10-35.  Record keeping.

(a) Every distributor, as defined in Section 10-5, shall keep complete and accurate records of tobacco products held, purchased, manufactured, brought in or caused to be brought in from without the State, and tobacco products sold, or otherwise disposed of, and shall preserve and keep all invoices, bills of lading, sales records, and copies of bills of sale, the wholesale price for tobacco products sold or otherwise disposed of, an inventory of tobacco products prepared as of December 31 of each year or as of the last day of the distributor's fiscal year if he or she files federal income tax returns on the basis of a fiscal year, and other pertinent papers and documents relating to the manufacture, purchase, sale, or disposition of tobacco products.  Every sales invoice issued by a licensed distributor to a retailer in this State shall contain the distributor's Tobacco Products License number unless the distributor has been granted a waiver by the Department in response to a written request in cases where (i) the distributor sells little cigars or other tobacco products only to licensed retailers that are wholly-owned by the distributor or owned by a wholly-owned subsidiary of the distributor;  (ii) the licensed retailer obtains little cigars or other tobacco products only from the distributor requesting the waiver;  and (iii) the distributor affixes the tax stamps to the original packages of little cigars or has or will pay the tax on the other tobacco products sold to the licensed retailer.  The distributor shall file a written request with the Department, and, if the Department determines that the distributor meets the conditions for a waiver, the Department shall grant the waiver.
(b) Every retailer, as defined in Section 10-5, whether or not the retailer has obtained a retailer's license pursuant to Section 4g, shall keep complete and accurate records of tobacco products held, purchased, sold, or otherwise disposed of, and shall preserve and keep all invoices, bills of lading, sales records, and copies of bills of sale, returns and other pertinent papers and documents relating to the purchase, sale, or disposition of tobacco products.  Such records need not be maintained on the licensed premises, but must be maintained in the State of Illinois;  however, if access is available electronically, the records may be maintained out of state.  However, all original invoices or copies thereof covering purchases of tobacco products must be retained on the licensed premises for a period of 90 days after such purchase, unless the Department has granted a waiver in response to a written request in cases where records are kept at a central business location within the State of Illinois or in cases where records that are available electronically are maintained out of state.  The Department shall adopt rules regarding the eligibility for a waiver, revocation of a waiver, and requirements and standards for maintenance and accessibility of records located at a central location out-of-State pursuant to a waiver provided under this Section.
(c) Books, records, papers, and documents that are required by this Act to be kept shall, at all times during the usual business hours of the day, be subject to inspection by the Department or its duly authorized agents and employees.  The books, records, papers, and documents for any period with respect to which the Department is authorized to issue a notice of tax liability shall be preserved until the expiration of that period.