2023 CODE OF GEORGIA › Title 48 - REVENUE AND TAXATION (§§ 48-1-1 — 48-18-1) › Chapter 11 - CIGAR, CIGARETTE AND LOOSE OR SMOKELESS TOBACCO TAXES (§§ 48-11-1 — 48-11-30) › Section 48-11-2 - [Effective 1/1/2025] Excise tax imposed; rates for tobacco and vaping products; exemptions; collection and payment; tax separately identified

(a)
An excise tax, in addition to all other taxes of every kind imposed by law, is imposed upon the sale, receipt, purchase, possession, consumption, handling, distribution, or use of cigars, cigarettes, loose or smokeless tobacco, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products in this state at the following rates:
(1)
Little cigars: two and one-half mills each;
(2)
All cigars other than little cigars: 23 percent of the wholesale cost price, exclusive of any trade, cash, or other discounts or any promotion, advertising, display, or similar allowances;
(3)
Cigarettes: 37¢ per pack of 20 cigarettes and a like rate, pro rata, for other size packages;
(4)
Loose or smokeless tobacco: 10 percent of the wholesale cost price, exclusive of any trade, cash, or other discounts or any promotion, advertising, display, or similar allowances;
(5)
Consumable vapor products in a closed system: 5¢ per fluid milliliter;
(6)
Consumable vapor products in an open system: 7 percent of the wholesale cost price, exclusive of any trade, cash, or other discounts or any promotion, advertising, display, or similar allowances; and
(7)
Vapor devices that contain any consumable vapor product at the time of sale and which are not designed or intended to be reused or refilled: 7 percent of the wholesale cost price, exclusive of any trade, cash, or other discounts or any promotion, advertising, display, or similar allowances.
(b)
When the retail selling price is referred to in this chapter as the basis for computing the tax, it is intended to mean the ordinary retail selling price of the article to the consumer before adding the amount of the tax.
(c)
(1)
The taxes imposed by this chapter are levied on the purchase or use of cigars, cigarettes, or loose or smokeless tobacco by the state or any department, institution, or agency of the state and by the political subdivisions of the state and their departments, institutions, and agencies.
(2)
The taxes imposed by this chapter are not imposed on cigars, cigarettes, or loose or smokeless tobacco purchased exclusively for use by the patients at the Georgia War Veterans Home and the Georgia War Veterans Nursing Home. This paragraph shall stand repealed and reserved on December 31, 2029.
(d)
The taxes imposed by this chapter are not levied on cigars, cigarettes, loose or smokeless tobacco, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products, the purchase or use of which this state is prohibited from taxing under the Constitution or statutes of the United States.
(e)
The taxes imposed by this chapter shall be advanced and paid by the dealer or distributor licensed pursuant to this chapter to the commissioner for deposit and distribution as provided in this chapter upon the first transaction within this state, whether or not the transaction involves the ultimate purchaser or consumer. The licensed dealer or distributor shall collect the tax on the first transaction within this state from the purchaser or consumer, and the purchaser or consumer shall pay the tax to the dealer or distributor. The dealer or distributor shall be responsible for the collection of the tax and the payment of the tax to the commissioner. Whenever cigars, cigarettes, loose or smokeless tobacco, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products are shipped from outside this state to anyone other than a distributor, the person receiving the cigars, cigarettes, loose or smokeless tobacco, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products shall be deemed to be a distributor and shall be responsible for the tax on the cigars, cigarettes, loose or smokeless tobacco, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products and the payment of the tax to the commissioner. No tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products shall be received in, sold in, or shipped into this state unless lawfully obtained from a person licensed pursuant to this chapter or from an importer with a valid permit issued pursuant to
26 U.S.C. Section 5712
.
(f)
The amount of taxes advanced and paid to the state as provided in this Code section shall be added to and collected as a part of the sales price of the cigars, cigarettes, loose or smokeless tobacco, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products sold or distributed. The amount of the tax shall be stated separately from the price of the cigars, cigarettes, loose or smokeless tobacco, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products.
(g)
The cigars, cigarettes, loose or smokeless tobacco, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products tax imposed shall be collected only once upon the same cigars, cigarettes, loose or smokeless tobacco, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products.
Amended by 2024 Ga. Laws 598,§ 3-5, eff. 1/1/2025.
Amended by 2020 Ga. Laws 483,§ 2, eff. 1/1/2021.
Amended by 2012 Ga. Laws 698,§ 2, eff. 7/1/2013.
Amended by 2003 Ga. Laws 343, § 19, eff. 7/1/2003.
This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.