(35 ILCS 130/1) (from Ch. 120, par. 453.1)
Sec. 1. For the purposes of this Act:
"Brand Style" means a variety of cigarettes distinguished by the tobacco used, tar and nicotine content, flavoring used, size of the cigarette, filtration on the cigarette or packaging.
"Cigarette", means any roll for smoking made wholly or in part of tobacco irrespective of size or shape and whether or not such tobacco is flavored, adulterated or mixed with any other ingredient, and the wrapper or cover of which is made of paper or any other substance or material except tobacco.
"Contraband cigarettes" means:
(a) cigarettes that do not bear a required tax stamp |
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(b) cigarettes for which any required federal taxes |
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(c) cigarettes that bear a counterfeit tax stamp;
(d) cigarettes that are manufactured, fabricated, |
| assembled, processed, packaged, or labeled by any person other than (i) the owner of the trademark rights in the cigarette brand or (ii) a person that is directly or indirectly authorized by such owner; |
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(e) cigarettes imported into the United States, or |
| otherwise distributed, in violation of the federal Imported Cigarette Compliance Act of 2000 (Title IV of Public Law 106‑476); |
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(f) cigarettes that have false manufacturing labels;
(g) cigarettes identified in Section 3‑10(a)(1) of |
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(h) cigarettes that are improperly tax stamped, |
| including cigarettes that bear a tax stamp of another state or taxing jurisdiction. |
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"Person" means any natural individual, firm, partnership, association, joint stock company, joint adventure, public or private corporation, however formed, limited liability company, or a receiver, executor, administrator, trustee, guardian or other representative appointed by order of any court.
"Prior Continuous Compliance Taxpayer" means any person who is licensed under this Act and who, having been a licensee for a continuous period of 5 years, is determined by the Department not to have been either delinquent or deficient in the payment of tax liability during that period or otherwise in violation of this Act. Also, any taxpayer who has, as verified by the Department, continuously complied with the condition of his bond or other security under provisions of this Act for a period of 5 consecutive years shall be considered to be a "Prior continuous compliance taxpayer". In calculating the consecutive period of time described herein for qualification as a "prior continuous compliance taxpayer", a consecutive period of time of qualifying compliance immediately prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1987 shall be credited to any licensee who became licensed on or before the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1987.
"Department" means the Department of Revenue.
"Sale" means any transfer, exchange or barter in any manner or by any means whatsoever for a consideration, and includes and means all sales made by any person.
"Original Package" means the individual packet, box or other container whatsoever used to contain and to convey cigarettes to the consumer.
"Distributor" means any and each of the following:
(1) Any person engaged in the business of selling |
| cigarettes in this State who brings or causes to be brought into this State from without this State any original packages of cigarettes, on which original packages there is no authorized evidence underneath a sealed transparent wrapper showing that the tax liability imposed by this Act has been paid or assumed by the out‑of‑State seller of such cigarettes, for sale or other disposition in the course of such business. |
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(2) Any person who makes, manufactures or fabricates |
| cigarettes in this State for sale in this State, except a person who makes, manufactures or fabricates cigarettes as a part of a correctional industries program for sale to residents incarcerated in penal institutions or resident patients of a State‑operated mental health facility. |
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(3) Any person who makes, manufactures or fabricates |
| cigarettes outside this State, which cigarettes are placed in original packages contained in sealed transparent wrappers, for delivery or shipment into this State, and who elects to qualify and is accepted by the Department as a distributor under Section 4b of this Act. |
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"Place of business" shall mean and include any place where cigarettes are sold or where cigarettes are manufactured, stored or kept for the purpose of sale or consumption, including any vessel, vehicle, airplane, train or vending machine.
"Business" means any trade, occupation, activity or enterprise engaged in for the purpose of selling cigarettes in this State.
"Retailer" means any person who engages in the making of transfers of the ownership of, or title to, cigarettes to a purchaser for use or consumption and not for resale in any form, for a valuable consideration. "Retailer" does not include a person:
(1) who transfers to residents incarcerated in penal |
| institutions or resident patients of a State‑operated mental health facility ownership of cigarettes made, manufactured, or fabricated as part of a correctional industries program; or |
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(2) who transfers cigarettes to a not‑for‑profit |
| research institution that conducts tests concerning the health effects of tobacco products and who does not offer the cigarettes for resale. |
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"Retailer" shall be construed to include any person who engages in the making of transfers of the ownership of, or title to, cigarettes to a purchaser, for use or consumption by any other person to whom such purchaser may transfer the cigarettes without a valuable consideration, except a person who transfers to residents incarcerated in penal institutions or resident patients of a State‑operated mental health facility ownership of cigarettes made, manufactured or fabricated as part of a correctional industries program.
