Nevada Department of Taxation to Monitor IPCPR 2019, Require Free License for Sample Distribution

The taxman is heading to the 2019 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show.

This year, the Nevada Department of Taxation will be on the show floor of the industry’s most important trade show making sure companies comply with state laws, particularly those regarding the distribution of free tobacco products. The International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) sent out a letter to its exhibitors describing potential violations.

At the IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, manufacturers tend to give retailers free cigars and other items to try to see if the retailers would like to purchase the cigars or for other business purposes. All of that is legal, so long as the company providing the samples has an Event Specific License from the state, which can be acquired for free. Manufacturers who will be displaying products but not giving away samples will not need a license.

IPCPR has also provided other guidelines for its exhibitors:

• Exhibitors MAY distribute a limited quantity of samples to a representative of another business, as necessary to achieve a business or marketing goal (such as awareness of and exposure to the product for the purposes of product or inventory selection). Samples must be distributed as part of a genuine effort to sell or market a tobacco product to that business.
• Exhibitors MAY take orders, but MAY NOT make any retail sales from the exhibit space.
• Exhibitors MAY NOT display or provide samples of products covered by the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.
• This trade show is closed to the general public and distribution to consumers during the trade show is prohibited.
• If you are distributing OTP samples, you must have a license.

Products affected by the Master Settle Agreement include cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, not cigars.

The 2019 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show begins June 29 in Las Vegas.