South Carolina General Assembly
106th Session, 1985-1986

Bill 404


                    Current Status

Bill Number:               404
Ratification Number:       308
Act Number:                306
Introducing Body:          Senate
Subject:                   Permanent licensing for persons owing the
                           tobacco tax, soft drink tax and admissions
                           tax
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A306, R308, S404)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 12-21-670, 12-21-1710, AS AMENDED, AND 12-21-2440, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING RESPECTIVELY TO THE LICENSES REQUIRED BY THE SOUTH CAROLINA TAX COMMISSION FROM PERSONS ENGAGED IN PURCHASING, SELLING, OR DISTRIBUTING TOBACCO PRODUCTS FOR PURPOSES OF THE TOBACCO TAX, DISTRIBUTORS AND WHOLESALE DEALERS IN SOFT DRINKS FOR PURPOSES OF THE SOFT DRINK TAX, AND OPERATORS OF PLACES OF AMUSEMENT, FOR PURPOSES OF THE ADMISSIONS TAX, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR PERMANENT LICENSING AND TO REPEAL SECTION 12-21-1720 RELATING TO ANNUAL PAYMENT OF LICENSES FEES.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Application

SECTION 1. Section 12-21-670 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 12-21-670. The application must be filed on a blank to be furnished by the Commission for that purpose and shall contain a statement including the name of the individual, partnership, (and in the case of each individual partner) or corporation, the post-office address and the nature of the business. Upon receipt of an application for a license to engage in any business as set forth in Section 12-21-660, the Commission shall issue to the applicant a permanent license permitting the purchase, sale, and distribution of the articles designated therein. The license must be displayed at all times in some conspicuous place at or in the place of business where it may be easily seen by the public. The license provided for in this section must be obtained before engaging in the business in this State and is only valid for the person in whose name it is issued and only for the transaction of business at the place designated in the license."

Soft drink license

SECTION 2. Section 12-21-1710 of the 1976 Code, as amended by Act 110 of 1983, is further amended to read:

"Section 12-21-1710. (a) Distributors, wholesale, or retail dealers first receiving untaxed soft drinks or soft drink products shall obtain for each place of business a soft drink license. For the purpose of this section 'place of business' means any place where soft drinks are manufactured by a distributor, or any place where untaxed bottled soft drink syrups and powders, base products, and other items taxed under this article are received or stored by a distributor, wholesale, or retail dealer. For the purpose of this section 'distributors or wholesale dealers' include any person who receives, stores, manufactures, bottles, or sells bottled soft drinks, soft drink syrups or powders, or base products for mixing, compounding, or making soft drinks to retail dealers or other wholesale dealers for resale purposes.

(b) Out-of-state distributors and wholesale

dealers shall obtain appropriate distributors' or wholesale dealers' licenses upon compliance with the provisions of this article and the regulations and administrative rules as may be issued by the Commission.

(c) Distributors, wholesale, and retail dealers licensed under this section shall file the reports with the Commission as may be required not later than the twentieth day of each month showing transactions for the preceding month. Any person who fails to file the required reports must be penalized not less than twenty dollars nor more than one hundred dollars, to be assessed and collected in the same manner as other taxes are assessed and collected. The Commission may remit the penalty in whole or in part.

(d) Any person who operates a 'place of business' for which a license is required by this section without having first secured the license must be penalized not less than twenty dollars nor more than one hundred dollars to be assessed and collected in the same manner as other taxes are assessed and collected. Each day that the business is operated constitutes a separate offense. In addition, all bottled soft drinks found in the possession, custody, or within the control of any person who violates the license provisions of this section are declared contraband and may be seized in accordance with Section 12-21-2870.

(e) The licenses provided by this section are permanent and are valid only for the person in whose name they are issued and only for the transaction of business at the places designated in the licenses."

Application for license

SECTION 3. Section 12-21-2440 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 12-21-2440. Before engaging in business every person operating a place of amusement within the State subject to the tax imposed by this article shall file with the Commission an application for a permanent license permitting him to engage in the business. The application for the license must be filed on blanks to be furnished by the Commission for that purpose and shall contain a statement including the name of the individual, the partnership, and each individual partner, or the corporation filing the application, the post-office address, and the nature of the business."

Repeal

SECTION 4. Section 12-21-1720 of the 1976 Code is repealed.

Time effective

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect upon approval by the Governor.