"Secondary distributor" means any person engaged in the business of selling cigarettes who purchases stamped original packages of cigarettes from a licensed distributor under this Act or the Cigarette Use Tax Act, sells 75% or more of those cigarettes to retailers for resale, and maintains an established business where a substantial stock of cigarettes is available to retailers for resale.
"Stamp" or "stamps" mean the indicia required to be affixed on a pack of cigarettes that evidence payment of the tax on cigarettes under Section 2 of this Act.
"Related party" means any person that is associated with any other person because he or she:
(a) is an officer or director of a business; or
(b) is legally recognized as a partner in business.
(Source: P.A. 95‑462, eff. 8‑27‑07; 95‑1053, eff. 1‑1‑10; 96‑782, eff. 1‑1‑10; 96‑1027, eff. 7‑12‑10.) |
(35 ILCS 130/3‑10)
Sec. 3‑10. Cigarette enforcement.
(a) Prohibitions. It is unlawful for any person:
(1) to sell or distribute in this State; to acquire, |
| hold, own, possess, or transport, for sale or distribution in this State; or to import, or cause to be imported into this State for sale or distribution in this State: |
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(A) any cigarettes the package of which:
(i) bears any statement, label, stamp, |
| sticker, or notice indicating that the manufacturer did not intend the cigarettes to be sold, distributed, or used in the United States, including but not limited to labels stating "For Export Only", "U.S. Tax Exempt", "For Use Outside U.S.", or similar wording; or |
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(ii) does not comply with:
(aa) all requirements imposed by or |
| pursuant to federal law regarding warnings and other information on packages of cigarettes manufactured, packaged, or imported for sale, distribution, or use in the United States, including but not limited to the precise warning labels specified in the federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, 15 U.S.C. 1333; and |
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(bb) all federal trademark and copyright |
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(B) any cigarettes imported into the United |
| States in violation of 26 U.S.C. 5754 or any other federal law, or implementing federal regulations; |
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(C) any cigarettes that such person otherwise |
| knows or has reason to know the manufacturer did not intend to be sold, distributed, or used in the United States; or |
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(D) any cigarettes for which there has not been |
| submitted to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services the list or lists of the ingredients added to tobacco in the manufacture of the cigarettes required by the federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, 15 U.S.C. 1335a; |
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(2) to alter the package of any cigarettes, prior to |
| sale or distribution to the ultimate consumer, so as to remove, conceal, or obscure: |
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(A) any statement, label, stamp, sticker, or |
| notice described in subdivision (a)(1)(A)(i) of this Section; |
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(B) any health warning that is not specified in, |
| or does not conform with the requirements of, the federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, 15 U.S.C. 1333; or |
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(3) to affix any stamp required pursuant to this Act |
| to the package of any cigarettes described in subdivision (a)(1) of this Section or altered in violation of subdivision (a)(2). |
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(b) Documentation. On the first business day of each month, each person licensed to affix the State tax stamp to cigarettes shall file with the Department, for all cigarettes imported into the United States to which the person has affixed the tax stamp in the preceding month:
(1) a copy of:
(A) the permit issued pursuant to the Internal |
| Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. 5713, to the person importing the cigarettes into the United States allowing the person to import the cigarettes; and |
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(B) the customs form containing, with respect to |
| the cigarettes, the internal revenue tax information required by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; |
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(2) a statement, signed by the person under penalty |
| of perjury, which shall be treated as confidential by the Department and exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, identifying the brand and brand styles of all such cigarettes, the quantity of each brand style of such cigarettes, the supplier of such cigarettes, and the person or persons, if any, to whom such cigarettes have been conveyed for resale; and a separate statement, signed by the individual under penalty of perjury, which shall not be treated as confidential or exempt from disclosure, separately identifying the brands and brand styles of such cigarettes; and |
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(3) a statement, signed by an officer of the |
| manufacturer or importer under penalty of perjury, certifying that the manufacturer or importer has complied with: |
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(A) the package health warning and ingredient |
| reporting requirements of the federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, 15 U.S.C. 1333 and 1335a, with respect to such cigarettes; and |
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(B) the provisions of Exhibit T of the Master |
| Settlement Agreement entered in the case of People of the State of Illinois v. Philip Morris, et al. (Circuit Court of Cook County, No. 96‑L13146), including a statement indicating whether the manufacturer is, or is not, a participating tobacco manufacturer within the meaning of Exhibit T. |
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(c) Administrative sanctions.
(1) Upon finding that a distributor, secondary |
| distributor, or person has committed any of the acts prohibited by subsection (a), knowing or having reason to know that he or she has done so, or upon finding that a distributor or person has failed to comply with any requirement of subsection (b), the Department may revoke or suspend the license or licenses of any distributor or secondary distributor pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 6 and impose, on the distributor, secondary distributor, or person, a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed the greater of 500% of the retail value of the cigarettes involved or $5,000. |
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(2) Cigarettes that are acquired, held, owned, |
| possessed, transported in, imported into, or sold or distributed in this State in violation of this Section shall be deemed contraband under this Act and are subject to seizure and forfeiture as provided in this Act, and all such cigarettes seized and forfeited shall be destroyed or maintained and used in an undercover capacity. Such cigarettes shall be deemed contraband whether the violation of this Section is knowing or otherwise. |
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(d) Unfair trade practices. In addition to any other penalties provided for in this Act, a violation of subsection (a) or subsection (b) of this Section shall constitute an unlawful practice as provided in the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
(d‑1) Retailers and secondary distributors shall not be liable under subsections (c)(1) and (d) of this Section for unknowingly possessing, selling, or distributing to consumers or users cigarettes identified in subsection (a)(1) of this Section if the cigarettes possessed, sold, or distributed by the retailer or secondary distributor were obtained from a distributor licensed under this Act.
(e) Unfair cigarette sales. For purposes of the Trademark Registration and Protection Act and the Counterfeit Trademark Act, cigarettes imported or reimported into the United States for sale or distribution under any trade name, trade dress, or trademark that is the same as, or is confusingly similar to, any trade name, trade dress, or trademark used for cigarettes manufactured in the United States for sale or distribution in the United States shall be presumed to have been purchased outside of the ordinary channels of trade.
(f) General provisions.
(1) This Section shall be enforced by the Department; |
| provided that, at the request of the Director of Revenue or the Director's duly authorized agent, the State police and all local police authorities shall enforce the provisions of this Section. The Attorney General has concurrent power with the State's Attorney of any county to enforce this Section. |
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(2) For the purpose of enforcing this Section, the |
| Director of Revenue and any agency to which the Director has delegated enforcement responsibility pursuant to subdivision (f)(1) may request information from any State or local agency and may share information with and request information from any federal agency and any agency of any other state or any local agency of any other state. |
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(3) In addition to any other remedy provided by law, |
| including enforcement as provided in subdivision (a)(1), any person may bring an action for appropriate injunctive or other equitable relief for a violation of this Section; actual damages, if any, sustained by reason of the violation; and, as determined by the court, interest on the damages from the date of the complaint, taxable costs, and reasonable attorney's fees. If the trier of fact finds that the violation is flagrant, it may increase recovery to an amount not in excess of 3 times the actual damages sustained by reason of the violation. |
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(g) Definitions. As used in this Section:
"Importer" means that term as defined in 26 U.S.C. 5702(1).
"Package" means that term as defined in 15 U.S.C. 1332(4).
(h) Applicability.
