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The Florida Senate

2024 Florida Statutes

Title XIV TAXATION AND FINANCE
Chapter 210 TAX ON TOBACCO PRODUCTS Entire Chapter
SECTION 40
License fees; surety bond; application for each place of business.
F.S. 210.40
210.40 License fees; surety bond; application for each place of business.—
(1) Each application for a distributor’s license must be accompanied by a fee of $25. The application must also be accompanied by a corporate surety bond issued by a surety company authorized to do business in this state, conditioned for the payment when due of all taxes, penalties, and accrued interest which may be due the state. The initial corporate surety bond shall be in the sum of $25,000 and in a form prescribed by the division.
(a) The division shall review the amount of a corporate surety bond on a semiannual basis to ensure that the bond amount is adequate to protect the state.
(b) The division may increase the corporate surety bond amount before renewing a distributor’s license or after completing its semiannual review of the bond amount.
(c) The corporate surety bond amount may be increased to the sum of the distributor’s highest month of final audited tax liabilities, penalties, and accrued interest which are due to the state.
(2) A corporate surety bond, with the sum determined by the division in accordance with paragraph (1)(c), is required for renewal of a distributor’s license.
(3) The division may prescribe by rule increases in the corporate surety bond amounts required as a condition of licensure.
(4)(a) The division may reduce the amount of a corporate surety bond upon a distributor’s showing of good cause. For purposes of this subsection, the term:
1. “Fully resolved” means that criminal or administrative charges or investigations have been definitively closed or dismissed, have resulted in an acquittal, or have otherwise ended in such a manner that no further legal or administrative actions relating to charges or investigations are pending against a licensee under applicable laws, rules, or regulations.
2. “Good cause” means a consistent pattern of responsible financial behavior by the distributor over a period of at least the preceding 4 years, and having the sum of the distributor’s final audited tax liabilities, penalties, and interest be less than the amount of the distributor’s corporate surety bond for every month for a period of at least the preceding 4 years.
3. “Responsible financial behavior” includes the timely and complete reporting and payment of all tax liabilities, penalties, and accrued interest due to the state for a period of at least the preceding 4 years.
(b) The division may not reduce a corporate surety bond amount when a licensee:
1. Is in default of any tax liabilities, penalties, or interest due to the state;
2. Is the subject of a pending criminal prosecution in any jurisdiction until such prosecution has been fully resolved;
3. Has pending administrative charges brought by an authorized regulatory body or agency which have not been fully resolved in accordance with applicable rules and procedures; or
4. Is under investigation by any administrative body or agency for potential criminal violations until any such investigation is completed and the findings of the investigation have been fully resolved in accordance with applicable law.
(5) The division shall notify a distributor in writing of any change in the distributor’s corporate surety bond requirements by the date on which the distributor’s audited tax assessments become final.
(6) The provisions of this section governing corporate surety bonds are not subject to s. 120.60.
(7) A separate application for a license must be made for each place of business at which a distributor proposes to engage in business as a distributor under this part, but an applicant may provide one corporate surety bond in an amount determined by the division for all applications made by the distributor consistent with the requirements of this section.
(8) The division may adopt rules to administer this section.
History.—s. 1, ch. 85-141; s. 1, ch. 86-286; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 3, ch. 2024-178.