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 2 - Cigarette Marketing Standards
Part 80 - Introduction And Definitions
Section 80.2 - Definitions

(i) the lower of:

(ii) all trade discounts, except discounts for cash; plus

(iii) the full face value of any stamps which may be required by law to be affixed to packages of such cigarettes.

(i) Invoice cost is the list price of cigarettes to the agent from the manufacturer prior to any trade discounts including discounts for cash. Replacement cost is the current list price to the agent from the manufacturer to replace such cigarettes, in the quantity last purchased, prior to any trade discounts including discounts for cash.

(ii) Manufacturer means any person who or which manufactures or otherwise produces cigarettes, or causes cigarettes to be manufactured or produced.

(iii) Trade discount means the difference between a manufacturer's list price and the price at which the manufacturer actually sells cigarettes. A trade discount is a discount given by the manufacturer of cigarettes to the agent at the time of sale and shall be separately stated as such on the invoice or other document of sale. Trade discount does not include a rebate.

(iv) Discount for cash means any deduction from the list price of cigarettes which the manufacturer allows for payment within a certain period of time.

(v) The full face value of any stamps which may be required by law shall, in addition to the tax imposed pursuant to article 20 of the Tax Law, include any New York City tax imposed pursuant to chapter 13 of title 11 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York and means the value of the stamps before the deduction of any commission.

(i) A separate warehousing facility for the purpose of receiving and distributing cigarettes and conducting wholesale business shall mean a warehouse, storehouse or other commercial building, or a group of such buildings, wherein cigarettes are received, stored and distributed and the dealer's day-to-day wholesale business activities are conducted. Such a warehousing facility must be separate and distinct from any other person's facilities. A warehousing facility shall not include a mere enclosure within a larger facility, nor a means of transportation (i.e., a truck or van).

(ii) Separate premises for retail business shall mean any building or portion of a building where cigarettes are stored and sold or offered for sale to consumers and where the day-to-day retail business of the dealer is conducted. Such premises must be separate from any space where the wholesale business activities, if any, of the dealer are performed. Hence, if the retail premises are part of a common building where both wholesale and retail businesses are carried out, the retail premises must have a separate entrance/exit for use by consumers and such consumers must be precluded from entering areas used for other than retail purposes.

(i) persons who own or maintain 15 or more retail outlets;

(ii) vending machine operators;

(iii) cooperative members;

(iv) franchisees; and

(v) large volume outlet operators, as all such persons are described in this subdivision. No person shall be considered to be a chain store, unless such person has been registered with the Department of Taxation and Finance as provided for in section 489 of the Tax Law (see Part 81 of this Title).

(i) Cooperative members. Chain store includes cooperative members. A cooperative member means any member of a cooperative as defined in subdivision (c) of section three of the Cooperative Corporation Law, that operates a distribution center from which members purchase general merchandise intended for resale and whose members sell cigarettes at retail through 15 or more separate establishments which are located in New York State. The Cooperative Corporations Law defines a cooperative, in pertinent part, as a corporation organized under such law or under any former special or general law of the State, for the cooperative rendering of mutual help and service to its members. In order to qualify as a cooperative member for purposes of this Title, a dealer must share in the profits and losses of the cooperative and must have purchased at least 25 percent of the merchandise it purchased for resale during the preceding calendar year from such cooperative, excluding cigarettes and petroleum products. Such volume of purchases will be measured by the amount paid for such merchandise, prior to any patronage dividends or refunds based on patronage.

(ii) The registrations of those cooperative members registered as chain stores prior to July 22, 1990 (the effective date of chapter 744 of the Laws of 1990) will not be revoked by reason of their failure to belong to a cooperative that operates a distribution center, or to share in the profits and losses of the cooperative, or to meet the 25 percent purchase requirement. Upon each successive registration pursuant to Part 81 of this Title, such cooperative members will not be subject to such requirements, but shall be subject to all other requirements of article 20-A of the Tax Law. Since a chain store's registration is not assignable, the provisions of this subparagraph do not apply where there has been a change in ownership of a cooperative member on or after such effective date (see section 81.1[a] of this Title).

(i) goods or services under a marketing plan or system prescribed in substantial part by a franchisor; or

(ii) goods or services substantially associated with the franchisor's trademark, service mark, trade name, logotype, advertising or other commercial symbol of the franchisor or its affiliates. A franchise for purposes of article 33 of the General Business Law does not include any agreement, contract or franchise subject to the provisions of article 11-B of such law, with respect to franchises for the sale of motor fuels, or any agreement or contract for the sale of motor fuels. Where the existence of a franchise or a franchisor-franchisee relationship is in question, the department may defer to the judgment of the New York State Department of Law, which is charged with the administration of article 33 of the General Business Law.