books, records,
and memoranda pertaining to the purchase and sale of such cigars, cigarettes, and smoking
tobaccos open to the inspection of the secretary of revenue and taxation or his authorized
representative.
B. Registered tobacco dealers and stamping agents.
(1) Each and every designated stamping agent in accordance with R.S. 26:902(2)(a)
receiving unstamped cigarettes shall file a report with the secretary of the Department of
Revenue on forms prescribed and furnished by the secretary showing the purchase, receipt
and sale of unstamped taxable cigarettes, and the purchase and use of cigarette tax stamps.
The report shall be submitted to cover the calendar month and shall be filed with the
secretary not later than the twentieth day of the month following the end of the previous
calendar month. The report shall certify that the report is complete and accurate and shall
contain, in addition to any further information that the secretary or the attorney general may
reasonably require, the following:
(a) The total number of cigarettes acquired by the stamping agent during that month
for sale into the state or for sale from this state into another state, sold in or into the state by
the stamping agent during that month, and held in inventory in the state or for the sale into
the state by the stamping agent pursuant to this Chapter and R.S. 13:5075, in each case
identifying by name and number of cigarettes the manufacturer and brand families of those
cigarettes.
(b) The total number of stamps it affixed during that month, and identifying (i) how
many of each type of stamp it affixed by number and dollar amount of tax paid; (ii) the total
number of cigarettes contained in the packages to which it affixed each respective type of tax
stamp; and (iii) by name and number of cigarettes, the manufacturers and brand families of
the packages to which it affixed each respective type of tax stamp.
(c) In the case of a stamping agent that is an importer, reports under Subparagraph
(a) of this Paragraph shall not include cigarettes it sold to a stamping agent as permitted
under R.S. 26:902(2)(a) and that it separately reports pursuant to R.S. 13:5075.
(2) Any person that during a month acquired, purchased, sold, possessed, transferred,
transported, or caused to be transported in or into the state cigarettes of a manufacturer or
brand family that were not on the state directory at the time shall file, not later than the
twentieth day of the month following the end of the previous calendar month, a report on a
form provided by the secretary and certify that the report is complete and accurate. The
report shall contain, in addition to any further information that the secretary or the attorney
general may reasonably require, the following information:
(a) The total number of those cigarettes, in each case identifying by name and
number of cigarettes (i) the manufacturer of those cigarettes, (ii) the brand families of those
cigarettes, (iii) in the case of a sale or transfer, the state in which the recipient of those
cigarettes is located, and (iv) in the case of an acquisition or purchase, the state of the seller
or sender of those cigarettes.
(b) The following shall be provided to the attorney general or secretary upon request:
in the case of acquisition, purchase, or possession, the detail of the person's subsequent sale
or transfer of those cigarettes, identifying by name and number of cigarettes (i) the brand
families of those cigarettes, (ii) the date of the sale or transfer, (iii) the name and address of
the recipient, (iv) the number of stamps of each other state that the person affixed to the
packages containing those cigarettes during that month, (v) the total number of cigarettes
contained in the packages to which it affixed respective other state's stamp, (vi) by name and
number of cigarettes that manufacturers and brand families of the packages to which it
affixed each respective other state's stamp and (vii) a certification that it reported each sale
or transfer to the taxing authority of the other state not later than the twentieth day of the
month following the end of the previous calendar month.
(3) The secretary may share the information reported under this Section with any
federal, state, or local taxing agency or law enforcement authorities of this state or other
states.
(4)(a) Every registered tobacco dealer receiving and handling cigars and smoking
tobaccos in Louisiana upon which the tax has not been previously paid shall, within twenty
days after the expiration of each calendar month, file with the secretary a report, under oath,
of the total amount of such cigars and smoking tobaccos received and handled during the
preceding month, and shall pay the taxes due thereon, and all out-of-state Louisiana
registered tobacco dealers shall file a report, under oath, disclosing all sales of cigars and
smoking tobaccos in Louisiana during the preceding calendar month, and shall pay the taxes
due thereon. This report shall be made on forms prescribed and furnished by the secretary
and shall show such other information as the secretary may require so that the taxes levied
in R.S. 47:841 can be reported and computed.
(b) A five percent discount is allowable for timely and accurately filing the report
only on those purchases made by registered tobacco dealers in Louisiana who have a direct
purchasing contract with a manufacturer. The secretary shall allow wholesale tobacco
dealers of other states serving a trade area of retail dealers in this state who have a direct
purchasing contract with a manufacturer to sell in this state with the benefit of the discount
provided in this Section, provided the dealers meet the requirements of a wholesale dealer
as set forth in R.S. 47:842(5). The transfer or disposal by a qualified dealer of any benefit
herein conferred is prohibited except in the case of the original recipient.
