Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 701 - Revenue Department › Title III - Sales, Use, and Excise Tax › Chapter 255 - Cigarette Tax and Regulation of Delivery Sales of Alternative Nicotine Products or Vapor Products › Rule 701-255.5 - Cigarette Tax Stamps

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1)
In
				general.
To evidence the payment of the cigarette tax, cigarette
				stamps must be securely affixed to the individual cigarette containers. The
				stamps shall be provided by the director, and either sold directly to a
				distributor or a manufacturer holding a valid distributor's or manufacturer's
				permit or through authorized banks, as defined in Iowa Code section
				524.103 to these same
				permittees. The possession of unstamped cigarettes by persons not authorized to
				possess unstamped cigarettes shall be prima facie evidence of the nonpayment of
				the tax. The penalty for possession of unstamped cigarettes is set forth in
				Iowa Code section
				453A.31(1)
				 as amended by 1999 Iowa Acts, chapter 151,
				section 81. Any person in possession of unstamped cigarettes must pay the tax
				directly to the department. If sales of cigarettes exceed the purchase of
				cigarette stamps by persons authorized and responsible to affix stamps, there
				is established a rebuttable presumption that the excess cigarettes were sold
				without the tax stamps affixed thereto.
(2)
Purchase of stamps from the
				department.
Stamps may be purchased from the department and from
				authorized banks in unbroken rolls of 30,000 stamps, or other quantities
				authorized by the director. The stamps may be purchased only by persons holding
				an unrevoked distributor's permit or an unrevoked manufacturer's permit.
When cigarette stamps are purchased from the department,
				  orders shall be sent directly to the department on a form prescribed by and
				  available upon request from the department. The order must be accompanied by a
				  remittance payable to the Iowa Department of Revenue in the amount of the face
				  value of the stamps less any discount as provided in rule
				  701-82.7 (453A). The stamps
				  shall be sent to the purchaser through the United States Postal Service by
				  registered mail or similar delivery service at the department's expense. The
				  purchaser may request alternate methods of transmission, but such methods shall
				  be at the expense of the purchaser. Regardless of the method used to send the
				  stamps, title transfers to the purchaser at the time the department delivers
				  the stamps to the carrier.
(3)
Purchase of stamps from
				authorized bank.
The purchase of stamps from an authorized bank must
				be made by the distributor or manufacturer or the distributor's or
				manufacturer's representative. The permittee shall furnish the bank with a
				requisition form prescribed by the department along with payment for the full
				price of the stamps less any discount as provided in rule
				701-82.7 (453A). The director
				may require such payments to be by cashier's check or certified check as to any
				individual distributor or manufacturer. The authorized bank shall be notified
				in writing by the department of any such requirement. Distributors or
				manufacturers who elect to purchase stamps from authorized banks shall advise
				the department in writing of the authorized bank so elected. The distributor or
				manufacturer may not purchase from any other bank other than the one so
				selected, but may still purchase stamps directly from the department. See rule
				701-82.6(453A) for restrictions on authorized banks as to the sale of stamps.
				Also see rule 701-82.11 (453A) relating to
				refunds.
This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections
				  453A.6,
				  453A.8,
				  and
				  453A.28
				  as amended by 1999 Iowa Acts, chapter 151, and Iowa Code sections
				  453A.7,
				  453A.10,
				  453A.12,
				  and
				  453A.35.