(a) Retail dealers who shall sell, offer for sale, store, possess distribute, purchase, receive or transport cigarettes for the purpose of sale within the County shall purchase cigarettes only from registered agents. Retail dealers shall provide to registered agents the business trade name and business address of the location where the cigarettes will be placed for sale to the public. Cigarettes purchased for personal use cannot be brought into a business for resale. Only properly registered and licensed retail stores may sell cigarettes to the public. To be properly registered and licensed, a retail store must first have a valid Virginia state sales and use tax certificate and valid retail business license. Cigarettes must be purchased and stored separately for each business location. Ail copies of cigarette purchase invoices/receipts must be retained by the retailer for a period of three years and shall be made available to Agents of the NVCTB upon request for use in conducting audits and investigations. All copies of cigarette purchase invoices/receipts must be stored at the business retail location for a period of one year from date of purchase. Failure to provide cigarette invoices/receipts may result in confiscation of cigarettes until receipts can be reviewed by the Board to verify the proper tax has been paid. It is the responsibility of each retail location to ensure that all cigarettes placed for sale or stored at that location are properly taxed and stamped. Cigarettes found without the NVCTB stamp or the proper jurisdictional tax paid will be seized by the Agents of the Board.
(b) Retail dealers must make their place of business available for inspection by Tobacco Revenue Agents from the Northern Virginia Cigarette Tax Board to ensure that all cigarettes are properly tax-stamped and all cigarette taxes are properly paid.
(Ord. 21-18. Passed 9-8-21.)