CIGARETTE TAX ORDINANCE

Los Angeles Municipal Code ch. II, art. 1.8

in effect

Los Angeles Municipal Code § 21.8.1 DEFINITIONS.

SEC. 21.8.1. DEFINITIONS. (a) “Cigarette” means any roll for smoking, made wholly or in part of tobacco, irrespective of size or shape and irrespective of whether the tobacco is flavored, adulterated or mixed with any other ingredient where such roll has a wrapper or cover made of paper or any other material, except where such wrapper is wholly or in the greater part made of tobacco and such roll weighs over three pounds per thousand. (b) “Use or consumption” includes the exercise of any right or power over cigarettes incident to the ownership thereof other than the sale of the cigarettes or the keeping or retention thereof for the purpose of sale. (c) “Retailer” shall mean every person as defined in Sec. 21.00 of this chapter who sells cigarettes for any purpose other than resale. Where cigarettes are offered for sale through the means of a vending machine, the person holding title to the cigarettes in the machine shall be deemed the retailer.

Los Angeles Municipal Code § 21.8.2 TAX IMPOSED.

SEC. 21.8.2. TAX IMPOSED. (Amended by Ord. No. 135,144, Eff. 10/1/67.) An excise is hereby imposed upon the use or consumption in the City of Los Angeles of cigarettes purchased from a retailer for use or consumption within the City of Los Angeles at the rate of one mill ($0.001) per cigarette on or after August 1,1964, and to and including September 30, 1966; and at the rate of two mills ($0.002) per cigarette thereafter to and including September 30, 1967. No excise shall be imposed under this section on or after the period commencing October 1, 1967. * It is the intention of the City Council in adopting this ordinance to enable the City of Los Angeles to become eligible to participate in the distribution of funds derived from State-collected cigarette taxes as provided in Sec. 30462 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, as amended by Chapter 963, Statutes of 1967.

Los Angeles Municipal Code § 21.8.3 TAX PAID TO THE RETAILER.

SEC. 21.8.3. TAX PAID TO THE RETAILER. The tax constitutes a debt owed by the purchaser to the City which is extinguished only by payment of the tax to the Director of Finance or to the retailer. When a purchase from a retailer is made within the City the tax shall be paid to the retailer at the time the purchase price is paid. The tax collected or required to be collected by the retailer constitutes a debt owed by the retailer to the City. Should any remittance of tax be made by a retailer prior to sale of cigarettes to a consumer, such remittance shall be considered as an advance payment to be reimbursed by adding the amount of the tax to the price of the cigarettes at the time of sale to the user or consumer.

Los Angeles Municipal Code § 21.8.4 RETAILER REMITS QUARTERLY.

SEC. 21.8.4. RETAILER REMITS QUARTERLY. Each retailer selling cigarettes within the City of Los Angeles shall collect the tax imposed under Sec. 21.8.2 of this article, and on or before the last day of the month following the close of a calendar quarter remit the total amount so collected to the Director of Finance, together with a statement on a form provided by the Director of Finance showing the number of cigarettes sold to purchasers, the amount of tax collected, and such other information as the Director of Finance shall require. Where the Director of Finance determines that efficiency in the administration of the tax would be promoted, the Director of Finance may establish reporting periods greater than quarterly, but not to exceed one year. The Director of Finance may establish shorter reporting periods for any retailer if the Director of Finance deems it necessary in order to insure collection of the tax. Statements and payments are due immediately upon cessation of the business of selling cigarettes for any reason. All taxes collected by retailers pursuant to this article shall be held in trust for the account of the City until payment thereof is made to the Director of Finance.

Los Angeles Municipal Code § 21.8.5 REGISTRATION.

SEC. 21.8.5. REGISTRATION. (a) Within 30 days after the operative date of this article, or within 30 days after commencing business, whichever is later, each retailer shall register with the Director of Finance and obtain from the Director a “Cigarette Tax Registration Certificate” to be at all times posted in a conspicuous place on the premises; provided, however, each retailer who does not operate from a fixed place of business shall keep the registration certificate upon their person at all times while engaging in the business of being a retailer. No person shall engage in the business of being a retailer without obtaining a registration certificate therefor. Said certificate shall, among other things, state the following: 1. The name of the operator; 2. The address of the retailer’s place of business; 3. The date upon which the certificate was issued; 4. “This Cigarette Tax Registration Certificate signifies that the person named on the face hereof has fulfilled the requirements of the Cigarette Tax Ordinance by registering with the Director of Finance for the purpose of collecting the Cigarette Tax from purchasers of cigarettes and remitting said tax to the Director of Finance. This certificate does not authorize any person to conduct any lawful business in an unlawful manner, nor to operate a cigarette retailing business without complying with all state and local applicable laws, including but not limited to those requiring a permit from any board commission, department or office of this City. This certificate does not constitute a permit.” (b) All Cigarette Tax Registration Certificates shall be countersigned by the City Controller. (c) A retailer having more than one place of business within the City at which cigarettes are sold shall be required to obtain a separate registration for each such place of business.

