848. Tobacco dealers required to furnish bond;  waiver

A. Each and every registered tobacco dealer in cigars, cigarettes, and smoking tobacco shall furnish to the secretary, who is charged with the duty of collecting the tax levied by this Chapter, a bond in the minimum amount of two thousand five hundred dollars, guaranteeing the payment of all taxes and penalties levied by this Chapter.  The bond shall be executed by a surety company duly qualified to do business in this state.  The tenor, solvency, and maximum amount of the bond shall be satisfactory to the secretary, the minimum amount thereof to depend upon the volume of business of the dealer and must be in an amount sufficient in the discretion of the secretary to guarantee the state against any and all losses for taxes and penalties levied by the provisions of this Chapter.
B. However, the secretary is authorized to waive the furnishing of this surety bond by any dealer who has and agrees to maintain fixed assets in Louisiana of a net value of not less than one and one-fourth times the amount of the bond which would otherwise be required, who has had a bond on file with the department for a period of not less than three years, and who has not been delinquent in remitting taxes accrued or accruing under this Part during the three-year period immediately preceding application by the dealer for waiver of the bond.  If any dealer whose bond has been waived by the secretary becomes delinquent in remitting taxes due under this Part, the secretary may require that such dealer furnish a bond in the amount required in this Section, and such dealer shall not be eligible for a waiver of a bond for a period of three years thereafter.  In addition, the dealer must furnish audited financial statements with his waiver request and at such other times as the secretary may require.