(1) This Section does not apply to:
(A) cigarettes allowed to be imported or brought |
| into the United States for personal use; and |
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(B) cigarettes sold or intended to be sold as |
| duty‑free merchandise by a duty‑free sales enterprise in accordance with the provisions of 19 U.S.C. 1555(b) and any implementing regulations; except that this Section shall apply to any such cigarettes that are brought back into the customs territory for resale within the customs territory. |
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(2) The penalties provided in this Section are in |
| addition to any other penalties imposed under other provision of law. |
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(Source: P.A. 95‑1053, eff. 1‑1‑10; 96‑782, eff. 1‑1‑10; 96‑1027, eff. 7‑12‑10.) |
(35 ILCS 130/4) (from Ch. 120, par. 453.4)
Sec. 4. Distributor's license. No person may engage in business as a distributor of cigarettes in this State within the meaning of the first 2 definitions of distributor in Section 1 of this Act without first having obtained a license therefor from the Department. Application for license shall be made to the Department in form as furnished and prescribed by the Department. Each applicant for a license under this Section shall furnish to the Department on the form signed and verified by the applicant under penalty of perjury the following information:
(a) The name and address of the applicant;
(b) The address of the location at which the
| applicant proposes to engage in business as a distributor of cigarettes in this State; | |
(c) Such other additional information as the |
| Department may lawfully require by its rules and regulations. | |
The annual license fee payable to the Department for each distributor's license shall be $250. The purpose of such annual license fee is to defray the cost, to the Department, of serializing cigarette tax stamps. Each applicant for license shall pay such fee to the Department at the time of submitting his application for license to the Department.
Every applicant who is required to procure a distributor's license shall file with his application a joint and several bond. Such bond shall be executed to the Department of Revenue, with good and sufficient surety or sureties residing or licensed to do business within the State of Illinois, in the amount of $2,500, conditioned upon the true and faithful compliance by the licensee with all of the provisions of this Act. Such bond, or a reissue thereof, or a substitute therefor, shall be kept in effect during the entire period covered by the license. A separate application for license shall be made, a separate annual license fee paid, and a separate bond filed, for each place of business at which a person who is required to procure a distributor's license under this Section proposes to engage in business as a distributor in Illinois under this Act.
The following are ineligible to receive a distributor's license under this Act:
(1) a person who is not of good character and |
| reputation in the community in which he resides; | |
(2) a person who has been convicted of a felony |
| under any Federal or State law, if the Department, after investigation and a hearing, if requested by the applicant, determines that such person has not been sufficiently rehabilitated to warrant the public trust; | |
(3) a corporation, if any officer, manager or |
| director thereof, or any stockholder or stockholders owning in the aggregate more than 5% of the stock of such corporation, would not be eligible to receive a license under this Act for any reason; | |
(4) a person, or any person who owns more than 15 |
| percent of the ownership interests in a person or a related party who: | |
(a) owes, at the time of application, any |
| delinquent cigarette taxes that have been determined by law to be due and unpaid, unless the license applicant has entered into an agreement approved by the Department to pay the amount due; | |
(b) had a license under this Act revoked |
| within the past two years by the Department for misconduct relating to stolen or contraband cigarettes or has been convicted of a State or federal crime, punishable by imprisonment of one year or more, relating to stolen or contraband cigarettes; | |
(c) manufactures cigarettes, whether in this |
| State or out of this State, and who is neither (i) a participating manufacturer as defined in subsection II(jj) of the "Master Settlement Agreement" as defined in Sections 10 of the Tobacco Products Manufacturers' Escrow Act and the Tobacco Products Manufacturers' Escrow Enforcement Act of 2003 (30 ILCS 168/10 and 30 ILCS 167/10); nor (ii) in full compliance with Tobacco Products Manufacturers' Escrow Act and the Tobacco Products Manufacturers' Escrow Enforcement Act of 2003 (30 ILCS 168/ and 30 ILCS 167/); | |
(d) has been found by the Department, after |
| notice and a hearing, to have imported or caused to be imported into the United States for sale or distribution any cigarette in violation of 19 U.S.C. 1681a; | |
(e) has been found by the Department, after |
| notice and a hearing, to have imported or caused to be imported into the United States for sale or distribution or manufactured for sale or distribution in the United States any cigarette that does not fully comply with the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (15 U.S.C. 1331, et seq.); or | |
(f) has been found by the Department, after |
| notice and a hearing, to have made a material false statement in the application or has failed to produce records required to be maintained by this Act. | |
The Department, upon receipt of an application, license fee and bond in proper form, from a person who is eligible to receive a distributor's license under this Act, shall issue to such applicant a license in form as prescribed by the Department, which license shall permit the applicant to which it is issued to engage in business as a distributor at the place shown in his application. All licenses issued by the Department under this Act shall be valid for not to exceed one year after issuance unless sooner revoked, canceled or suspended as provided in this Act. No license issued under this Act is transferable or assignable. Such license shall be conspicuously displayed in the place of business conducted by the licensee in Illinois under such license. No distributor licensee acquires any vested interest or compensable property right in a license issued under this Act.
