Part Definitions

  1. Law
  2. Tennessee Code
  3. Taxes and Licenses
  4. Privilege and Excise Taxes
  5. Tobacco Tax Law
  6. Part Definitions

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As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:

  1. “Cigar” or “cigars” includes any roll of tobacco, for smoking, irrespective of the tobacco being flavored or adulterated, or mixed with other ingredients, where such a roll has a wrapper made chiefly of tobacco, except “cigar” or “cigars” does not include rolls of tobacco for smoking defined in this section as “cigarettes”;
    1. “Cigarette” or “cigarettes” means and includes all rolled, shredded, or cut tobacco, or any substitute therefor, wrapped in paper, or substitute therefor, and all rolled, shredded or cut tobacco, or any substitute therefor, wrapped in homogenized tobacco wrapper, and being within customary cigarette sizes and marketed in cigarette type packages;
    2. “Cigarette” includes any cigarette produced by a cigarette rolling machine at a retail establishment;
    1. “Cigarette rolling machine” means a machine at a retail establishment that enables any person to process at that establishment tobacco or any product that is made or derived from tobacco into a roll or tube;
    2. “Cigarette rolling machine” does not mean any hand-held, manually operated cigarette rolling machine, equipment, or device, if such machine, equipment, or device is held by the retail establishment solely for the sale to consumers for off-premises use in making cigarettes for personal consumption;
  4. “Cigarette rolling machine operator” means a person that purchases or leases for use, or controls, possesses or maintains, a cigarette rolling machine at a retail establishment that enables any person to process at that establishment tobacco or any product that is made or derived from tobacco into a roll or tube. A cigarette rolling machine operator is deemed to be a tobacco distributor for purposes of this part;
  5. “Commissioner” means the commissioner of revenue;
  6. “Consumer” means an individual who is not a cigarette retail dealer or a licensed cigarette distributor. “Consumer” includes any person, including a cigarette retailer or licensed distributor, who purchases cigarettes for personal consumption;
  7. “Dealer” or “distributor” has the exact same meaning as “person” as defined in this section;
    1. “Delivery sale” means any sale of cigarettes to a consumer in this state when either:
      1. The purchaser submits the order for such sale by means of a telephonic or other method of voice transaction, the mails, or any other delivery service, or the Internet or other online service; or
      2. The cigarettes are delivered by use of the mails or other delivery service;
    2. A sale of cigarettes shall be a delivery sale regardless of whether the seller is located within or without the state;
  9. “Delivery service” means any person who is engaged in the commercial delivery of letters, packages, or other containers and is not a seller, dealer or distributor;
  10. “Department” means the department of revenue;
  11. “Drop shipment plan or system” means any device whereunder a manufacturer or sales agency or drop shipment depot ships tobacco products to points in the state to be billed or collected for by some person other than the manufacturer or sales agency, or drop shipment depot, or person shipping such products;
  12. “Loose tobacco” means tobacco that is not contained in rolls or tubes and that has been removed from its original packaging;
  13. “Manufacturing distributor” means any person, with a plant located in this state, engaged in the business of manufacturing or processing consumable tobacco products, taxed by this part;
  14. “Nonresident” means any person who is not a bona fide domiciliary of this state and/or who maintains no plant, warehouse, or other tobacco products storage facility in this state;
  15. “Person” means and includes every individual, firm, association, joint-stock company, syndicate and corporation;
  16. “Possess” means to have in one's actual and physical control, or to have the exclusive detention and control of, to own or be entitled to, or to have responsibility for the storage of in the capacity of a warehouseman;
  17. “Resident agent” means a resident of this state, designated in writing by the commissioner to either sell unaffixed or to affix revenue stamps to tobacco products as provided for in this part;
  18. “Retail dealer” means each tobacco vending machine, place, store, booth, concession, truck or vehicle, or person that in any way sells or makes available tobacco products directly to the ultimate consumer;
  19. “Sale” means, in addition to its usual meaning, any sale, use, transfer, exchange, barter, gift, or offer for sale and distribution, in any manner or by any means whatsoever;
  20. “Stamp” means the impression, device, stamp, label or print manufactured, printed or made as prescribed by the commissioner;
  21. “Tobacco distributor” means any person who receives, purchases, sells or otherwise handles tobacco products as a secondary wholesaler and who acquires all that person's tobacco products on which, prior to receipt by the person, the tobacco tax required by Tennessee and any other state has been previously paid by a Tennessee wholesaler that is also a Tennessee appointed and bonded affixing agent, and who sells or otherwise makes available such tobacco products to retailers in this and perhaps other states at a wholesale price for the purpose of resale to the consumer;
  22. “Tobacco manufacturer's warehouse” means any warehouse, building or structure or space therein, whether publicly or privately owned, leased or rented, where any tobacco products are stored as a function of the distribution of such products, but are maintained separate from the manufacturer's operation, and where title to and control of distribution of the tobacco products stored therein remain with the manufacturer or processor;
  23. “Tobacco products” means cigars, cigarettes, manufactured tobacco and snuff, but not tobacco produced and processed by the grower for the grower's own use and not for sale;
  24. “Vending machine” means any money-in-the-slot device used for the automatic merchandising of tobacco products, and each such machine shall be considered as a separate retail dealer;
  25. “Wholesale cost price” means the manufacturers' and/or processors' actual sales price of any tobacco product, delivered to Tennessee dealers, exclusive of any discounts, rebates, allowances, or the privilege tax imposed by this part; and
  26. “Wholesale dealer and jobber” means any person who maintains wholesale facilities in one (1) or more permanent locations, and engages in the business of receiving, storing, purchasing, selling at wholesale only, importing unstamped tobacco products, and otherwise handling tobacco products for resale at a wholesale price only to other licensed wholesale dealers and jobbers, or tobacco distributors or retail dealers as defined in this section, but does not sell tobacco products directly to the ultimate consumer.


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