HB404 Alabama 2014 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Mike Jones

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2014

Title

Tobacco products, defintions revised, invoices, penalties, Sec. 40-25-16.1 added; Secs. 40-25-1, 40-25-2, 40-25-4, 40-25-7, 40-25-8, 40-25-9, 40-25-13, 40-25-20, 40-2A-10 am'd.

Summary

HB404 overhauls Alabama's tobacco tax system by updating definitions, reclassifying cigars, tightening invoicing and recordkeeping, expanding penalties, and adding a monthly reporting requirement plus a public distributor listing.

What This Bill Does

The bill revises how tobacco products are defined and taxed (including separating little cigars from filtered cigar-size cigars and adjusting tax categories). It removes the old stamp-cancellation language and requires the state tax amount to be shown separately on invoices, while retailers must keep 90 days of invoices and use computer-generated invoices. It strengthens enforcement with new penalties and updated confiscation procedures for untaxed or improperly stamped products, and it creates a new monthly reporting duty plus a public website listing tobacco distributors; purchases from entities not on the listing could be confiscated. It also tightens confidentiality rules around tax data while allowing limited sharing for administration among state agencies.

Who It Affects

• Tobacco product wholesalers, jobbers, semijobbers, registered retailers, and importers in Alabama: must file monthly activity reports, use computer-generated invoices, separately state state tax on invoices, and may face confiscation or penalties for noncompliance, especially if they are not listed on the new Department of Revenue website.
• Retailers and other sellers of tobacco products: must maintain 90 days of purchase invoices at retail locations, ensure proper stamping and tax collection, and comply with the new stamping, reporting, and confiscation rules.

Key Provisions

• Definitions updated for wholesale dealer, retail dealer, semijobber, stamps, and cigars/cheroots/stogies to reflect new categories and roles in the tax system.
• Tax categories and rates revised, including separation of little cigars from filtered cigar-sized cigars and elimination of now-inapplicable cigar categories.
• Invoicing and recordkeeping tightened: state tax must be shown separately on invoices; retailers must keep 90 days of invoices and use computer-generated invoices with supplier names; stamping procedures updated or streamlined; and confiscation provisions strengthened for untaxed or improperly stamped goods.
• New reporting and public listing: Section 40-25-16.1 requires monthly activity reports from wholesalers, jobbers, semijobbers, retailers, and importers and creates a Department of Revenue website listing compliant distributors; purchases from unlisted entities may be confiscated; confidentiality rules (40-2A-10) are clarified to govern information sharing.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Cigarettes