A. In addition to all other taxes now imposed by law, there is hereby imposed a tax upon the privilege of selling or dealing in tobacco products in the Commonwealth by any person engaged in business as a distributor or remote retail seller thereof, at the following rates:

Terms Used In Virginia Code 58.1-1021.02

  • Actual cost: means the actual price paid by a remote retail seller for each individual stock keeping unit or SKU. See Virginia Code 58.1-1021.01
  • Consumer: means the person who is the end or final user of tobacco products. See Virginia Code 58.1-1021.01
  • Distributor: means (i) any person engaged in the business of selling tobacco products in the Commonwealth who brings, or causes to be brought, into the Commonwealth from outside the Commonwealth any tobacco products for sale; (ii) any person who makes, manufactures, fabricates, or stores tobacco products in the Commonwealth for sale in the Commonwealth; (iii) any person engaged in the business of selling tobacco products outside the Commonwealth who ships or transports tobacco products to any person in the business of selling tobacco products in the Commonwealth; or (iv) any retail dealer in possession of untaxed tobacco products in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 58.1-1021.01
  • Loose leaf tobacco: means any leaf tobacco that is not intended to be smoked, but shall not include moist snuff. See Virginia Code 58.1-1021.01
  • Loose leaf tobacco half pound-unit: means a consumer sized unit, pouch, or package containing at least 4 ounces but not more than 8 ounces of loose leaf tobacco, by net weight, produced by the manufacturer to be sold to consumers as a single unit and not produced to be divided or sold separately and containing one individual package. See Virginia Code 58.1-1021.01
  • Loose leaf tobacco pound-unit: means a consumer sized unit, pouch, or package containing more than 8 ounces of loose leaf tobacco, by net weight, produced by the manufacturer to be sold to consumers as a single unit and not produced to be divided or sold separately and containing one individual package. See Virginia Code 58.1-1021.01
  • Loose leaf tobacco single-unit: means a consumer sized unit, pouch, or package containing less than 4 ounces of loose leaf tobacco, by net weight, produced by the manufacturer to be sold to consumers as a single unit and not produced to be divided or sold separately and containing one individual package. See Virginia Code 58.1-1021.01
  • Manufacturer: means a person who manufactures or produces tobacco products and sells tobacco products to a distributor. See Virginia Code 58.1-1021.01
  • Moist snuff: means a tobacco product consisting of finely cut, ground, or powdered tobacco that is not intended to be smoked but shall not include any finely cut, ground, or powdered tobacco that is intended to be placed in the nasal cavity. See Virginia Code 58.1-1021.01
  • Person: means any individual, corporation, partnership, association, company, business, trust, joint venture, or other legal entity. See Virginia Code 58.1-1021.01
  • Pipe tobacco: means any tobacco that, because of its appearance, type, packaging, or labeling, is suitable for use and likely to be offered or purchased by consumers as tobacco to be smoked in a pipe. See Virginia Code 58.1-1021.01
  • Remote retail sale: means any sale of cigars or pipe tobacco to a consumer in the Commonwealth when (i) the consumer submits the order for the sale by means of a telephone or other method of voice transmission, the mail, or the Internet or other online service, or the seller is otherwise not in the physical presence of the consumer when the request for the purchase or order is made, or (ii) the cigars or pipe tobacco are delivered to the consumer by common carrier, private delivery service, or other method of remote delivery, or the seller is not in the physical presence of the consumer when the buyer obtains possession of the cigars or pipe tobacco. See Virginia Code 58.1-1021.01
  • Remote retail seller: means a person located within or outside of this state that makes remote retail sales of cigars or pipe tobacco. See Virginia Code 58.1-1021.01
  • Retail dealer: means every person who sells or offers for sale any tobacco product to consumers at retail in a transaction other than a remote retail sale. See Virginia Code 58.1-1021.01
  • tobacco products: means (i) "cigar" as defined in § 5702(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, and as such section may be amended; (ii) "smokeless tobacco" as defined in § 5702(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, and as such section may be amended; or (iii) "pipe tobacco" as defined in § 5702(n) of the Internal Revenue Code, and as such section may be amended. See Virginia Code 58.1-1021.01
  • United States: includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-255

1. Upon each package of moist snuff, at the rate of $0.18 per ounce with a proportionate tax at the same rate on all fractional parts of an ounce. The tax shall be computed based on the net weight as listed by the manufacturer on the package in accordance with federal law.

2. For purposes of the tax under this article, loose leaf tobacco shall be classified as loose leaf tobacco single-units, loose leaf tobacco half pound-units, and loose leaf tobacco pound-units. Such tax shall be imposed on the distributor for loose leaf tobacco as follows:

a. $0.21 for each loose leaf tobacco single-unit;

b. $0.40 for each loose leaf tobacco half pound-unit;

c. $0.70 for each loose leaf tobacco pound-unit; and

d. For any other unit, pouch, or package of loose leaf tobacco, the tax shall be by net weight and shall be $0.21 per unit, pouch, or package plus $0.21 for each increment of 4 ounces or portion thereof that the loose leaf tobacco exceeds 16 ounces.

The tax for each unit, pouch, or package of loose leaf tobacco shall be in accordance with the provisions of subdivisions a. through d. only and regardless of sales price.

3. Upon tobacco products other than moist snuff or loose leaf tobacco, at the rate of 10 percent of the manufacturer’s sales price of such tobacco products.

Upon cigars and pipe tobacco products sold by remote retail sellers, the tax rates delineated in this subdivision shall apply to:

(a) The actual cost; or

(b) If the actual cost is not available, the average of the actual cost over the 12 calendar months before January 1 of the year in which the sale occurs.

Such tax shall be imposed at the time the remote retail seller located within or outside the Commonwealth makes a remote retail sale to a consumer within the Commonwealth. It is the intent and purpose of this subdivision that the remote retail seller be liable for the tax. It is further the intent and purpose of this article to impose the tax once, and only once on all tobacco products, including cigars and pipe tobacco sold in the Commonwealth.

Such tax shall be imposed on tobacco products (i) at the time of retail sale by a retail dealer or distributor; (ii) at the time the distributor makes, manufactures, or fabricates tobacco products in the Commonwealth for sale in the Commonwealth; or (iii) at the time the distributor ships or transports tobacco products to retailers in the Commonwealth to be sold by those retailers. It is the intent and purpose of this article that the distributor who first possesses the tobacco product subject to this tax in the Commonwealth shall be the distributor liable for the tax. It is further the intent and purpose of this article to impose the tax once, and only once on all tobacco products for sale in the Commonwealth.

B. No tax shall be imposed pursuant to this section upon tobacco products not within the taxing power of the Commonwealth under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.

C. A distributor that calculates and pays the tax pursuant to subdivision A 1 or A 2 in good faith reliance on the net weight listed by the manufacturer on the package or on the manufacturer’s invoice shall not be liable for additional tax, or for interest or penalties, solely by reason of a subsequent determination that such weight information was incorrect.

2004, Sp. Sess. I, c. 3; 2005, c. 71; 2010, cc. 191, 804; 2022, cc. 738, 779.

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