Los Angeles Municipal Code § 21.8.6 PENALTIES AND INTEREST.

SEC. 21.8.6. PENALTIES AND INTEREST. (a) Taxes collected by a retailer which are not remitted to the Director of Finance on or before the due dates fixed in Sec. 21.8.4, or fixed by the Director of Finance as provided herein, are delinquent. (b) Interest and penalties for delinquency in remittance of any tax collected, or any deficiency determination shall attach and be paid by the retailer at the rates and in the same manner as is provided in Sec. 21.05 of this chapter for delinquency in payment of Business Tax. (c) The Director of Finance shall have power to impose additional penalties upon a retailer for fraud and negligence in reporting and remitting in the same manner and at the same rates as are provided in Sec. 21.05 of this Chapter for such penalties upon persons required to pay Business Tax. (d) Every penalty imposed and such interest as accrues under the provisions of this section shall become a part of the tax herein required to be remitted.

Los Angeles Municipal Code § 21.8.7 ADDITIONAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF DIRECTOR OF FINANCE, ETC.

SEC. 21.8.7. ADDITIONAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF DIRECTOR OF FINANCE, ETC. (a) The Director of Finance shall have the power and duty, and is hereby directed to enforce each and all of the provisions of this article. (b) In administering and enforcing the provisions of this article, the Director of Finance shall have the same powers and duties with respect to collecting the tax provided herein as the Director of Finance has under Sec. 21.15 of this chapter with respect to collecting the Business Tax. (c) The provisions of Sections 21.12, 21.17, 21.20, and 21.21 of this chapter shall apply to the administration and collection of the tax imposed under the provisions of this article in the same manner as they apply to the administration and collection of the Business Tax. (d) The provisions of Subsections (b) and (c) of Sec. 21.18 of this chapter shall apply to the administration and collection of the tax imposed under the provisions of this article in the same manner as they apply to the administration and collection of the Business Tax.

Los Angeles Municipal Code § 21.8.8 ASSESSMENT - ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDY.

SEC. 21.8.8. ASSESSMENT - ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDY. The Director of Finance may make an assessment for taxes not remitted by a retailer for any reason specified in Sec. 21.16 of this chapter for making an assessment for unpaid Business Tax. The manner of making and providing notice of such assessment; the right to a hearing and the conduct of such hearing; the preparation and service of findings; filing exceptions; and passing upon exceptions shall be the same as provided in Sec. 21.16 of this chapter.

Los Angeles Municipal Code § 21.8.9 RECORDS.

SEC. 21.8.9. RECORDS. It shall be the duty of every retailer liable for the collection and payment to the City of any tax imposed by this article to keep and preserve, for a period of four years, all records as may be necessary to determine the amount of such tax as the retailer may have been liable for the collection of and payment to the City, which records the Clerk shall have the right to inspect at all reasonable times.

Los Angeles Municipal Code § 21.8.10 REFUNDS.

SEC. 21.8.10. REFUNDS. (a) Whenever the amount of any tax has been overpaid or paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegally collected or received by the City under this article it may be refunded as provided in this section. Except as otherwise provided in this section, refunds of overpaid taxes shall be made in the same manner as is provided in Sec. 21.07 of this chapter for refunds of overpayments in Business Taxes. (b) A retailer may claim a refund or take as credit against taxes collected and remitted the amount overpaid, paid more than once or erroneously or illegally collected or received when it is established in a manner prescribed by the Director of Finance that the person from whom the tax has been collected was not a user or consumer as that term is defined in Subsection (b) of Sec. 21.8.1; provided, however, that neither a refund nor a credit shall be allowed unless the amount of the tax so collected has either been refunded to the purchaser erroneously required to pay the tax or otherwise credited to them. (c) No refund shall be paid under the provisions of this section unless the claimant establishes their right thereto by written records showing entitlement thereto.

Los Angeles Municipal Code § 21.8.11 ACTIONS TO COLLECT.

SEC. 21.8.11. ACTIONS TO COLLECT. Any person using or consuming cigarettes within the City who has not paid the tax required by the provisions of this article, and any retailer who has failed to collect or who has collected but not remitted any tax required to be paid by the provisions of this article, shall be liable to an action brought in the name of the City for the recovery of such amount.

Source: City of Los Angeles, Charter and Codes (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/los_angeles/latest/lamc/0-0-0-126885Fetched: 10/24/2026