(35 ILCS 130/4f)

Sec. 4f. Manufacturer representatives.

(a) No manufacturer may market cigarettes produced by the manufacturer directly to retailers in this State issued a license under Section 4g of this Act without first having obtained authorization from the Department. Application for authority to maintain representatives in this State to market in this State cigarettes produced by the manufacturer shall be made to the Department on a form furnished and prescribed by the Department. Each applicant under this Section shall furnish the following information to the Department on a form signed and verified by the applicant under penalty of perjury:

(1) the name and address of the applicant;

(2) the address of every location from which the applicant proposes to engage in business in this State;

(3) the number of manufacturer representatives the applicant requests to maintain in this State; and

(4) any other additional information as the Department may reasonably require.

The following manufacturers are ineligible to receive authorization to maintain manufacturer representatives in this State:

(1) a manufacturer who owes, at the time of application, any delinquent cigarette taxes that have been determined by law to be due and unpaid, unless the applicant has entered into an agreement approved by the Department to pay the amount due;

(2) a manufacturer who has had a license revoked within the past 2 years for misconduct relating to stolen or contraband cigarettes or has been convicted of a state or federal crime, punishable by imprisonment of one year or more, relating to stolen or contraband cigarettes;

(3) a manufacturer who has been found, after notice and a hearing, to have imported or caused to be imported into the United States for sale or distribution any cigarette in violation of 19 U.S.C. 1681a;

(4) a manufacturer who has been found, after notice and a hearing, to have imported or caused to be imported into the United States for sale or distribution or manufactured for sale or distribution in the United States any cigarette that does not fully comply with the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (15 U.S.C. 1331, et seq.);

(5) a manufacturer who has been found, after notice and a hearing, to have made a material false statement in an application or has failed to produce records required to be maintained by this Act;

(6) a manufacturer who has been found, after notice and hearing, to have violated any Section of this Act; or

(7) a manufacturer licensed as a distributor under Section 4 of this Act or holding a permit under Section 4b of this Act.

The Department, upon receipt of an application from a manufacturer who is eligible to maintain manufacturer representatives in this State, shall notify the applicant in writing, not more than 60 days after an application has been received, that the applicant may or may not maintain the requested number of manufacturer representatives in this State. A copy of the notice authorizing a manufacturer to maintain manufacturer representatives in this State shall be available for inspection by the Department at each place of business identified in the application and in the motor vehicle operated by marketing representatives in the course of performing his or her duties in this State on behalf of the manufacturer.

A manufacturer representative shall notify the Department of any change in the information contained on the application form and shall do so within 30 days after any such change.

(b) Only directors, officers, and employees of the manufacturer may act as manufacturer representatives in this State. The manufacturer shall provide to the Department the names and addresses of the manufacturer representatives operating in this State and the make, model, and license plate number of each motor vehicle operated by a manufacturer representative in the course of performing his or her duties in this State on behalf of the manufacturer. The following individuals may not act as manufacturer representatives:

(1) an individual who owes any delinquent cigarette taxes that have been determined by law to be due and unpaid, unless the individual has entered into an agreement approved by the Department to pay the amount due;

(2) an individual who has had a license revoked within the past 2 years for misconduct relating to stolen or contraband cigarettes or has been convicted of a state or federal crime, punishable by imprisonment of one year or more, relating to stolen or contraband cigarettes;

(3) an individual who has been found, after notice and a hearing, to have made a material false statement in an application or has failed to produce records required to be maintained by this Act; or

(4) an individual who has been found, after notice and hearing, to have violated any Section of this Act.

(c) Manufacturer representatives may sell to retailers in this State who are licensed under Section 4g of this Act only original packages of cigarettes made, manufactured, or fabricated by the manufacturer and purchased or obtained from a distributor licensed under this Act, or the Cigarette Tax Use Act, and on which tax stamps have been affixed. Manufacturer representatives may sell up to 600 stamped original packages of cigarettes in a calendar year, for the purpose of promoting the manufacturer's brands of cigarettes. A manufacturer representative may not possess more than 500 stamped original packages of cigarettes made, manufactured, or fabricated by the manufacturer and purchased or obtained from a distributor licensed under this Act or the Cigarette Use Tax Act. Any original packages of cigarettes in the possession of a manufacturer representative that (i) are not made, manufactured, or fabricated by the manufacturer and purchased or obtained from a distributor licensed under this Act or the Cigarette Use Tax Act, other than cigarettes for personal use and consumption, (ii) exceed the maximum quantity of 500 original packages of cigarettes, excluding packages of cigarettes for personal use and consumption; (iii) violate Section 3-10 of this Act; or (iv) do not have the proper tax stamps affixed, are contraband and subject to seizure and forfeiture.

Manufacturer representatives may sell, on behalf of licensed distributors, stamped original packages of cigarettes to retailers who are licensed under Section 4g of this Act. The manufacturer representative shall provide the distributor with a signed receipt for the cigarettes obtained from the distributor. The distributor shall invoice the licensed retailer, and the licensed retailer shall pay the distributor for all cigarettes provided to licensed retailers by manufacturer representatives on behalf of a distributor.

Manufacturer representatives may sell stamped original packages of cigarettes to licensed retailers that are purchased from licensed distributors. Distributors shall provide manufacturer representatives with invoices for stamped original packages of cigarettes sold to manufacturer representatives. Manufacturer representatives shall invoice licensed retailers, and the licensed retailers shall pay the manufacturer representatives for all original packages of cigarettes sold to licensed retailers.

(d) Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Department under this Section may, within 20 days after notice of the decision, protest and request a hearing. Upon receiving a request for a hearing, the Department shall give notice to the person requesting the hearing of the time and place fixed for the hearing and shall hold a hearing in conformity with the provisions of this Act and then issue its final administrative decision in the matter to that person. In the absence of a protest and request for a hearing within 20 days, the Department's decision shall become final without any further determination being made or notice given.

(Source: P.A. 97-587, eff. 8-26-11; 98-1055, eff. 1-1-16.)