A licensed distributor shall notify the Department of any change in the information contained on the application form, including any change in ownership and shall do so within 30 days after any such change.
Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Department under this Section may, within 20 days after notice of the decision, protest and request a hearing. Upon receiving a request for a hearing, the Department shall give notice to the person requesting the hearing of the time and place fixed for the hearing and shall hold a hearing in conformity with the provisions of this Act and then issue its final administrative decision in the matter to that person. In the absence of a protest and request for a hearing within 20 days, the Department's decision shall become final without any further determination being made or notice given.
(Source: P.A. 95‑1053, eff. 1‑1‑10; 96‑782, eff. 1‑1‑10.) |
(35 ILCS 130/4b) (from Ch. 120, par. 453.4b)
Sec. 4b. (a) The Department may, in its discretion, upon application, issue permits authorizing the payment of the tax herein imposed by out‑of‑State cigarette manufacturers who are not required to be licensed as distributors of cigarettes in this State, but who elect to qualify under this Act as distributors of cigarettes in this State, and who, to the satisfaction of the Department, furnish adequate security to insure payment of the tax, provided that any such permit shall extend only to cigarettes which such permittee manufacturer places in original packages that are contained inside a sealed transparent wrapper. Such permits shall be issued without charge in such form as the Department may prescribe and shall not be transferable or assignable.
The following are ineligible to receive a distributor's permit under this subsection:
(1) a person who is not of good character and
| reputation in the community in which he resides; | |
(2) a person who has been convicted of a felony under |
| any Federal or State law, if the Department, after investigation and a hearing, if requested by the applicant, determines that such person has not been sufficiently rehabilitated to warrant the public trust; | |
(3) a corporation, if any officer, manager or |
| director thereof, or any stockholder or stockholders owning in the aggregate more than 5% of the stock of such corporation, would not be eligible to receive a permit under this Act for any reason. | |
With respect to cigarettes which come within the scope of such a permit and which any such permittee delivers or causes to be delivered in Illinois to licensed distributors, such permittee shall remit the tax imposed by this Act at the times provided for in Section 3 of this Act. Each such remittance shall be accompanied by a return filed with the Department on a form to be prescribed and furnished by the Department and shall disclose such information as the Department may lawfully require. The Department may promulgate rules to require that the permittee's return be accompanied by appropriate computer‑generated magnetic media supporting schedule data in the format prescribed by the Department, unless, as provided by rule, the Department grants an exception upon petition of the permittee. Each such return shall be accompanied by a copy of each invoice rendered by the permittee to any licensed distributor to whom the permittee delivered cigarettes of the type covered by the permit (or caused cigarettes of the type covered by the permit to be delivered) in Illinois during the period covered by such return.
Such permit may be suspended, canceled or revoked when, at any time, the Department considers that the security given is inadequate, or that such tax can more effectively be collected from distributors located in this State, or whenever the permittee violates any provision of this Act or any lawful rule or regulation issued by the Department pursuant to this Act or is determined to be ineligible for a distributor's permit under this Act as provided in this Section, whenever the permittee shall notify the Department in writing of his desire to have the permit canceled. The Department shall have the power, in its discretion, to issue a new permit after such suspension, cancellation or revocation, except when the person who would receive the permit is ineligible to receive a distributor's permit under this Act.
All permits issued by the Department under this Act shall be valid for not to exceed one year after issuance unless sooner revoked, canceled or suspended as in this Act provided.
(b) Out‑of‑state cigarette manufacturers who are not required to be licensed as distributors of cigarettes in this State and who do not elect to obtain approval under subsection 4b(a) to pay the tax imposed by this Act, but who elect to qualify under this Act as distributors of cigarettes in this State for purposes of shipping and delivering unstamped original packages of cigarettes into this State to licensed distributors, shall obtain a permit from the Department. These permits shall be issued without charge in such form as the Department may prescribe and shall not be transferable or assignable.