(5) Failure to file the monthly report on or before the twentieth day of the following
month will subject the dealer to forfeiture of the discounts as authorized in R.S. 47:843 and
851 and all other penalties as provided in the administrative provisions in Chapter 18, Title
47, however, the collector can upon timely application extend this date in his discretion upon
cause shown.
C. Vending machine operators. (1) Every tobacco product vending machine operator
shall keep a detailed record, including the purchase invoice, of each vending machine
showing the date the machine was purchased or acquired, the source from which the machine
was acquired, the correct make, model, and serial number, and capacity as to the number of
cartons of cigarettes. Detailed records shall be kept showing the location of each machine
and the date of placing the machine on location. Vending machine operators shall keep a
record of the purchase and receipt of all cigars, cigarettes, and smoking tobacco purchased
by them and hold all books, records, and memoranda pertaining to the sale of such cigars,
cigarettes, and smoking tobaccos open to the inspection of the collector or his duly
authorized agent.
(2) In accordance with R.S. 14:91.8(D), vending machine operators shall affix a sign
or sticker in not less than twenty-two-point type on the front of each machine stating,
"LOUISIANA LAW PROHIBITS THE SALE OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS,
ALTERNATIVE NICOTINE PRODUCTS, OR VAPOR PRODUCTS TO PERSONS
UNDER AGE 21".
D. A nonresident tobacco dealer shall maintain invoices correctly showing the date,
quantity, recipient, manufacturer, and brand of cigars, cigarettes, and smoking tobaccos sold
by the dealer for distribution in or into the state of Louisiana. The nonresident tobacco dealer
shall keep stock affixed with a Louisiana tax stamp separate and apart from the remainder
of the dealer's stock. Every nonresident tobacco dealer shall, at the time of shipping or
delivering any cigars, cigarettes, or smoking tobaccos in or into the state of Louisiana, make
a true duplicate invoice of the same which shall show full and complete details of the sale
or delivery of the taxable article and shall retain the same subject to the use and inspection
of the collector for the period of two years. Nonresident tobacco dealers shall also keep a
record of all cigarettes, cigars and smoking tobaccos purchased by them for distribution
within the state of Louisiana, and hold all books, records and memoranda pertaining to the
purchase and sale of such cigars, cigarettes, and smoking tobaccos open to the inspection of
the collector.
E. Out-of-state sales reports. Any person that sells cigarettes from this state into
another state shall, by the twentieth day of the month following the month in which the sales
were made, file a report on a form to be prescribed by the secretary and shall provide a
duplicate report to the attorney general and certify that the report is complete and accurate.
(1) The report shall contain the following information:
(a) The total number of cigarettes sold from this state into another state by the dealer
during that month, identifying by name and number of cigarettes; (i) the manufacturer of
those cigarettes; (ii) the brand families of those cigarettes; and, (iii) the name and address of
each recipient of those cigarettes.
(b) The number of stamps of each other state the dealer affixed to the packages
containing those cigarettes during that month, the total number of cigarettes contained in
packages to which it affixed each respective other state's stamp and, by name and number of
cigarettes, the manufacturers and brand families of the packages to which it affixed each
respective other state's stamp.
(c) If the dealer sold cigarettes during that month from this state into another state
in packages not bearing a stamp of the other state, (i) the total number of cigarettes contained
in such packages, identifying by names and number of cigarettes, the manufacturers of those
cigarettes, the brand families of those cigarettes, and the name and address of each recipient
of those cigarettes; (ii) the dealer's basis for belief that such state permits the sale of the
cigarettes to consumers in a package not bearing a stamp; and, (iii) the amount of excise, use
or similar tax imposed on the cigarettes and paid by the dealer to such state.
F. Information sharing. The secretary may share the information provided in
Subsection E of this Section, upon request, with any federal, state, or local taxing agency or
law enforcement authorities of this state or other states.
Amended by Acts 1950, No. 18, §1; Acts 1974, No. 415, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1975; Acts
1980, No. 135, §2; Acts 1983, No. 164, §2, eff. June 24, 1983; Acts 1991, No. 114, §1. Acts
1984, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 14, §2, eff. March 27, 1984; Acts 1991, No. 114, §1; Acts 2006, No.
454, §2, eff. June 15, 2006; Acts 2007, No. 474, §1; Acts 2013, No. 221, §3; Acts 2014, No.
278, §3, eff. May 28, 2014; Acts 2016, 1
st
Ex. Sess., No. 5, §1, eff. April 1, 2016; Acts 2016,
No. 640, §1; Acts 2021, No. 403, §3.