N.Y. Tax Law § 1121: Refunds and credits with respect to cigarettes

§ 1121. Refunds and credits with respect to cigarettes. (a) Retail

vendor. (1) A vendor of cigarettes who or which is required to collect

the taxes imposed by subdivision (a) of section eleven hundred five of

this article and any like tax imposed pursuant to the authority of

article twenty-nine of this chapter shall be allowed a refund or credit

against the amount of tax collected and required to be remitted to the

commissioner pursuant to the provisions of section eleven hundred

thirty-seven of this article upon the retail sale of cigarettes in the

amount of the tax on such cigarettes prepaid by or passed through to and

included in the price paid by such vendor pursuant to the provisions of

section eleven hundred three of this article.

(2) A refund or credit shall also be allowed such vendor for the tax

prepaid by or passed through to and included in the price paid by such

vendor upon any cigarettes pursuant to the provisions of section eleven

hundred three of this article if such cigarettes are sold at retail by

such vendor under circumstances where the taxes imposed by section

eleven hundred five of this article and pursuant to the authority of

article twenty-nine of this chapter are not required by the provisions

of this article to be collected and remitted upon receipts from a retail

sale thereof.

(b) Retail user. A person who or which is required to pay the tax

imposed by section eleven hundred ten of this article and any like tax

imposed pursuant to the authority of article twenty-nine of this chapter

with respect to the purchase or use of such cigarettes shall be allowed

a credit against such tax required to be paid to the commissioner

pursuant to such section and article in the amount of the tax prepaid by

or passed through to and included in the price paid by such purchaser or

user pursuant to the provisions of section eleven hundred three of this

article.

(c) Self-use of cigarettes purchased at wholesale. A refund or credit

equal to the amount of tax prepaid by or passed through to and included

in the price paid by a purchaser or user pursuant to the provisions of

section eleven hundred three of this article with respect to a purchase

of cigarettes other than at retail shall be allowed such purchaser or

user upon the use of such cigarettes at retail if the purchase or use of

such cigarettes by the purchaser or user is exempt pursuant to section

eleven hundred fifteen or section eleven hundred sixteen of this

article.

(d) Export, destruction, tax paid in error. Whenever any cigarettes

upon which the prepaid tax imposed by section eleven hundred three of

this article has been paid have been sold and shipped to another state

for sale or use there or have become unfit for use or unsalable, or have

been destroyed, or whenever the commissioner shall have determined that

any tax required to be prepaid by such section eleven hundred three

shall have been paid in error, the agent or dealer, as the case may be,

shall be entitled to a refund or credit of the actual amount of prepaid

tax so paid with respect to cigarettes which will not be possessed for

sale or use in this state.

(e) Refunds of the tax required to be prepaid pursuant to the

provisions of section eleven hundred three of this article shall be

allowed only to the extent such tax paid by or passed through to the

retail vendor, or the purchaser or user, exceeds the amount of tax

required to be collected from such person or required to be remitted by

the provisions of this article and pursuant to the authority of article

twenty-nine of this chapter.

(f) A refund or credit shall be allowed under this section only to the

extent that the tax required to be prepaid pursuant to section eleven

hundred three of this article has been prepaid by or passed through to

such vendor, purchaser or user, but only to the extent that the tax

imposed by section eleven hundred five of this article and any like tax

imposed pursuant to the authority of article twenty-nine of this chapter

together with the tax imposed by section eleven hundred ten of this

article and any like tax imposed pursuant to the authority of article

twenty-nine of this chapter required to be paid, collected and remitted

has been paid, collected and remitted.

(g) Such refunds and credits shall be subject to the provisions of

sections eleven hundred nineteen and eleven hundred thirty-nine of this

article as if such sections were incorporated in full into this section

and had expressly referred to the refunds and credits authorized by this

section including the periods of limitations on payments and

applications to the commissioner; provided, however, that, as provided

in subdivision (e) of section eleven hundred thirty-nine of this

article, no interest shall be allowed or paid upon any refund made or

credit allowed pursuant to subdivisions (a), (b) and (d) of this

section. The commissioner shall process applications for refund as

expeditiously as possible.