The following are ineligible to receive a distributor's permit under this subsection:
(1) a person who is not of good character and |
| reputation in the community in which he or she resides; | |
(2) a person who has been convicted of a felony under |
| any federal or State law, if the Department, after investigation and a hearing, if requested by the applicant, determines that the person has not been sufficiently rehabilitated to warrant the public trust; and | |
(3) a corporation, if any officer, manager, or |
| director thereof, or any stockholder or stockholders owning in the aggregate more than 5% of the stock of the corporation, would not be eligible to receive a permit under this Act for any reason. | |
With respect to original packages of cigarettes that such permittee delivers or causes to be delivered in Illinois and distributes to the public for promotional purposes without consideration, the permittee shall pay the tax imposed by this Act by remitting the amount thereof to the Department by the 5th day of each month covering cigarettes shipped or otherwise delivered in Illinois for those purposes during the preceding calendar month. The permittee, before delivering those cigarettes or causing those cigarettes to be delivered in this State, shall evidence his or her obligation to remit the taxes due with respect to those cigarettes by imprinting language to be prescribed by the Department on each original package of cigarettes, in such place thereon and in such manner also to be prescribed by the Department. The imprinted language shall acknowledge the permittee's payment of or liability for the tax imposed by this Act with respect to the distribution of those cigarettes.
With respect to cigarettes that the permittee delivers or causes to be delivered in Illinois to Illinois licensed distributors or distributed to the public for promotional purposes, the permittee shall, by the 5th day of each month, file with the Department, a report covering cigarettes shipped or otherwise delivered in Illinois to licensed distributors or distributed to the public for promotional purposes during the preceding calendar month on a form to be prescribed and furnished by the Department and shall disclose such other information as the Department may lawfully require. The Department may promulgate rules to require that the permittee's report be accompanied by appropriate computer‑generated magnetic media supporting schedule data in the format prescribed by the Department, unless, as provided by rule, the Department grants an exception upon petition of the permittee. Each such report shall be accompanied by a copy of each invoice rendered by the permittee to any purchaser to whom the permittee delivered cigarettes of the type covered by the permit (or caused cigarettes of the type covered by the permit to be delivered) in Illinois during the period covered by such report.
Such permit may be suspended, canceled, or revoked whenever the permittee violates any provision of this Act or any lawful rule or regulation issued by the Department pursuant to this Act, is determined to be ineligible for a distributor's permit under this Act as provided in this Section, or notifies the Department in writing of his or her desire to have the permit canceled. The Department shall have the power, in its discretion, to issue a new permit after such suspension, cancellation, or revocation, except when the person who would receive the permit is ineligible to receive a distributor's permit under this Act.
All permits issued by the Department under this Act shall be valid for a period not to exceed one year after issuance unless sooner revoked, canceled, or suspended as provided in this Act.
(Source: P.A. 96‑782, eff. 1‑1‑10.) |
(35 ILCS 130/4c)
Sec. 4c. Secondary distributor's license. No person may engage in business as a secondary distributor of cigarettes in this State without first having obtained a license therefor from the Department. Application for license shall be made to the Department on a form as furnished and prescribed by the Department. Each applicant for a license under this Section shall furnish the following information to the Department on a form signed and verified by the applicant under penalty of perjury:
(1) the name and address of the applicant;
(2) the address of the location at which the |
| applicant proposes to engage in business as a secondary distributor of cigarettes in this State; and |
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(3) such other additional information as the |
| Department may reasonably require. |
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The annual license fee payable to the Department for each secondary distributor's license shall be $250. Each applicant for a license shall pay such fee to the Department at the time of submitting an application for license to the Department.
A separate application for license shall be made and separate annual license fee paid for each place of business at which a person who is required to procure a secondary distributor's license under this Section proposes to engage in business as a secondary distributor in Illinois under this Act.
