Sec. 12-285. Definitions. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 12-285. Definitions. (a) When used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

      (1) "Person" means any individual, firm, fiduciary, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, trust or association, however formed;

      (2) "Distributor" means (A) any person in this state engaged in the business of manufacturing cigarettes; (B) any person, other than a buying pool, as defined herein, who purchases cigarettes at wholesale from manufacturers or other distributors for sale to licensed dealers, and who maintains an established place of business, including a location used exclusively for such business, which has facilities in which a substantial stock of cigarettes and related merchandise for resale can be kept at all times, and who sells at least seventy-five per cent of such cigarettes to retailers who, at no time, shall own any interest in the business of the distributor as a partner, stockholder or trustee; (C) any person operating five or more retail stores in this state for the sale of cigarettes who purchases cigarettes at wholesale for sale to dealers but sells such cigarettes exclusively to retail stores such person is operating; (D) any person operating and servicing twenty-five or more cigarette vending machines in this state who buys such cigarettes at wholesale and sells them exclusively in such vending machines. If a person qualified as a distributor in accordance with this subparagraph, in addition sells cigarettes other than in vending machines, such person shall be required to be qualified as a distributor in accordance with subparagraph (B) of this subdivision and have an additional distributor's license for purposes of such other sales; (E) any person who imports into this state unstamped cigarettes, at least seventy-five per cent of which are to be sold to others for resale; and (F) any person operating storage facilities for unstamped cigarettes in this state;

      (3) "Cigarette vending machine" means a machine used for the purpose of automatically merchandising packaged cigarettes through the insertion of the proper amount of coins therein by the purchaser, but does not mean a restricted cigarette vending machine;

      (4) "Restricted cigarette vending machine" means a machine used for the dispensing of packaged cigarettes which automatically deactivates after each individual sale, cannot be left operable after a sale and requires, prior to each individual sale, a face-to-face interaction or display of identification between an employee of the area, facility or business where such machine is located and the purchaser;

      (5) "Dealer" means any person other than a distributor who is engaged in this state in the business of selling cigarettes, including any person operating and servicing fewer than twenty-five cigarette vending machines, and any person who is engaged in the business of selling taxed tobacco products, as defined in section 12-330a, at retail;

      (6) "Licensed dealer" means a dealer licensed under the provisions of this chapter;

      (7) "Stamp" means any stamp authorized to be used under this chapter by the Commissioner of Revenue Services and includes heat-applied decals;

      (8) "Sale" or "sell" includes or applies to gifts, exchanges and barter; and

      (9) "Buying pool" means and includes any combination, corporation, association, affiliation or group of retail dealers operating jointly in the purchase, sale, exchange or barter of cigarettes, the profits from which accrue directly or indirectly to such retail dealers, provided any person holding a distributor's license issued prior to June 29, 1951, shall be deemed to be a distributor within the terms of this section.

      (b) For the purposes of part I and part II only of this chapter:

      (1) "Cigarette" means and includes 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, provided, if any roll for smoking has a wrapper made of homogenized tobacco or natural leaf tobacco, and the roll is a cigarette size so that it weighs three pounds or less per thousand, such roll is a cigarette and subject to the tax imposed by part I and part II of this chapter; and

      (2) "Unstamped cigarette" means any package of cigarettes to which the proper amount of Connecticut cigarette tax stamps have not been affixed.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1972; 1949, 1951, S. 1122d; February, 1965, P.A. 627, S. 1; 1967, P.A. 788, S. 1; 1969, P.A. 393, S. 1; P.A. 75-432; P.A. 84-525, S. 1, 8; P.A. 85-600, S. 1, 4; P.A. 95-79, S. 30, 189; P.A. 96-240, S. 1, 10; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-6, S. 27, 85; P.A. 03-225, S. 3; P.A. 06-194, S. 10.)

      History: 1965 act defined "cigarette" for purposes of parts I and II; 1967 act rephrased Subdiv. (2) of definition of "distributor" to refer to place of business which has storage facilities for cigarettes rather than which has on hand at all times a substantial stock of cigarettes, added Subdiv. (5) re importation of unstamped cigarettes and defined "unstamped cigarettes"; 1969 act deleted references to owning vending machines, referring rather to operating and servicing such machines in definitions of "distributor" and "dealer"; P.A. 75-432 added Subdiv. (6) in definition of "distributor" re storage facilities of unstamped cigarettes; P.A. 84-525 amended definition of "distributor" to provide: In Subdiv. (2), that cigarettes are to be sold to licensed dealers and that the distributor shall maintain a place of business used exclusively for the business; in Subdiv. (3), that a distributor may sell cigarettes only to stores operated by him; and in Subdiv. (4), that a person holding a vending machine distributor's license must hold another license if such person sells cigarettes other than in vending machines; P.A. 85-600 redefined "distributor" to establish a new category of distributor, for purposes of licensing requirements, comprised of any person operating five or more retail stores in Connecticut for sale of cigarettes who purchases at wholesale for sale to dealers but sells such cigarettes exclusively to retail stores he is operating; P.A. 95-79 redefined "person" to include a limited liability company, effective May 31, 1995; P.A. 96-240 added the definition of "restricted cigarette vending machine" and excluded such machines from the definition of "cigarette vending machines", effective June 6, 1996; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-6 divided section into Subsecs. (a) and (b), deleted provision re classification as a vending machine dealer in the definition of "dealer", redefined "stamp" to provide for authorization of Commissioner of Revenue Services, delete provision re impressions made by metering machines and include heat-applied decals, included roll-your-own tobacco in the definition of "cigarette", added a definition of "roll-your-own tobacco" and made technical and conforming changes, effective January 1, 2002; P.A. 03-225 amended Subsec. (b) to delete Subpara. (B) re roll-your-own tobacco and make a technical change in Subdiv. (1) and to delete Subdiv. (3) re definition of "roll-your-own tobacco", effective January 1, 2002; P.A. 06-194 amended Subsec. (a)(5) by adding any person engaged in the business of selling taxed tobacco products at retail to definition of "dealer", effective July 1, 2006.