Section 20-201
§ 20-201 Definitions. Whenever used in this subchapter:
a. "Agent" means any person authorized to purchase and affix adhesive
or meter stamps under chapter thirteen of title eleven of this code who
is designated as an agent by the commissioner of finance.
b. "Cigarette" shall mean any roll for smoking made wholly or in part
of tobacco or any other substance, irrespective of size or shape and
whether or not such tobacco or substance is flavored, adulterated or
mixed with any other ingredient, the wrapper or cover of which is made
of paper or any other substance or material but is not made in whole or
in part of tobacco.
c. "Commissioner of finance" means the commissioner of finance of the
City of New York.
d. "Dealer" shall mean any wholesale dealer or retail dealer as
hereinafter defined.
e. "Person" shall mean any individual, partnership, society,
association, joint-stock company, corporation, limited liability
company, estate, receiver, trustee, assignee, referee or any other
person acting in a fiduciary or representative capacity, whether
appointed by a court or otherwise, and any combination of individuals.
f. "Retail dealer" shall mean any person other than a wholesale dealer
engaged in selling cigarettes. For the purposes of this chapter, the
possession or transportation at any one time of more than four hundred
cigarettes by any person other than a manufacturer, an agent, a licensed
wholesale dealer or a person delivering cigarettes in the regular course
of business for a manufacturer, an agent or a licensed wholesale or
retail dealer, shall be presumptive evidence that such person is a
retail dealer.
g. "Sale or purchase" shall mean any transfer of title or possession
or both, exchange or barter, conditional or otherwise, in any manner or
by any means whatsoever or any agreement therefor.
h. "Wholesale dealer" shall mean any person who sells cigarettes to
retail dealers or other persons for purposes of resale only, and any
person who owns, operates or maintains one or more cigarette vending
machines in, at or upon premises owned or occupied by any other person.
Section 20-202
§ 20-202 License. a. License required of retail dealers.
1. It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in business as a
retail dealer without first having obtained a license as hereinafter
prescribed for each place of business wherein such person sells
cigarettes in the city.
2. It shall be unlawful for a person to permit any premises under such
person's control to be used by any other person in violation of
paragraph one of subdivision a of this section.
b. License application. In order to obtain a license to engage in
business as a retail dealer, a person shall file an application with the
commissioner for a license for each place of business that he or she
desires to have for the retail sale of cigarettes in the city. The
application for each license or renewal thereof shall be made upon such
form as prescribed by the commissioner and shall contain such
information as the commissioner shall require.
c. Fee and license term. 1. There shall be a biennial fee of one
hundred ten dollars for a license to engage in the business of a retail
dealer at each place of business where cigarettes are sold in the city.
2. All even-numbered licenses shall expire on December 31 of the
even-numbered year, and all odd-numbered licenses shall expire on
December 31 of the odd-numbered year, next succeeding the year in which
the license is issued.
* d. Issuance of license. 1. A license shall be issued to a person to
conduct the business of a retail dealer for each place of business where
such person engages in selling cigarettes in the city only where:
(A) an applicant for a license or renewal thereof meets all the
requirements prescribed herein and any criteria in addition thereto
established by the commissioner by rule as he or she deems
necessary to effectuate the purposes of this subchapter;
(B) an applicant satisfies the commissioner that such person is fit
and able to conduct the business of a retail dealer; and
(C) the commissioner has not received notification from the
commissioner of finance or the commissioner of the department of
health and mental hygiene that such applicant is not in full
compliance with any provisions of chapter thirteen of title eleven
of this code, or chapter forty of title eleven of this code
relating to the sale of cigarettes, or chapter seven of title
seventeen of this code, or chapter eight of title seventeen of this
code, or any rules promulgated by the commissioner of finance or
the commissioner of the department of health and mental hygiene to
effectuate the purposes of such chapters.
2. A retail dealer license shall not be assignable and shall be valid
only for the persons in whose names it is issued and for the transaction
of business in the place designated therein and shall at all times be
conspicuously displayed at the place for which it is issued.
3. Where a license for any place of business licensed pursuant to this
subchapter has been revoked, the commissioner in his or her discretion
may refuse to issue a license required under this subchapter, for a
period of two years after such revocation, for such place of business or
for any part of the building that had contained such place of business
and was connected therewith, unless the applicant for such license
demonstrates with documentary proof, to the satisfaction of the
commissioner, that the applicant acquired the premises or business
through an arm's length transaction.