The following are ineligible to receive a secondary distributor's license under this Act:
(1) a person who is not of good character and |
| reputation in the community in which he resides; |
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(2) a person who has been convicted of a felony under |
| any federal or State law, if the Department, after investigation and a hearing, if requested by the applicant, determines that such person has not been sufficiently rehabilitated to warrant the public trust; |
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(3) a corporation, if any officer, manager, or |
| director thereof, or any stockholder or stockholders owning in the aggregate more than 5% of the stock of such corporation, would not be eligible to receive a license under this Act for any reason; |
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(4) a person who manufactures cigarettes, whether in |
| this State or out of this State; |
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(5) a person, or any person who owns more than 15% of |
| the ownership interests in a person or a related party who: |
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(A) owes, at the time of application, any |
| delinquent cigarette taxes that have been determined by law to be due and unpaid, unless the license applicant has entered into an agreement approved by the Department to pay the amount due; |
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(B) had a license under this Act revoked within |
| the past two years by the Department or has been convicted of a State or federal crime, punishable by imprisonment of one year or more, relating to stolen or contraband cigarettes; |
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(C) has been found by the Department, after |
| notice and a hearing, to have imported or caused to be imported into the United States for sale or distribution any cigarette in violation of 19 U.S.C. 1681a; |
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(D) has been found by the Department, after |
| notice and a hearing, to have imported or caused to be imported into the United States for sale or distribution or manufactured for sale or distribution in the United States any cigarette that does not fully comply with the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (15 U.S.C. 1331, et seq.); or |
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(E) has been found by the Department, after |
| notice and a hearing, to have made a material false statement in the application or has failed to produce records required to be maintained by this Act. |
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The Department, upon receipt of an application and |
| license fee from a person who is eligible to receive a secondary distributor's license under this Act, shall issue to such applicant a license in such form as prescribed by the Department. The license shall permit the applicant to which it is issued to engage in business as a secondary distributor at the place shown in his application. All licenses issued by the Department under this Act shall be valid for a period not to exceed one year after issuance unless sooner revoked, canceled, or suspended as provided in this Act. No license issued under this Act is transferable or assignable. Such license shall be conspicuously displayed in the place of business conducted by the licensee in Illinois under such license. No secondary distributor licensee acquires any vested interest or compensable property right in a license issued under this Act. |
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A licensed secondary distributor shall notify the |
| Department of any change in the information contained on the application form, including any change in ownership, and shall do so within 30 days after any such change. |
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Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Department |
| under this Section may, within 20 days after notice of the decision, protest and request a hearing. Upon receiving a request for a hearing, the Department shall give notice to the person requesting the hearing of the time and place fixed for the hearing and shall hold a hearing in conformity with the provisions of this Act and then issue its final administrative decision in the matter to that person. In the absence of a protest and request for a hearing within 20 days, the Department's decision shall become final without any further determination being made or notice given. |
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(Source: P.A. 96‑1027, eff. 7‑12‑10.) |
(35 ILCS 130/9a) (from Ch. 120, par. 453.9a)
Sec. 9a. Examination and correction of returns.
(1) As soon as practicable after any return is filed, the Department shall examine such return and shall correct such return according to its best judgment and information, which return so corrected by the Department shall be prima facie correct and shall be prima facie evidence of the correctness of the amount of tax due, as shown therein. Instead of requiring the distributor to file an amended return, the Department may simply notify the distributor of the correction or corrections it has made. Proof of such correction by the Department may be made at any hearing before the Department or in any legal proceeding by a reproduced copy of the Department's record relating thereto in the name of the Department under the certificate of the Director of Revenue. Such reproduced copy shall, without further proof, be admitted into evidence before the Department or in any legal proceeding and shall be prima facie proof of the correctness of the amount of tax due, as shown therein. If the Department finds that any amount of tax is due from the distributor, the Department shall issue the distributor a notice of tax liability for the amount of tax claimed by the Department to be due, together with a penalty in an amount determined in accordance with Sections 3‑3, 3‑5 and 3‑6 of the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act. If, in administering the provisions of this Act, comparison of a return or returns of a distributor with the books, records and inventories of such distributor discloses a deficiency which cannot be allocated by the Department to a particular month or months, the Department shall issue the distributor a notice of tax liability for the amount of tax claimed by the Department to be due for a given period, but without any obligation upon the Department to allocate such deficiency to any particular month or months, together with a penalty in an amount determined in accordance with Sections 3‑3, 3‑5 and 3‑6 of the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act, under which circumstances the aforesaid notice of tax liability shall be prima facie correct and shall be prima facie evidence of the correctness of the amount of tax due, as shown therein; and proof of such correctness may be made in accordance with, and the admissibility of a reproduced copy of such notice of tax liability shall be governed by, all the provisions of this Act applicable to corrected returns. If any distributor filing any return dies or becomes a person under legal disability at any time before the Department issues its notice of tax liability, such notice shall be issued to the administrator, executor or other legal representative, as such, of such distributor.
