Vermont § 1918 - Directory of cigarettes approved for stamping and sale

§ 1918. Directory of cigarettes approved for stamping and sale

• (a) The Attorney General shall develop and publish on its website a directory listing
  all tobacco product manufacturers that have provided current and accurate certifications
  conforming to the requirements of this subchapter (the “directory”) and all brand
  families that are listed in such certifications, except as noted in this subsection. (1) The Attorney General shall not include or retain in such directory any brand family
  of any tobacco product manufacturer that has failed to provide the required certification
  or whose certification the Attorney General determines is not in compliance with this
  subchapter, unless the Attorney General determines that such violation has been cured
  to the satisfaction of the Attorney General. (2) Neither a tobacco product manufacturer nor any brand family of the tobacco product
  manufacturer shall be included or retained in the directory if the Attorney General
  concludes that either: (A) any escrow funds required to be deposited pursuant to subchapter 1A of this chapter
  for any period related to any brand family, whether or not listed by such tobacco
  product manufacturer in its certification, have not been placed into a qualified escrow
  fund governed by an escrow agreement that has been approved by the Attorney General;
  or (B) any outstanding judgment, including interest thereon, obtained pursuant to subchapter
  1A of this chapter related to that tobacco product manufacturer or any brand family
  of the tobacco product manufacturer has not been fully satisfied. (b) The Attorney General shall update the directory in order to correct mistakes and add
  or remove a tobacco product manufacturer or brand family to keep the directory in
  conformity with the requirements of this subchapter, and the Attorney General shall
  transmit by e-mail or other practicable means to each stamping agent, and to any other
  entity that registers with the Department of Taxes or the Attorney General requesting
  receipt of the same, notice at least 30 days prior to any removal from the directory
  of any tobacco product manufacturer or brand family. (c) Unless otherwise provided by agreement between a licensed wholesale dealer and a tobacco
  product manufacturer, a licensed wholesale dealer shall be entitled to a refund from
  a tobacco product manufacturer for any money paid by the licensed wholesale dealer
  to the tobacco product manufacturer for any cigarettes of that tobacco product manufacturer
  still in the possession of the licensed wholesale dealer on the date of the Attorney
  General’s removal from the directory of that tobacco product manufacturer or the individual
  styles or brands of cigarettes of that tobacco product manufacturer. Also, unless
  otherwise provided by agreement between a retail dealer and a licensed wholesale dealer
  or a tobacco product manufacturer, a retail dealer shall be entitled to a refund from
  either a licensed wholesale dealer or a tobacco product manufacturer for any money
  paid by the retail dealer to the licensed wholesale dealer or tobacco product manufacturer
  for any cigarettes of that licensed wholesale dealer or tobacco product manufacturer
  still in the possession of the retail dealer on the date of the Attorney General’s
  removal from the directory of that tobacco product manufacturer or the individual
  styles or brands of cigarettes of that tobacco product manufacturer. The Attorney
  General shall not restore to the directory a tobacco product manufacturer or any individual
  styles or brands or cigarettes or, if applicable, brand families of that tobacco product
  manufacturer until the tobacco product manufacturer has paid all licensed wholesale
  dealers any refund due pursuant to this section. (d) The Commissioner shall refund to a licensed wholesale dealer any tax paid under 32 V.S.A. chapter 205 on products no longer saleable in the State under this subchapter. (e) A determination of the Attorney General not to list or to remove from the directory
  a tobacco product manufacturer, an individual style or brand of cigarette or, if applicable,
  brand family is a final agency decision with the same status as an agency decision
  or order in a contested case under the Vermont Administrative Procedure Act. A tobacco
  product manufacturer aggrieved by a determination of the Attorney General under this
  section may appeal to the Superior Court in Washington County, which shall review
  the matter pursuant to 3 V.S.A. § 815. (f) If a nonparticipating manufacturer who has not been listed on the directory for the
  previous three years files a certification pursuant to this section, or if the Attorney
  General determines that a nonparticipating manufacturer who has filed a certification
  pursuant to this section poses an elevated risk for noncompliance with sections 1912-1914 of this title, neither the nonparticipating manufacturer nor any of its brand families shall be
  included or retained on the directory unless and until the nonparticipating manufacturer
  or its U.S. importer that undertakes joint and several liability for the manufacturer’s
  performance in accordance with section 1925 of this title and amendments to that section has posted a bond in accordance with this subsection.
  Proof of the bond shall be submitted with the certification on a form approved by
  the Attorney General. (1) The bond required under this subsection shall be written in favor of the State of
  Vermont and shall be conditioned on the performance by the nonparticipating manufacturer
  or its U.S. importer that undertakes joint and several liability for the manufacturer’s
  performance in accordance with sections 1912-1914 and 1925 of this title. The bond shall be issued by a surety company in good standing and authorized to
  transact business in this State to secure the payment of any escrow due or that may
  become due from the nonparticipating manufacturer or its U.S. importer. The bond shall
  be maintained as a condition to the nonparticipating manufacturer and its brand families
  being included on the directory and shall remain in place for the pendency of such
  listing. (2) The bond required shall be $20,000.00 for a nonparticipating manufacturer that has
  not been listed on the Vermont directory for at least three years prior to the nonparticipating
  manufacturer’s application for certification. (3) The bond required shall be $50,000.00 for a nonparticipating manufacturer that poses
  an elevated risk for noncompliance with sections 1912-1914 of this title. (4) A nonparticipating manufacturer shall be deemed to pose an elevated risk for noncompliance
  with sections 1912-1914 of this title if it: (A) failed in the previous three years to make a full and timely escrow deposit due pursuant
  to section 1914 of this title, unless the failure was promptly cured upon notice; (B) was involuntarily removed from any state’s directory, unless the removal was determined
  to have been erroneous or illegal; or (C) has litigation pending against it in any state for escrow or for penalties, costs,
  or attorney’s fees related to noncompliance with any state’s escrow laws. (5) If a nonparticipating manufacturer that has posted a bond has failed to make or to
  have made on its behalf by an entity with joint and several liability escrow deposits
  equal to the full amount owed for a quarter within 15 days following the due date
  for the quarter under sections 1914 and 1925 of this title, the State may execute upon the bond first to recover delinquent escrow, which amount
  shall be deposited into a qualified escrow account under section 1914, and then to
  recover civil penalties and costs authorized under that section. Escrow obligations
  above the amount collected on the bond remain due from that nonparticipating manufacturer
  and, as provided in section 1925 of this title, from importers that sold its cigarettes in the calendar quarter. (Added 2003, No. 14, § 1; amended 2003, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2013, No. 14, § 22; 2015, No. 57, § 85, eff. June 11, 2015; 2021, No. 20, § 303.)