§506. Excise tax; default in payment; penalty

A.(1) There is levied an excise tax on all saltwater shrimp taken from the waters of this state and on all shrimp imported into this state of fifteen cents per barrel of two hundred ten pounds or two hundred ten pounds equivalence.

(2) Saltwater shrimp taken from the waters of the state and whose heads are removed prior to delivery at a Louisiana landing will be computed at one hundred twenty-five pounds per barrel. Shrimp imported into this state whose heads are removed will be computed at one hundred twenty-five pounds per barrel. Shrimp imported into this state that are peeled will be computed at seventy-five pounds per barrel.

(3) For the purposes of the excise tax, all shrimp caught or transported by a vessel the operator of which possesses a valid Louisiana commercial fisherman's license pursuant to Part VI of this Chapter are deemed to have been taken in the waters of Louisiana. Out-of-state shipments shall comply with the provisions of R.S. 56:307.7 and shall be taxed as provided in this Section.

B. The excise tax on shrimp taken from the waters of the state is to be computed when in the fresh state, the excise tax on shrimp imported or brought in from out of state shall be computed based on the form such shrimp is imported, whether fresh, fresh frozen, packaged or containerized, and as delivered to the first wholesale/retail dealer in Louisiana and shall be paid by him; provided that wholesale/retail dealers operating boats as producers shall pay as required of the first wholesale/retail dealer. Excise tax on shrimp imported in the state brought to a cold storage facility shall be paid by the resident or nonresident wholesale/retail seafood dealer storing, brokering, or distributing such shrimp. Wholesale/retail dealers as first purchaser shall pay the tax on or before the tenth of the following month. A statement of the quantity of shrimp fished, purchased, imported, and/or received shall be made by certification on monthly report forms furnished by the department and shall accompany each payment.

C. No resident wholesale/retail dealer or nonresident wholesale/retail dealer required under this Subpart to pay the excise tax, or any other person who in any way deals in buying, selling, importing, or handling saltwater shrimp, shall violate any provision of this Subpart. Violation of the provisions of this Section constitutes a class three violation.

D. A barrel of shrimp or any part thereof on which this tax has been paid shall not again be taxable. The monthly official report and pertinent records of the department shall be prima facie evidence of the payment or nonpayment of excise taxes.

E. Shrimp excise taxes shall be payable to the department on or before the tenth day of the month following the date of sale. Upon failure to pay excise taxes when due, a penalty of ten percent per month, not exceeding thirty percent in the aggregate, calculated upon the excise tax due, shall be levied and collected by the department in addition to the tax due. If there is a delinquency in the filing of reports and in the payment of taxes due as required above, demand for payment shall be made by the department as soon thereafter as possible, coupled with the warning that the license of the delinquent shall be revoked unless report is made and taxes paid. After demand for payment and warning, the department may seize any shrimp or parts of products thereof in the possession of a person liable for taxes and penalties due and sell them for payment of the tax and penalties. Any surplus from the proceeds of sale, after deducting all costs and charges, taxes, and penalties due, shall be paid to the owner of the shrimp or parts or products thereof seized. At any time after demand for payment and warning the license of any person who fails to make monthly reports and to pay excise taxes due shall be revoked by the department and shall so remain until all reports are made and all taxes due are paid with accrued penalties. Any person who refuses or fails to pay the excise taxes due or to make monthly reports as aforesaid, and whose license has been revoked, is hereby prohibited from buying and selling or otherwise engaging in the disposition of shrimp or parts or products thereof and other seafoods under the jurisdiction of this department.

F. The provisions of this Section shall apply to a nonresident wholesale/retail dealer whenever he buys saltwater shrimp directly from any fisherman in this state for out-of-state shipment and no excise taxes have been paid on these shipments and when a resident or nonresident wholesale/retail dealer buys or stores imported shrimp in this state.

G. The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission is hereby authorized to adopt rules and regulations for the effective enforcement, protection, and administering of the shrimp excise tax, including regulations to prevent the commingling or false representation of foreign imported shrimp as domestically produced shrimp. The Louisiana Seafood Advisory Board may submit recommendations to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission relative to the effective enforcement, protection, and administering of the shrimp excise tax. Violations of any commission rule or regulation adopted by the commission pursuant to this Section shall be a class four violation.

H. All revenues received by the department pursuant to the shrimp excise tax shall be deposited into the Conservation Fund and used in amounts appropriated by the legislature exclusively by the enforcement division and its operations.

Acts 2002, No. 75, §1, eff. July 1, 2002.