(2) If, within 60 days after such notice of tax liability, the distributor or his or her legal representative files a protest to such notice of tax liability and requests a hearing thereon, the Department shall give notice to such distributor or legal representative of the time and place fixed for such hearing, and shall hold a hearing in conformity with the provisions of this Act, and pursuant thereto shall issue a final assessment to such distributor or legal representative for the amount found to be due as a result of such hearing. If a protest to the notice of tax liability and a request for a hearing thereon is not filed within 60 days after such notice of tax liability, such notice of tax liability shall become final without the necessity of a final assessment being issued and shall be deemed to be a final assessment.
(3) In case of failure to pay the tax, or any portion thereof, or any penalty provided for in this Act, when due, the Department may bring suit to recover the amount of such tax, or portion thereof, or penalty; or, if the taxpayer dies or becomes incompetent, by filing claim therefor against his estate; provided that no such action with respect to any tax, or portion thereof, or penalty, shall be instituted more than 2 years after the cause of action accrues, except with the consent of the person from whom such tax or penalty is due.
After the expiration of the period within which the person assessed may file an action for judicial review under the Administrative Review Law without such an action being filed, a certified copy of the final assessment or revised final assessment of the Department may be filed with the Circuit Court of the county in which the taxpayer has his or her principal place of business, or of Sangamon County in those cases in which the taxpayer does not have his principal place of business in this State. The certified copy of the final assessment or revised final assessment shall be accompanied by a certification which recites facts that are sufficient to show that the Department complied with the jurisdictional requirements of the Law in arriving at its final assessment or its revised final assessment and that the taxpayer had his or her opportunity for an administrative hearing and for judicial review, whether he availed himself or herself of either or both of these opportunities or not. If the court is satisfied that the Department complied with the jurisdictional requirements of the Law in arriving at its final assessment or its revised final assessment and that the taxpayer had his or her opportunity for an administrative hearing and for judicial review, whether he or she availed himself or herself of either or both of these opportunities or not, the court shall enter judgment in favor of the Department and against the taxpayer for the amount shown to be due by the final assessment or the revised final assessment, and such judgment shall be filed of record in the court. Such judgment shall bear the rate of interest set in the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act, but otherwise shall have the same effect as other judgments. The judgment may be enforced, and all laws applicable to sales for the enforcement of a judgment shall be applicable to sales made under such judgments. The Department shall file the certified copy of its assessment, as herein provided, with the Circuit Court within 2 years after such assessment becomes final except when the taxpayer consents in writing to an extension of such filing period.
If, when the cause of action for a proceeding in court accrues against a person, he or she is out of the State, the action may be commenced within the times herein limited, after his or her coming into or return to the State; and if, after the cause of action accrues, he or she departs from and remains out of the State, the time of his or her absence is no part of the time limited for the commencement of the action; but the foregoing provisions concerning absence from the State shall not apply to any case in which, at the time the cause of action accrues, the party against whom the cause of action accrues is not a resident of this State. The time within which a court action is to be commenced by the Department hereunder shall not run while the taxpayer is a debtor in any proceeding under the Federal Bankruptcy Act nor thereafter until 90 days after the Department is notified by such debtor of being discharged in bankruptcy.
No claim shall be filed against the estate of any deceased person or a person under legal disability for any tax or penalty or part of either except in the manner prescribed and within the time limited by the Probate Act of 1975, as amended.
The remedies provided for herein shall not be exclusive, but all remedies available to creditors for the collection of debts shall be available for the collection of any tax or penalty due hereunder.
The collection of tax or penalty by any means provided for herein shall not be a bar to any prosecution under this Act.
The certificate of the Director of the Department to the effect that a tax or amount required to be paid by this Act has not been paid, that a return has not been filed, or that information has not been supplied pursuant to the provisions of this Act, shall be prima facie evidence thereof.
All of the provisions of Sections 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f, 5g, 5i and 5j of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act, which are not inconsistent with this Act, and Section 3‑7 of the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act shall apply, as far as practicable, to the subject matter of this Act to the same extent as if such provisions were included herein. References in such incorporated Sections of the "Retailers' Occupation Tax Act" to retailers, to sellers or to persons engaged in the business of selling tangible personal property shall mean distributors when used in this Act.
(Source: P.A. 92‑322, eff. 1‑1‑02.) |