Security Notice
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Tobacco Reporting


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Alcohol Reporting

Distributors and wholesalers are required to report their sales of cigarettes, cigars and tobacco to Texas retailers. The monthly reports must be filed electronically. Each taxpayer responsible for filing the report must have access to the secure WebFile site. A personal identification number will be given to the taxpayer once the taxpayer submits contact information and an e-mail address to the Comptroller's office.

Report Format

  • The reports must be filed electronically. (The first report will be due by February 25, 2008.)
  • Each wholesaler and distributor is required to submit 12 data elements for each sale to retailers.
  • The record format is a CSV (comma separated values) file.
  • A personal identification number will be given to each wholesaler/distributor to sign on to the secured Web site.
  • Do not send column headings with your data. (The reporting system is set up to receive data only, not column headings.)
  • The first 10 fields are text. If the field contains a comma, use double quotes at the beginning and end of the field.
  • Enter a single 0 in the second field if the retailer's taxpayer identification number is unknown.
  • The last two fields are numeric.

Alternative Filing Method for Tobacco Reporting

If you can not meet the requirement to file electronically, send a detailed, written request for an alternative filing method to:

Ricardo Salazar
Audit Division
P.O. Box 13528
Austin, Texas  78774-0100

The request should state why the report can not be filed electronically, and should also give a description of the proposed alternative filing method. Each request for an alternative filing method will be handled individually.

Rules

  • Rule 3.9 Electronic Filing of Returns and Reports; Electronic Transfer of Certain Payments by Certain Taxpayers
  • Rule 3.102 Applications, Definitions, Permits, and Reports
  • Rule 3.121 Definitions, Imposition of Tax, Permits, and Reports
  • Rule 3.286 Seller's and Purchaser's Responsibilities

Report Due Date

The 25th of the month for the preceding month's activity.

RECORD FORMAT FOR THE TOBACCO REPORTING SYSTEM

Wholesaler/
Distributor License or Permit Number		 , Retailer's Taxpayer Identification Number , Retailer Name , Retailer Street Address , Retailer City , Retailer State , Retailer 5-Digit ZIP Code , Retailer License or Permit Number , Item Type , Unit of Measure , Quantity , Invoice Amount
DATA ELEMENT FIELD LENGTH DEFINITION
Wholesaler/Distributor License or Permit Number  8 The unique license by the Comptrollers office to the wholesaler or distributor location.
Retailer's Taxpayer Identification Number 11 The unique 11-digit number assigned to a taxpayer by the Comptroller's office. If this number is unknown, enter a zero (0).
Retailer Name 50 The trade name of the retailer to whom the item is sold.
Retailer Street Address 50 The retailer's physical location.
Retailer City 30 The city in which the retailer is located.
Retailer State  2 The 2-digit abbreviation for the state in which the retailer is located.
Retailer 5-Digit ZIP Code  5 The 5-digit ZIP code of the retailer's physical address.
Retailer License or Permit Number  8 The unique permit number granted by the Comptroller's office to the retailer.
Item Type 35 The description of product sold to retailer such as cigarettes, cigars or tobacco.
Unit of Measure 15 The unit in which the Item Type is sold such as packs, pouches, cartons, cans, ounces, etc.
Quantity  7 The number of Unit of Measures of the Item Type.
Invoice Amount 13 The dollar amount rounded to nearest dollar listed on the invoice for each Item type.
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