4. For purposes of revocation of retail dealer licenses pursuant to
section 17-710 of the code, any violation of section 17-704, 17-705 or
17-706, or for purposes of revocation of retail dealer licenses pursuant
to section 17-716 of the code, any violation of section 17-715, by any
license holder at a place of business shall be included in determining
the number of violations by any subsequent license holder at the same
place of business unless the subsequent license holder provides the
commissioner with adequate documentation demonstrating that the
subsequent license holder acquired the premises or business through an
arm's length transaction and that the sale or lease was not conducted,
in whole or in part, for the purpose of permitting the original licensee
to avoid the effect of violations on the premises.
5. For purposes of paragraphs 3 and 4 of section 20-202, "arm's length
transaction" means a sale of a fee or all undivided interests in real
property, or lease of any part thereof, or a sale of a business, in good
faith and for valuable consideration, that reflects the fair market
value of such real property or lease, or business, in the open market,
between two informed and willing parties, where neither is under any
compulsion to participate in the transaction, unaffected by any unusual
conditions indicating a reasonable possibility that the sale or lease
was made for the purpose of permitting the original licensee to avoid
the effect of violations on the premises. The following sales or leases
shall be presumed not to be arm's length transactions unless adequate
documentation is provided demonstrating that the sale or lease was not
conducted, in whole or in part, for the purpose of permitting the
original licensee to avoid the effect of violations on the premises:
(1) a sale between relatives; or
(2) a sale between related companies or partners in a business; or
(3) a sale or lease affected by other facts or circumstances that
would indicate that the sale or lease is entered into for the
primary purpose of permitting the original licensee to avoid the
effect of violations on the premises, or revocation of a license.
* NB Effective until May 18, 2014
* d. Issuance of license.
1. A license shall be issued to a person to conduct the business of a
retail dealer for each place of business where such person engages in
selling cigarettes in the city only where:
(A) an applicant for a license or renewal thereof meets all the
requirements prescribed herein and any criteria in addition thereto
established by the commissioner by rule as he or she deems necessary to
effectuate the purposes of this subchapter;
(B) an applicant satisfies the commissioner that such person is fit
and able to conduct the business of a retail dealer; and
(C) the commissioner has not received notification from the
commissioner of finance or the commissioner of the department of health
and mental hygiene that such applicant is not in full compliance with
any provisions of chapter thirteen of title eleven of this code, or
chapter forty of title eleven of this code relating to the sale of
cigarettes, or chapter seven of title seventeen of this code, or any
rules promulgated by the commissioner of finance or the commissioner of
the department of health and mental hygiene to effectuate the purposes
of such chapters.
2. A retail dealer license shall not be assignable and shall be valid
only for the persons in whose names it is issued and for the transaction
of business in the place designated therein and shall at all times be
conspicuously displayed at the place for which it is issued.
3. Where a license for any place of business licensed pursuant to this
subchapter has been revoked, the commissioner shall refuse to issue a
license required under this subchapter, for a period of two years after
such revocation, for such place of business or for any part of the
building that had contained such place of business and was connected
therewith, unless the applicant for such license demonstrates with
documentary proof, to the satisfaction of the commissioner, that the
applicant acquired the premises or business through an arm's length
transaction.
4. For purposes of revocation of retail dealer licenses pursuant to
section 17-710 of the code, any violation of section 17-703, 17-703.2,
17-704, 17-705 or subdivision a or b of section 17-706, or for purposes
of suspension of retail dealer licenses pursuant to section 17-716 of
the code, any violation of section 17-715, by any license holder at a
place of business shall be included in determining the number of
violations by any subsequent license holder at the same place of
business unless the subsequent license holder provides the commissioner
with adequate documentation demonstrating that the subsequent license
holder acquired the premises or business through an arm's length
transaction and that the sale or lease was not conducted, in whole or in
part, for the purpose of permitting the original licensee to avoid the
effect of violations on the premises.
5. For purposes of paragraphs 3 and 4 of section 20-202, "arm's length
transaction" means a sale of a fee or all undivided interests in real
property, or lease of any part thereof, or a sale of a business, in good
faith and for valuable consideration, that reflects the fair market
value of such real property or lease, or business, in the open market,
between two informed and willing parties, where neither is under any
compulsion to participate in the transaction, unaffected by any unusual
conditions indicating a reasonable possibility that the sale or lease
was made for the purpose of permitting the original licensee to avoid
the effect of violations on the premises. The following sales or leases
shall be presumed not to be arm's length transactions unless adequate
documentation is provided demonstrating that the sale or lease was not
conducted, in whole or in part, for the purpose of permitting the
original licensee to avoid the effect of violations on the premises:
(1) a sale between relatives; or
(2) a sale between related companies or partners in a business; or
(3) a sale or lease affected by other facts or circumstances that
would indicate that the sale or lease is entered into for the primary
purpose of permitting the original licensee to avoid the effect of
violations on the premises, or revocation of a license, such as a sale
or lease entered into while there are violations pending against the
original licensee that could result in revocation or suspension of the
license.
