Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
Tax Law, §§ 480, 483(a), 489
(a) Every chain store, including a vending
machine operator, a cooperative member, a franchisee and a large volume outlet
operator, must register with the Department of Taxation and Finance. No person
shall be considered to be a chain store for purposes of the Cigarette Marketing
Standards Act unless such person has been granted and publicly displays, in
such person's place of business, a certificate of chain store registration. The
certificate of registration granted to a chain store by the department is
personal to the person to whom it is granted and such certificate is not
assignable. (See sections
72.1
and
81.2
of this Title for assignments of licenses and the application of the wholesale
dealer provisions to the registration of chain stores.)
(b)
(1) An
application for a certificate of registration as a chain store must be made on
a form prescribed by the Department of Taxation and Finance for such purpose
and must fully disclose all of the information requested therein. Such
application must be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee of $300 in the form of a
bank check, certified check (or other guaranteed draft acceptable to the
department) or money order, made payable to the Department of Taxation and
Finance, unless such fee has been paid during the preceding 12 months, in which
case, the fee for registration shall be $200. Provided, however, the fee for
registration of a chain store that is a vending machine operator shall be $250,
unless such fee has been paid during the preceding 12 months, in which case,
the fee shall be $200. Every qualifying group of 15 or more commonly owned
retail outlets, vending machine operator, cooperative member, franchisee and
large volume outlet operator who or which wishes to register as a chain store,
must file such application and remit the appropriate registration fee. A single
registration fee shall be applicable to each classification of chain store,
regardless of the number of retail outlets, vending machines, separate outlets
or other establishments owned, operated or maintained by the applicant and its
affiliates.
(2) The department will
review the information submitted by the applicant and may for cause refuse to
register such applicant. Upon approval of an application for a certificate of
registration as a chain store, the department will issue, for prominent public
display, an individual certificate of registration for each of a chain store's
business locations, other than individual vending machines. Each certificate
shall bear the address of the appropriate place of business and a common chain
store identification number. Failure to display such certificate(s) will
constitute a violation of article 20-A of the Tax Law.
(3) Except as otherwise provided, a
certificate of registration as a chain store shall continue in effect until
cancelled or suspended by the department or until surrendered by the
registrant.
(c)
(1) The Department of Taxation and Finance,
in order to insure compliance with the cigarette marketing standards contained
in article 20-A of the Tax Law, may periodically review the status of a
registered chain store and may, at any time, require a chain store to submit to
the department any information necessary for the completion of such
review.
(2) Not more often than
once every three years, the department (in order to properly administer the
Cigarette Marketing Standards Act contained in article 20-A of such law) may
require every registered chain store to file a new application for
registration, again comply with, or prove its compliance with, all of the
requirements of the Tax Law and this Title in relation to chain stores and to
surrender its existing registration as a chain store.
(d) A chain store must immediately inform the
Department of Taxation and Finance, in writing, of any changes to the
information submitted in the application for registration as a chain store or
as otherwise last reported to the department, including, but not limited to,
the addition or deletion of any retail outlets, vending machines, separate
outlets or other establishments owned, operated or maintained by the chain
store.
