South Carolina § 11-48-50 - Compliance information by cigarette distributors; proof of establishment by nonparticipating manufacturers of qualified escrow funds; submission of packaging or labeling samples; authority to promulgate regulations requiring quarterly escrow deposits.

§ 11-48-50. Compliance information by cigarette distributors; proof of establishment by nonparticipating manufacturers of qualified escrow funds; submission of packaging or labeling samples; authority to promulgate regulations requiring quarterly escrow deposits.

(A) No later than twenty days after the end of each calendar quarter, and more frequently if so directed by the Attorney General, a cigarette distributor shall submit information the Attorney General requires to facilitate compliance with this chapter including, but not limited to, a list by brand family of the total number of cigarettes or in the case of roll-your-own, the equivalent stick count for which the cigarette distributor affixed stamps during the previous calendar quarter, or otherwise paid the tax due for the cigarettes. The cigarette distributor shall maintain, and make available to the Attorney General, all invoices and documentation of sales of all nonparticipating manufacturer cigarettes and other information relied upon in reporting to the Attorney General for a period of five years. The distributors also shall provide this information and documentation to the Department of Revenue and any other documentation requested by the Department of Revenue. The Department of Revenue shall process this information as needed by that agency and as needed by the Attorney General for the purposes of this chapter and the Tobacco Escrow Fund Act.

(B) The Attorney General may share the information received pursuant to this chapter with other federal, state, or local agencies only for purposes of enforcement of this chapter, Chapter 47 of this title, or corresponding laws of other states. The Attorney General is further authorized to disclose to a cigarette manufacturer any information that has been provided by a tobacco product distributor as required by this act regarding the purchases from that manufacturer.

(C) The Attorney General may require at any time from the nonparticipating manufacturer, proof from the financial institution in which the manufacturer has established a qualified escrow fund for the purpose of compliance with Chapter 47 of this title of the amount of money in the qualified escrow fund exclusive of interest, the dates of deposits, and the amounts and dates of all withdrawals from the qualified escrow fund.

(D) In addition to the information required to be submitted pursuant to Section 11-48-30, the Attorney General may require a cigarette distributor or tobacco product manufacturer to submit additional information including, but not limited to, samples of the packaging or labeling of each brand family, as is necessary to enable the Attorney General to determine if a tobacco product manufacturer is in compliance with this chapter.

(E) To promote compliance with the provisions of this chapter, the Attorney General may promulgate regulations requiring a tobacco product manufacturer subject to the requirements of item (2) of Section 11-48-30(A) to make the qualified escrow fund deposits required in quarterly installments during the year in which the sales covered by such deposits are made. The Attorney General may require production of information sufficient to enable the Attorney General to determine the adequacy of the amount of the installment deposit.

HISTORY: 2005 Act No. 61, SECTION 1.A.