* NB Effective May 18, 2014
Section 20-203
§ 20-203 Recordkeeping and examination. a. A retail dealer shall make
and maintain such records of cigarette sales and purchases as are
prescribed by the commissioner of finance pursuant to chapter thirteen
of title eleven of this code.
b. Such records as are required to be kept shall be available for
inspection at the place of business for which a retail dealer license is
issued and such records shall be available for inspection by the
commissioner of finance or such commissioner's duly authorized
representatives as to the extent necessary to ascertain whether such
retail dealer is in compliance with the purposes and requirements of
chapter thirteen of title eleven of this code.
Section 20-204
§ 20-204 Duplicate licenses. Whenever any license issued under the
provisions of this subchapter is defaced, destroyed or lost, the
commissioner shall issue a duplicate license to the holder of the
defaced, destroyed or lost license upon the payment of a fee of fifteen
dollars.
Section 20-205
§ 20-205 Prohibited sales and purchases. No agent or dealer shall sell
cigarettes to an unlicensed dealer, or to a dealer whose license has
been suspended or revoked. No dealer shall purchase cigarettes from any
person other than a manufacturer or a licensed wholesale dealer.
Section 20-206
§ 20-206 Renewal, suspension and revocation of licenses. a. In
addition to any other powers of the commissioner, and not in limitation
thereof, the commissioner may, after due notice and opportunity to be
heard, refuse to renew any license required under this subchapter and
may suspend or revoke such license if the person holding such license,
or, where applicable, any of its officers, principals, directors,
members, managers, employees, or stockholders owning more than ten
percent of the outstanding stock of the corporation, has been found to
have:
1. made a material false statement or concealed a material fact in
connection with the filing of any application pursuant to this
subchapter; or
2. not paid, within the time permitted by law, any civil penalty or
judgment duly imposed pursuant to the provisions of this subchapter or
any rules promulgated thereunder or pursuant to chapter thirteen of
title eleven of this code, or chapter forty of title eleven of this code
relating to cigarette sales.
3. violated the provisions of section 17-714 of this code or any rules
promulgated thereunder.
b. In addition to the commissioner's power to refuse to renew, suspend
or revoke a license as provided in subdivision a of this section, the
commissioner shall be authorized to refuse to renew any license required
under this subchapter and may suspend or revoke such license upon the
notification by the commissioner of finance that the person holding such
license, or, where applicable, any of its officers, principals,
directors, employees, members, managers, or stockholders owning more
than ten percent of the outstanding stock of the corporation, has been
found to have violated any provision of chapter thirteen of title eleven
of this code, or of chapter forty of title eleven of this code relating
to cigarette sales.
c. Upon suspending or revoking any retail cigarette license, the
commissioner shall direct the holder thereof to surrender to the
commissioner immediately any cigarette retail license or duplicates
thereof issued to such holder for such place of business and the holder
shall surrender promptly all such licenses to the commissioner as
directed.
Section 20-207
§ 20-207 Violations. a. The civil penalties imposed pursuant to this
section shall be in addition to any other sanctions and orders which may
be imposed by the commissioner pursuant to this title including, but not
limited to, such sanctions and orders which may be imposed pursuant to
section 20-105 or to title 11 or title 17 of this code or pursuant to
such other law the commissioner is authorized to enforce under this
code. The civil penalties imposed pursuant to this section for a
violation of subdivision a of section 20-202 shall be in lieu of the
civil penalties imposed pursuant to section 17-703 of this code, and the
civil penalties imposed pursuant to this section for a violation of
section 20-205 shall be in lieu of the civil penalties imposed pursuant
to subdivision b of section 17-703.2 of this code.
b. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision a and b of section
20-106 of this code, any person who violates any provision of this
subchapter or any rules promulgated thereunder shall be subject to a
civil penalty of not less than two hundred and fifty dollars but not
more than two thousand dollars for each violation, to be recovered in a
civil action or in an administrative tribunal with jurisdiction.
c. The commissioner, after notice and hearing, shall be authorized to
order the sealing of any premises where any person has been found:
1. to have engaged in unlicensed activities in violation of this
subchapter on at least two occasions within a three-year period; or
2. to have violated any of sections 17-704, 17-705, subdivision a or b
of section 17-706 or 17-715 on at least three occasions within a
three-year period.
To the extent possible under law, Friends of Devin Balkind for Public Advocate has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to New York City Administrative Code. This work is published from: United States.
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