Licensing's central office staff then reviews or audits each license package and performs a microfilm history check on each applicant or interested party to the license. This law provides for the issuing of new licenses in counties where the population has increased based on the 1980 census figures or based upon estimates of increasing population. Aside from the above, this section also performs brand registration of all alcoholic beverages, the registration of all salesman for spirituous beverages and wines, and the issuance of cooperative pool buying approvals, wholesale alcoholic beverage licenses, wholesale cigarette and other tobacco products permits, retail cigarette and other tobacco products permits, common carrier licenses for airplanes, trains, boats and other vehicle permits. The Auditing Section of the Bureau of Licensing and Auditing is responsible for the auditing and collection of excise taxes levied upon alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and other tobacco products sold in Florida. To accomplish said responsibilities, Auditing is comprised of field auditing personnel who perform tax and compliance audits of licensees, and central collection personnel who collect, process, and account for the revenues and tax report data.
Licensees report and remit taxes and surcharges on a monthly basis.
These reports are reviewed and revenues verified by auditing staff. The Bureau of Law Enforcement is divided into twenty field offices throughout the state. In addition to the license qualifications and criminal investigations, the sworn law enforcement officers in the field concentrate their efforts on sales of unlawful drugs in businesses licensed by ABT, sales and service of alcoholic beverages and tobacco to underage persons, sales of false identification documents, sales of untaxed cigarettes, operation of unlawful gambling machines, and providing assistance to Auditing in the collection of authorized taxes and fees.