Records, returns
Wis. Stat. § 139.82
in effect(1) Every manufacturer located out of the state shall keep records of all sales of tobacco products and vapor products shipped into this state. Every manufacturer located in this state shall keep records of production, sales and withdrawals of tobacco products and vapor products. Every distributor and remote retail seller shall keep records of purchases and sales of tobacco products and vapor products. Every subjobber shall keep records of all purchases and disposition of tobacco products and vapor products. Every warehouse operator shall keep records of receipts and withdrawals of tobacco products and vapor products. All records shall be accurate and complete and be kept in a manner prescribed by the department. These records shall be preserved on the premises described in the permit in such a manner as to ensure permanency and accessibility for inspection at reasonable hours by authorized personnel of the department.
(2)
(a) Except as provided in par. (b), every permittee shall render a true and correct invoice of every sale of tobacco products and vapor products at wholesale, or, if the permittee is a remote retail seller, at retail, and shall on or before the 15th day of each calendar month file a verified report of all tobacco products and vapor products purchased, sold, received, warehoused or withdrawn during the preceding calendar month.
(b) The department may allow any subjobber permittee who does not sell tobacco products or vapor products, except for those on which the tax under this subchapter is paid, to file a quarterly report. The quarterly report shall be filed on or before the 15th day of the next month following the close of each calendar quarter. The report shall specify the value of tobacco products and vapor products purchased and sold during the preceding calendar quarter.
(3) The department shall prescribe reasonable and uniform methods of keeping records and making reports and shall prescribe and furnish the necessary report forms.
(4) If the department finds that the records of any permittee are not kept in the prescribed form or are in such condition that an unusual amount of time is required to determine from them the amount of tax due, the department shall give notice of such fact to that permittee and require that the records be revised and kept in the prescribed form. If that permittee fails to comply within 30 days that permittee shall pay the expenses reasonably attributable to a proper examination and tax determination at the rate of $30 per day of each auditor. The department shall send a bill for expenses and the permittee shall pay the amount of the bill within 10 days.
(5) If any permittee fails to file a report when due the permittee shall be required to pay a late filing fee of $10. A report that is mailed shall be considered filed in time if it is mailed in a properly addressed envelope with first class postage prepaid, if the envelope is officially postmarked on the date due, and if the report is actually received by the department or at the destination that the department prescribes within 5 days of the due date. A report that is not mailed is timely if it is received on or before the due date by the department or at the destination that the department prescribes.
(6) Sections 71.78 (1), (1g), (1m), and (4) to (9) and 71.83 (2) (a) 3. and 3m., relating to confidentiality of income and franchise tax returns, apply to any information obtained from any person on a cigarette tax return, report, schedule, exhibit, or other document or from an audit report pertaining to the return, report, schedule, exhibit, or document, except that the department shall publish on its website, at least quarterly, a current list of permits issued to remote retail sellers, distributors, and jobbers under s. 139.34 and include on the list the name and address of the permit holder and the date on which the department issued the permit.
(7) The department may inspect the business records of any retailer doing business on a reservation or on an Indian tribe’s trust land.
(8) Each distributor and remote retail seller shall collect and remit the excise tax imposed by s. 139.76 on tobacco products and vapor products not exempt from tax under s. 139.76 (2), with the reports required to be filed under this section.
Source: WI Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/139.82Fetched: 10/7/2026