Virginia Law

"Wholesaler or distributor" is defined as any person, firm or corporation who manufactures, purchases or otherwise obtains and sells carbonated soft drinks to retail dealers for resale or who sells direct to retail consumers or users or to institutional, commercial or industrial users or who distributes such soft drinks to chain stores, for use or consumption in this Commonwealth.

1. The definition of wholesaler or distributor includes a manufacturer, located either within or without Virginia, who sells carbonated soft drinks to anyone other than a "wholesaler or distributor" as defined above. Such manufacturer is subject to the excise tax even though the activity of the manufacturer may be limited to the delivery of soft drinks to a chain store's warehouse in Virginia for ultimate resale through the chain store's various retail outlets in Virginia.

a. The manufacturer, located either within or without Virginia, who sells soft drinks to a wholesaler or distributor for resale to Virginia retailers would not be subject to the tax. The wholesaler or distributor who purchased the soft drinks from the manufacturer would be subject to the tax.

2. If a chain store business, operating within and without Virginia, distributes soft drinks to its Virginia stores from its out-of-state warehouse, it would then be the distributor subject to tax.

3. A Virginia manufacturer who sells soft drinks to Virginia wholesalers or distributors would not be subject to the tax, but a Virginia manufacturer who sells to anyone other than a wholesaler or distributor, i.e., chain stores, institutional, commercial or retail users, would be subject to the tax.

4. A manufacturer, wholesaler or distributor located either within or without Virginia, who sells soft drinks at retail to consumers or users in Virginia would be the distributor subject to tax.