New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 20 - DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE
Chapter I - Franchise and Certain Business Taxes
Subchapter I - Cigarette Tax, Cigarette Marketing Standards And Tobacco Products Tax
Article 1 - Cigarette Tax
Part 77 - Refunds And Redemptions Of Unused Stamps
Section 77.1 - Refunds

(i) are sold and shipped into another state or other identified location outside of New York State for sale or use in such other state or location; or

(ii) are destroyed;

a dealer, including a licensed cigarette agent, shall be entitled to a refund of the actual amount of cigarette tax which was paid and borne by the dealer with respect to such cigarettes, provided an application for refund is timely filed. Further, whenever any cigarettes upon which stamps have been placed on packages thereof:

(iii) become unfit for use and consumption; or

(iv) become unsalable;

a dealer who is a licensed agent shall, upon timely application, be entitled to such a refund. Accordingly, a retail dealer and a wholesale dealer may be entitled to a refund of the face value of the stamps, including the city tax in the case of joint stamps. Where the dealer is a licensed cigarette agent and has purchased and affixed said stamps, such agent may be entitled to a refund of the face value of the stamps, less any commissions allowed the agent pursuant to article 20 of the Tax Law and the Administrative Code of the City of New York. In the event that an agent cannot establish the date of purchase of such stamps for purposes of ascertaining the applicable rate or rates of commission to be used in computing the net amount of refund due, the rate or rates in effect at the time of such sale, destruction or determination of unsuitability may be used, with the prior consent of the Department of Taxation and Finance.

(i) Every dealer applying for a refund on the basis of cigarettes sold out-of-State, cigarettes destroyed or cigarettes determined to be unfit or unsalable must certify, in such application, that cigarette stamps were affixed to the packages of such cigarettes and that the dealer assumed the payment of the tax. The dealer must also certify that such cigarettes, in fact, were sold out-of-State, destroyed or became unsuitable for use or sale and that no other claim for refund has been, or will be, made with respect to such cigarettes.

(ii) A dealer who sells packages of cigarettes upon which stamps have been placed to an out-of-State purchaser must obliterate or otherwise void such stamps prior to the time that the cigarettes are shipped to the out-of-State location. Additionally, the dealer must require and receive from the out-of- State purchaser, at the time of each shipment and in support of any claim for refund, a certificate to the effect that the cigarettes (evidenced by a detailed invoice or other such document to be attached to the certificate) have been received by the purchaser without payment of the New York State cigarette tax, that the cigarettes will be immediately removed from the State to an identified location for purposes of resale or use and that such cigarettes shall not be returned to the State for sale or use herein. The certificate must be signed by the purchaser and must be properly completed as described in subdivision (d) of section 76.1 of this Title. Where such cigarettes are sold by other than the stamping agent, the invoice or other document to be attached to the subject certificate must, in addition to any other information, reflect the date that each container of cigarettes was received from the stamping agent. In lieu of furnishing the date for each container, a dealer may elect to furnish the date that the oldest container in the shipment was received from the stamping agent, with the understanding that such date may be used as an indication of the timeliness of any application for refund resulting from the out-of-State sale. A copy of the certificate and the attachments must accompany any such claim for refund.

(iii) A dealer who makes an application for a refund on the basis of cigarettes, in packages upon which stamps have been placed, which have been destroyed must preserve the packages of cigarettes, to the extent possible, in their original dated containers until such time as the department can inspect such packages or until notified otherwise by the department. The provisions of this section with respect to cigarettes destroyed shall also apply with the same force and effect to cigarette stamps which have been affixed to packages of cigarettes and which stamps have been subsequently damaged so as to be considered worthless.

(iv) A dealer who as a licensed agent makes an application for a refund on the basis of cigarettes, in packages upon which stamps have been placed, which have not been destroyed but which have been determined to be unfit for use and consumption or unsalable (e.g., stale cigarettes) must establish to the satisfaction of the department: