§ 498. Imposition of excise tax. (a) There is hereby imposed an excise
tax on the first sale of every opioid unit in the state at the following
rates: (1) a quarter of a cent per morphine milligram equivalent where
the wholesale acquisition cost is less than fifty cents, or (2) one and
one-half cents per morphine milligram equivalent where the wholesale
acquisition cost is fifty cents or more; except that such tax shall not
apply when such first sale is to any program operated pursuant to
article forty of the public health law and article thirty-two of the
mental hygiene law. The tax imposed by this article shall be charged
against and paid by the registrant making such first sale, and shall
accrue at the time of such sale. For the purpose of the proper
administration of this article and to prevent evasion of the tax hereby
imposed, it shall be presumed that any sale of an opioid unit in this
state by a registrant is the first sale of such in the state until the
contrary is established, and the burden of proving that any sale is not
the first sale in the state shall be upon the registrant.

(b) Every registrant liable for the tax imposed by this article shall
file with the commissioner a return on forms to be prescribed by the
commissioner showing the total morphine milligram equivalent and
wholesale acquisition costs of such opioid units that are subject to the
tax imposed by this article, the amount of tax due thereon, and such
further information as the commissioner may require. Such returns shall
be filed for quarterly periods ending on the last day of March, June,
September and December of each year. Each return shall be filed within
twenty days after the end of such quarterly period and shall cover all
opioid sales in the state made in the prior quarter, except that the
first return required to be filed pursuant to this section shall be due
on January twentieth, two thousand twenty, and shall cover all opioid
sales occurring in the period between the effective date of this article
and December thirty-first, two thousand nineteen. Every registrant
required to file a return under this section shall, at the time of
filing such return, pay to the commissioner the total amount of tax due
for the period covered by such return. If a return is not filed when
due, the tax shall be due the day on which the return is required to be
filed. The commissioner may require that the returns and payments
required by this section be filed or paid electronically.

(c) Where a sale of an opioid unit by a registrant has been cancelled
by the purchaser and tax thereon was previously paid by the registrant,
the commissioner shall allow to the registrant a refund or credit of
such tax on a return for a later period subject to the limitations
period for claiming a refund or credit as prescribed by section one
thousand eighty-seven of this chapter. Where a registrant proves that an
opioid unit for which it previously paid a tax has been distributed out
of the state for use or consumption outside this state, the commissioner
shall allow a credit to the registrant for tax paid on a return for a
later period subject to the limitations period for claiming a credit as
prescribed by section one thousand eighty-seven of this chapter.

(d) All sales slips, invoices, receipts, or other statements or
memoranda of sale from any sale or purchase of opioid units by
registrants must be retained for a period of six years after the due
date of the return to which they relate, unless the commissioner
provides for a different retention period by rule or regulation. Such
records must be sufficient to determine the number of units transferred
along with the morphine milligram equivalent of the units transferred,
and otherwise be suitable to determine the correct amount of tax due.
Such records must also record either (1) the address from which the
units are shipped or delivered, along with the address to which the
units are shipped or delivered, or (2) the place at which actual
physical possession of the units is transferred. Such records shall be
produced upon demand by the commissioner.

(e) The provisions of article twenty-seven of this chapter shall apply
to the tax imposed by this article in the same manner and with the same
force and effect as if the language of such article had been
incorporated in full into this article and had expressly referred to the
tax imposed by this article, except to the extent that any provision of
such article twenty-seven is either inconsistent with a provision of
this article or is not relevant to this article.

(f) The commissioners of education and health shall cooperate with the
commissioner in administering this tax, including sharing with the
commissioner pertinent information about registrants upon the request of
the commissioner.

(g) Each registrant shall provide a report to the department of health
detailing all opioids sold by such registrant in the state of New York.
Such report shall include:

(i) the registrant's name, address, phone number, federal Drug
Enforcement Agency (DEA) registration number, education department
registration number, and controlled substance license number issued by
the department of health, if applicable;

(ii) the name, address and DEA registration number of the entity to
whom the opioid was sold;

(iii) the date of the sale of the opioid;

(iv) the gross receipt total, in dollars, for each opioid sold;

(v) the name and National Drug Code of the opioid sold;

(vi) the number of containers and the strength and metric quantity of
controlled substance in each container of the opioid sold;

(vii) the total number of morphine milligram equivalents sold; and

(viii) any other elements as deemed necessary by the commissioner of
health.

Such information shall be reported annually in such form as defined by
the commissioner of health and shall not be subject to the provisions of
section four hundred ninety-nine of this article. With the exception of
the information collected under paragraph (ii) of this subdivision, the
department of health shall make the information collected in such
reports available to the public in machine-readable formats and make it
publicly available on the department of health's website annually.