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Grocers and small retailers tell committee tobacco/vape reporting in amendment would be onerous
Summary
Retailers and the New Hampshire Grocers Association told the committee that a proposed statutory requirement to compel retailers to file inventory and sales reporting (to reconcile with wholesalers) would be costly and burdensome; the Liquor Commission and Department of Revenue defended reporting as a targeted tool to stop unlicensed wholesalers and recover lost tax revenue.
Retailers and industry groups told the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs subcommittee that requiring retail licensees to file regular inventory and sales reports as part of the Liquor Commission’s amendment package would impose an undue burden on small businesses.
Kevin Dagel, president of the New Hampshire Grocers Association, said the reporting mandate (initially rolled out by emergency rule) required multi‑sheet electronic reports that many small stores could not produce without new POS systems or hired staff. "For retailers, this represents an unnecessary and costly mandate and one that has never been required," Dagel said, arguing the commission could instead conduct targeted on‑site audits and seizures of suspected illicit product.
Small license holder Ankit Patel described the hands‑on time involved: he said managing hundreds of SKUs and reconciling deliveries and sales could take dozens of hours per reporting period and require additional software and personnel. "That's over a 500 different skew that I need to manage," Patel told the committee, saying many small stores would prefer to stop selling tobacco products rather than absorb recurring reporting costs.
Department of Revenue Administration counsel Jennifer Ramsey told the panel DRRA continues to administer the tobacco tax and that wholesalers file monthly tax returns with DRRA; the 2000‑era change referenced by witnesses allocated licensing and certain enforcement roles to the Liquor Commission, but DRRA retains tax administration. Ramsey and Liquor Commission witnesses said the reporting is meant to reconcile wholesaler returns against retail inventories to identify unlicensed distribution channels and lost tax revenue.
The Liquor Commission defended the process. The commission’s chief said the reporting reconciliations "fix" an identified problem of unlicensed wholesalers and said moving from monthly to quarterly reporting was a concession to industry concerns; he added that the reporting helps prioritize follow‑up audits where data flags irregular patterns.
Committee members expressed sympathy for small businesses' compliance concerns and pressed agencies on whether less burdensome approaches were available. The committee did not adopt final statutory language and deferred additional work to subsequent meetings.
