(a)

(1) The commissioner is authorized to require persons selling beer, as defined in § 57-5-101, and persons selling tobacco products, as defined in § 67-4-1001, to retailers of such products to file an information report of such sales with the department. Nothing shall prevent a seller from including in its report sales of tangible personal property that are not otherwise required by this section.

(2) The commissioner is authorized to require each tobacco product manufacturer, as defined in § 47-31-102, whose cigarettes are sold in this state, whether directly or through a distributor, retailer, or similar intermediary or intermediaries, to file an information report related to tobacco buydown payments, as defined in § 67-6-357, received by retailers from the tobacco product manufacturer.

(3)

(A) The commissioner is authorized to require persons selling food, candy, or nonalcoholic beverages, including bottled soft drinks, to retailers of such products to file an information report of such net sales with the department. For purposes of this subdivision (a)(3):

(i) “Bottled soft drinks” has the same meaning as defined in § 67-4-402;

(ii) “Candy” has the same meaning as defined in § 67-6-102;

(iii) “Food” and “nonalcoholic beverages” includes the items described in the definition of “food and food ingredients” in § 67-6-102 except for the following, which shall not be required for purposes of this section: perishable grocery items such as fruits, vegetables, deli meat, deli cheese, deli salads, and other deli products; fresh meats; refrigerated meats; frozen meats; frozen dinners, entrees, and meals; frozen pizza; or other frozen foods; and

(iv) “Net sales” means the aggregate amount for which the reported products were sold during the reporting period, less any discounts, on-invoice adjustments, credit for returned merchandise, or other similar reductions in the amount charged to the retailer for the products covered by the report.

(B)

(i) Nothing in this section prevents a seller from including in its report net sales of tangible personal property that are not otherwise required by this section.

(ii) Nothing in this section prevents a seller from reporting on a more detailed basis than required by this section.

(iii) For purposes of this section, sales of candy, food, and nonalcoholic beverages, including bottled soft drinks as defined by § 67-4-402(a)(1), may be reported in the aggregate for each retailer location, in lieu of reporting specific SKU (Stock Keeping Units) identification number totals for each product.

(C) This subdivision (a)(3) is deleted on July 1, 2022.

(b) The information report shall contain such information as deemed reasonably necessary by the commissioner of revenue to ascertain the correctness of any tax return or to determine the liability of any person taxable under this part, and may include, but is not limited to, the following information:

(1) The seller's name and license number;

(2) The retailer's name, beer permit number if applicable, and sales and use tax account number;

(3) The retailer's situs code and address, including street address, county, municipality, state, and zip code;

(4) The general type of product sold; provided, that all candy, food, and nonalcoholic beverages, including bottled soft drinks, may be treated as a single type of product;

(5) The dates each type of product was sold; provided, for all candy, food, and nonalcoholic beverage sales, including bottled soft drinks, the date can reflect the last day of the period covered by the report;

(6) The quantity of each type of product sold;

(7) The monthly or quarterly sales total, in dollars, of each type of product sold; and

(8) If applicable, the name of the tobacco product manufacturer providing the tobacco buydown payment, the purchase date to which the tobacco buydown payment corresponds, and the amount of the tobacco buydown payment.

(c) The information report shall be filed electronically in a format specified by the commissioner; provided, however, that electronic submission shall not be required from any wholesaler that does not keep records electronically in the ordinary course of business.

(d) Notwithstanding subsection (b) or (c) to the contrary, no seller shall be required to change its record-keeping system for purposes of this section. If the seller's records do not include all of the information requested by the commissioner, or include the information in a different format than requested by the commissioner, the requirements of this section shall be satisfied if the seller includes in the report all of the requested information that the seller does have, in the format in which the seller ordinarily maintains such information.

(e) The information report shall be filed for each calendar quarter and shall be due no later than the twenty-fifth day of the month immediately following the end of such period; provided, however, that nothing in this section prevents the seller from filing on a monthly basis. Any seller who fails to provide the information report by the due date or who negligently or knowingly includes inaccurate information on the information report is subject to a penalty, not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250), for each inaccurate report, or for every month the report, or part thereof, is not provided, up to a maximum amount of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500). The commissioner is authorized to waive the penalty, in whole or in part, for good and reasonable cause under § 67-1-803.

(f) Any person selling beer, as defined in § 57-5-101, who files the report required by this section, which report contains at least the information required by § 57-6-105(b), shall not be required to file with the department the report otherwise required by § 57-6-105(b); provided, however, that nothing in this subsection (f) shall relieve the seller from filing any report, or copy thereof, with any county or municipality.

(g) The commissioner shall not issue any assessment under § 67-1-1438, including a notice of proposed assessment, to any retailer based solely on the information report submitted pursuant to this section unless the department first issues to the retailer an inquiry letter setting forth the information that led the department to its conclusion and providing an opportunity for the retailer to explain the inconsistencies between its purchases and reported sales. Nothing in this section prohibits a jeopardy assessment under § 67-1-1431.

(h)

(1) Any wholesaler making sales of candy, food, and nonalcoholic beverages, including bottled soft drinks, in an amount less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) during the prior calendar year shall not be required to include such sales of candy, food, and nonalcoholic beverage products, including bottled soft drinks, in the information report required under subsection (a).

(2) Any wholesaler making sales of candy, food, or nonalcoholic beverages, including bottled soft drinks, to an affiliate shall not be required to include sales of candy, food, or nonalcoholic beverages, including bottled soft drinks, to any affiliates in the information report required under subsection (a). For purposes of this section, “affiliate” has the same meaning as provided in chapter 4, part 20 of this title.

(3) Any wholesaler making sales of candy, food, or nonalcoholic beverages, including bottled soft drinks, to a retailer under the following circumstances shall not be required to include such sales in the information report required by subsection (a):

(A) The retailer buys at least fifty percent (50%) of its candy, food, and nonalcoholic beverages, including bottled soft drinks, from an affiliate that falls within the exemption provided by subdivision (h)(2) and the retailer notifies the wholesaler in writing that this requirement is met; and

(B) The wholesaler shall retain the retailer's written notification and provide a copy to the department upon reasonable request.

(4) Any wholesaler making sales of candy, food, or nonalcoholic beverages, including bottled soft drinks, shall be allowed to submit the information required by this section in the format in which the seller ordinarily maintains such information.

(5) This subsection (h) is deleted on July 1, 2022.

(i) Nothing in this section limits the provisions of § 67-6-523.

(j) Any notice of proposed assessment sent to a taxpayer based on the information report submitted pursuant to this section shall clearly state in bold face type the following language:

(k) The department shall provide an assessment calculation for each type of product required to be reported under this section. The assessment calculation shall be posted on the website of the department.

(l) Any report provided to the department pursuant to this section shall be tax information of the wholesaler and shall be confidential pursuant to § 67-1-1702; provided, however, that the department is authorized to disclose, to an individual customer of the wholesaler, records of the customer's purchases contained within the report.