§ 490 — Excise tax on medical cannabis

* § 490. Excise tax on medical cannabis. 1. (a) For purposes of this\narticle, the terms "medical cannabis," "registered organization,"\n"certified patient," and "designated caregiver" shall have the same\ndefinitions as in section three of the cannabis law.\n (b) As used in this section, where not otherwise specifically defined\nand unless a different meaning is clearly required "gross receipt" means\nthe amount received in or by reason of any sale, conditional or\notherwise, of medical cannabis or in or by reason of the furnishing of\nmedical cannabis from the sale of medical cannabis provided by a\nregistered organization to a certified patient or designated caregiver.\nGross receipt is expressed in money, whether paid in cash, credit or\nproperty of any kind or nature, and shall be determined without any\ndeduction therefrom on account of the cost of the service sold or the\ncost of materials, labor or services used or other costs, interest or\ndiscount paid, or any other expenses whatsoever. "Amount received" for\nthe purpose of the definition of gross receipt, as the term gross\nreceipt is used throughout this article, means the amount charged for\nthe provision of medical cannabis.\n 2. There is hereby imposed an excise tax on the gross receipts from\nthe sale of medical cannabis by a registered organization to a certified\npatient or designated caregiver, to be paid by the registered\norganization, at the rate of three and fifteen-hundredths percent. The\ntax imposed by this article shall be charged against and be paid by the\nregistered organization and shall not be added as a separate charge or\nline item on any sales slip, invoice, receipt or other statement or\nmemorandum of the price given to the retail customer.\n 3. The commissioner may make, adopt and amend rules, regulations,\nprocedures and forms necessary for the proper administration of this\narticle.\n 4. Every registered organization that makes sales of medical cannabis\nsubject to the tax imposed by this article shall, on or before the\ntwentieth date of each month, file with the commissioner a return on\nforms to be prescribed by the commissioner, showing its receipts from\nthe retail sale of medical cannabis during the preceding calendar month\nand the amount of tax due thereon. Such returns shall contain such\nfurther information as the commissioner may require. Every registered\norganization required to file a return under this section shall, at the\ntime of filing such return, pay to the commissioner the total amount of\ntax due on its retail sales of medical cannabis for the period covered\nby such return. If a return is not filed when due, the tax shall be due\non the day on which the return is required to be filed.\n 5. Whenever the commissioner shall determine that any moneys received\nunder the provisions of this article were paid in error, he may cause\nthe same to be refunded, with interest, in accordance with such rules\nand regulations as he may prescribe, except that no interest shall be\nallowed or paid if the amount thereof would be less than one dollar.\nSuch interest shall be at the overpayment rate set by the commissioner\npursuant to subdivision twenty-sixth of section one hundred seventy-one\nof this chapter, or if no rate is set, at the rate of six percent per\nannum, from the date when the tax, penalty or interest to be refunded\nwas paid to a date preceding the date of the refund check by not more\nthan thirty days. Provided, however, that for the purposes of this\nsubdivision, any tax paid before the last day prescribed for its payment\nshall be deemed to have been paid on such last day. Such moneys received\nunder the provisions of this article which the commissioner shall\ndetermine were paid in error, may be refunded out of funds in the\ncustody of the comptroller to the credit of such taxes provided an\napplication therefor is filed with the commissioner within two years\nfrom the time the erroneous payment was made.\n 6. The provisions of article twenty-seven of this chapter shall apply\nto the tax imposed by this article in the same manner and with the same\nforce and effect as if the language of such article had been\nincorporated in full into this section and had expressly referred to the\ntax imposed by this article, except to the extent that any provision of\nsuch article is either inconsistent with a provision of this article or\nis not relevant to this article.\n 7. All taxes, interest and penalties collected or received by the\ncommissioner under this article shall be deposited and disposed of\npursuant to the provisions of section one hundred seventy-one-a of this\nchapter, provided that an amount equal to one hundred percent collected\nunder this article less any amount determined by the commissioner to be\nreserved by the comptroller for refunds or reimbursements shall be paid\nby the comptroller to the credit of the medical cannabis trust fund\nestablished by section eighty-nine-h of the state finance law.\n 8. A registered organization that dispenses medical cannabis shall\nprovide to the department information on where the medical cannabis was\ndispensed and where the medical cannabis was manufactured. A registered\norganization that obtains cannabis from another registered organization\nshall obtain from such registered organization information on where the\nmedical cannabis was manufactured.\n * NB Repealed July 5, 2028\n