Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 139 - Beverage and tobacco taxes.
139.38 - Records, returns.

139.38 Records, returns.
(1) Every manufacturer located out of the state shall keep records of all sales of cigarettes shipped into this state. Every manufacturer located in the state shall keep records of production, sales and withdrawals of cigarettes. Every distributor and direct marketer shall keep records of purchases and sales of cigarettes. Every manufacturer, bonded direct marketer, and distributor who is authorized by the department to purchase and apply stamps shall also keep records of purchases and disposition of stamps. Every jobber, multiple retailer, and vending machine operator shall keep records of all purchases and disposition of cigarettes. Every warehouse operator shall keep records of receipts and withdrawals of cigarettes. All such records shall be accurate and complete and be kept in a manner prescribed by the secretary. These records shall be preserved on the premises described in the permit or license in such a manner as to ensure permanency and accessibility for inspection at reasonable hours by authorized personnel of the department.
(1m) Records of purchases and sales of cigarettes under sub. (1) that are kept by direct marketers shall indicate, for each shipment of cigarettes into this state in the month preceding the report under sub. (2), the invoice date and number; the quantity of cigarettes shipped; the brand name of the cigarettes shipped; the manufacturer of the cigarettes shipped and the point of origin; the purchaser's name, address, and birth date; the name of the person to whom the cigarettes were shipped; the address to which the cigarettes were shipped; and any other information the department requires.
(2)
(a) Except as provided in par. (b), every manufacturer, distributor, jobber, and direct marketer shall render a true and correct invoice of every sale of cigarettes and every permittee shall on or before the 15th day of each calendar month file a verified report of all cigarettes purchased, sold, received, warehoused or withdrawn during the preceding calendar month.
(b) The department may allow any jobber, multiple retailer, nonbonded direct marketer, or vending machine operator permittee who does not sell cigarettes, except for those on which the tax under this chapter is paid, to file a quarterly report. The quarterly report shall be filed on or before the 15th day of the next month following the close of each calendar quarter. The report shall specify the number of cigarettes purchased and sold during the preceding calendar quarter.
(2m) The provisions on timely filing under s. 71.80 (18) apply to the tax under this subchapter.
(3) The secretary shall prescribe reasonable and uniform methods of keeping records and making reports. The secretary shall prescribe and furnish the necessary report forms.
(4) If the secretary finds that the records of any permittee are not kept in the prescribed form or are in such condition that an unusual amount of time is required to determine therefrom the amount of tax due, the secretary shall give notice of such fact to such permittee and, in such notice, require that the records be revised and kept in the prescribed form. If such permittee fails to comply within 30 days the permittee shall pay the expenses reasonably attributable to a proper examination and tax determination at the rate of $30 per day of each auditor. The secretary shall send a bill for such expenses and the permittee shall pay the amount of such bill within 10 days.
(5) If any permittee fails to file a report when due the permittee shall be required to pay a late filing fee of $10. A report that is mailed is filed in time if it is mailed in a properly addressed envelope with postage duly prepaid, which envelope is officially postmarked, or marked or recorded electronically as provided under section 7502 (f) (2) (c) of the Internal Revenue Code, on the date due, and if the report is actually received by the secretary or at the destination that the department prescribes within 5 days of the due date. A report that is not mailed is timely if it is received on or before the due date by the secretary or at the destination that the department prescribes. For purposes of this subsection, “mailed" includes delivery by a delivery service designated under section 7502 (f) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(6) Sections 71.78 (1), (1m), and (4) to (9) and 71.83 (2) (a) 3. and 3m., relating to confidentiality of income and franchise tax returns, apply to any information obtained from any person on a cigarette tax return, report, schedule, exhibit, or other document or from an audit report pertaining to the return, report, schedule, exhibit, or document, except that the department shall publish on its Internet site, at least quarterly, a current list of permits issued to distributors and jobbers under s. 139.34 and include on the list the name and address of the permit holder and the date on which the department issued the permit.
(7) The department may inspect the business records of any retailer doing business on a reservation or on an Indian tribe's trust land.
History: 1977 c. 289 ss. 9, 11m; 1981 c. 20; 1983 a. 27; 1985 a. 302; 1987 a. 312 ss. 11, 17; 1991 a. 39; 1993 a. 482; 1997 a. 27; 2005 a. 25, 49; 2011 a. 68; 2015 a. 216; 2017 a. 17.

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