Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services

Walk-in services at all DRS branch office locations remain suspended. Email DRS at drs@po.state.ct.us. Email the Priority One Taxpayer Assistance Program: DRSPriorityOne_CollectionsAssist@po.state.ct.us. Please check our Frequently Asked Questions page.

SN 2000(16)

Special Reporting Requirement for Cigarette Stampers and Tobacco Products Distributors

This publication has been superseded by SN 2000(16.1)

PURPOSE: This Special Notice describes 2000 legislation requiring cigarette stampers and tobacco products distributors to report, by manufacturer, the number of cigarettes stamped and the number of packages of "roll-your-own" cigarette tobacco on which excise tax is paid.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Effective July 1, 2000

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: 2000 Conn. Pub. Acts 208.

DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE SERVICES (DRS) IS REQUIRED TO COLLECT INFORMATION ABOUT CIGARETTES SOLD BY MANUFACTURERS: Effective July 1, 2000, DRS is responsible for ascertaining the amount of Connecticut excise tax paid on the cigarettes of each tobacco product manufacturer for each year. This information will be used by the Attorney General of Connecticut to determine the amount, per cigarette sold, that certain tobacco product manufacturers must place into an escrow account annually, if such manufacturers are not signatories to the Master Settlement Agreement entitled State of Connecticut v. Philip Morris, et al.

Definition of "cigarette": Under 2000 Conn. Pub. Acts 208, §1(4), the term "cigarette" includes roll-your-own cigarette tobacco as well as regular cigarettes. Each nine one-hundredths (0.09) of an ounce of roll-your-own cigarette tobacco constitutes one individual cigarette.

In Connecticut, cigarettes are taxed and stamped under the provisions of the Cigarette Taxes Act, Chapter 214 of the Connecticut General Statutes, while roll-your-own cigarette tobacco is separately taxed under the provisions of the Tobacco Products Act, Chapter 214a of the Connecticut General Statutes. Therefore, both cigarette stampers and tobacco products distributors will have reporting responsibilities under the new legislation.

Small cigars: Under Chapter 214, the term "cigarette" also includes any roll for smoking which has a wrapper made of homogenized tobacco or natural leaf tobacco and which is a cigarette size so that it weighs three pounds or less per thousand ("small cigar"). Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-285. The law requires stampers to affix Connecticut heat-applied decals to packages of such small cigars, and DRS expects all stampers to do so. DRS also reminds stampers that the sale of such small cigars other than in an unopened package containing 20 or more such small cigars is prohibited. For more information, see Special Notice 2000(6), 2000 Legislation Affecting Cigarette Taxes and Sales of Cigarettes. Furthermore, the special reporting requirements for stampers that are discussed below apply to such small cigars.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR CIGARETTE STAMPERS: Commencing July 1, 2000, every cigarette stamper (a cigarette distributor licensed under the provisions of Chapter 214 who affixes Connecticut heat-applied decals to packages of cigarettes) must complete and attach a monthly schedule, Schedule H, to Form CT-15, Monthly Tax Stamp and Cigarette Report/Resident Distributor, in the case of a resident distributor, or to Form CT-15A, Monthly Tax Stamp and Cigarette Report/Nonresident Distributor, in the case of a nonresident distributor.

Schedule H will list, for each month, the name, address and other information about:

  • Each manufacturer from which the distributor made direct purchases of packages of cigarettes that were actually manufactured by such manufacturer;
  • All brands of cigarettes that were purchased from such manufacturer;
  • The number of Connecticut heat-applied decals that were affixed to such packages; and
  • The number of cigarettes in each package.

Schedule H will also list and include the same information with respect to packages of cigarettes that the distributor purchased from all other suppliers.

DRS will mail three copies of Schedule H to stampers with this Special Notice. Stampers must complete a Schedule H for July 2000, a Schedule H for August 2000, and a Schedule H for September 2000, and attach the three schedules to their Form CT-15 or Form CT-15A for September 2000, and file them with DRS on or before October 25, 2000.

Thereafter, DRS will not mail copies of Schedule H to stampers, so stampers should obtain them from either the DRS internet web site or DRS TAX-FAX. (See Forms and Publications.) Stampers must complete a Schedule H for each month, and attach the Schedule H to their Form CT-15 or Form CT-15A for that month.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR TOBACCO PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS: Commencing July 1, 2000, every tobacco products distributor licensed under the provisions of Chapter 214a must complete and attach a monthly schedule, Schedule E, to Form OP-300, Tobacco Products Tax Return.

Schedule E will list, for each month, the name, address, and other information about:

  • Each manufacturer from which the distributor made direct purchases of roll-your-own cigarette tobacco that were actually manufactured by such manufacturer;
  • All brands of such tobacco that were purchased from such manufacturer; and
  • The quantity, by weight, of such directly-purchased tobacco that was sold by the licensed distributor during the month. Each nine one-hundredths (0.09) of an ounce of roll-your-own cigarette tobacco constitutes one individual cigarette.

Schedule E will also list and include the same information with respect to packages of roll-your-own cigarette tobacco that the distributor purchased from all other suppliers.

DRS will mail three copies of Schedule E to distributors with this special notice. Distributors must complete a Schedule E for July 2000, a Schedule E for August 2000, and a Schedule E for September 2000, and attach the three schedules to their Form OP-300 for September 2000, and file them with DRS on or before October 25, 2000.

Thereafter, DRS will mail a Schedule E with the Form OP-300 for each month. Distributors must complete a Schedule E for each month, and attach the Schedule E to their Form OP-300 for that month.

PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY: Cigarette stampers and tobacco products distributors that fail to file Schedule H or Schedule E, as the case may be, on a timely basis, or that fail to provide the required information on such schedules, will be subject to suspension or revocation of their distributor’s licenses.

EFFECT ON OTHER DOCUMENTS: None affected.

EFFECT OF THIS DOCUMENT: A Special Notice is a document that announces a new policy or practice in response to changes in State or federal laws or regulations or to judicial decisions. A Special Notice indicates DRS’s informal interpretation of Connecticut tax law and may be referred to for general guidance by taxpayers or tax practitioners.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON CIGARETTE TAXES OR THE TOBACCO PRODUCTS TAX: For further information on cigarette taxes or the tobacco products tax or on the special reporting requirements that are discussed in this Special Notice, please call the Excise/Public Services Taxes Subdivision of the Audit Division at 860-541-3225 during business hours, Monday through Friday.

SN 2000(16)
Cigarette Tax and the Tobacco Products Tax
2000 Legislation
Issued: 10/04/2000