100.30 Unfair sales act.

2,274 words·~10 min read·/wi/chapter-100/100-30-2

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

(1)Policy. The practice of selling certain items of merchandise below cost in order to attract patronage is generally a form of deceptive advertising and an unfair method of competition in commerce. Such practice causes commercial dislocations, misleads the consumer, works back against the farmer, directly burdens and obstructs commerce, and diverts business from dealers who maintain a fair price policy. Bankruptcies among merchants who fail because of the competition of those who use such methods result in unemployment, disruption of leases, and nonpayment of taxes and loans, and contribute to an inevitable train of undesirable consequences, including economic depression.

(2)Definitions. When used in this section unless context otherwise requires:

(a)“Average posted terminal price” means the average posted rack price, as published by a petroleum price reporting service, at which motor vehicle fuel is offered for sale at the close of business on the determination date by all refiners and wholesalers of motor vehicle fuel at a terminal plus any excise, sales or use taxes imposed on the motor vehicle fuel or on its sale, any cost incurred for transportation and any other charges that are not otherwise included in the average posted rack price. In this paragraph, “average” means the arithmetic mean.

1. With respect to the sale of cigarettes or other tobacco products, fermented malt beverages or intoxicating liquor or wine, “cost to retailer” means the invoice cost of the merchandise to the retailer within 30 days prior to the date of sale, or replacement cost of the merchandise to the retailer, whichever is lower, less all trade discounts except customary discounts for cash, plus any excise taxes imposed on such merchandise or the sale thereof other than excise taxes collected by the retailer, and any cost incurred for transportation and any other charges not otherwise included in the invoice cost or the replacement cost of the merchandise as herein set forth, to which shall be added a markup to cover a proportionate part of the cost of doing business, which markup, in the absence of proof of a lesser cost, shall be 6 percent of the cost to the retailer as herein set forth.

1m. With respect to the sale of motor vehicle fuel, “cost to retailer” means the following:

a. In the case of the retail sale of motor vehicle fuel by a refiner at a retail station owned or operated either directly or indirectly by the refiner, the refiner’s lowest selling price to other retailers or to wholesalers of motor vehicle fuel on the date of the refiner’s retail sale, less all trade discounts except customary discounts for cash, plus any excise, sales or use taxes imposed on the motor vehicle fuel or on its sale and any cost incurred for transportation and any other charges not otherwise included in the invoice cost of the motor vehicle fuel, plus a markup of 9.18 percent of that amount to cover a proportionate part of the cost of doing business; or the average posted terminal price at the terminal located closest to the retail station plus a markup of 9.18 percent of the average posted terminal price to cover a proportionate part of the cost of doing business; whichever is greater.

b. In the case of the retail sale of motor vehicle fuel by a wholesaler of motor vehicle fuel, who is not a refiner, at a retail station owned or operated either directly or indirectly by the wholesaler of motor vehicle fuel, the invoice cost of the motor vehicle fuel to the wholesaler of motor vehicle fuel within 10 days prior to the date of sale, or the replacement cost of the motor vehicle fuel, whichever is lower, less all trade discounts except customary discounts for cash, plus any excise, sales or use taxes imposed on the motor vehicle fuel or on its sale, and any cost incurred for transportation and any other charges not otherwise included in the invoice cost or replacement cost of the motor vehicle fuel, plus a markup of 9.18 percent of that amount to cover a proportionate part of the cost of doing business; or the average posted terminal price at the terminal located closest to the retail station plus a markup of 9.18 percent of the average posted terminal price to cover a proportionate part of the cost of doing business; whichever is greater.

c. In the case of the retail sale of motor vehicle fuel by a person other than a refiner or a wholesaler of motor vehicle fuel at a retail station, the invoice cost of the motor vehicle fuel to the retailer within 10 days prior to the date of sale, or the replacement cost of the motor vehicle fuel, whichever is lower, less all trade discounts except customary discounts for cash, plus any excise, sales or use taxes imposed on the motor vehicle fuel or on its sale and any cost incurred for transportation and any other charges not otherwise included in the invoice cost or the replacement cost of the motor vehicle fuel, plus a markup of 6 percent of that amount to cover a proportionate part of the cost of doing business; or the average posted terminal price at the terminal located closest to the retailer plus a markup of 9.18 percent of the average posted terminal price to cover a proportionate part of the cost of doing business; whichever is greater.

d. In the case of a retail sale of motor vehicle fuel by a refiner at a place other than a retail station, the refiner’s lowest selling price to other retailers or to wholesalers of motor vehicle fuel on the date of the refiner’s retail sale, less all trade discounts except customary discounts for cash, plus any excise, sales or use taxes imposed on the motor vehicle fuel or on its sale and any cost incurred for transportation and any other charges not otherwise included in the invoice cost of the motor vehicle fuel to which shall be added a markup to cover a proportionate part of the cost of doing business, which markup, in the absence of proof of a lesser cost, shall be 3 percent of the cost to the retailer as set forth in this subd. 1m. d.

e. In the case of a retail sale of motor vehicle fuel by a person other than a refiner at a place other than a retail station, the invoice cost of the motor vehicle fuel to the retailer within 10 days prior to the date of the sale, or the replacement cost of the motor vehicle fuel, whichever is lower, less all trade discounts except customary discounts for cash, plus any excise, sales or use taxes imposed on the motor vehicle fuel or on its sale and any cost incurred for transportation and any other charges not otherwise included in the invoice cost or the replacement cost of the motor vehicle fuel to which shall be added a markup to cover a proportionate part of the cost of doing business, which markup, in the absence of proof of a lesser cost, shall be 3 percent of the cost to the retailer as set forth in this subd. 1m. e.

2. With respect to the sale of merchandise other than cigarettes or other tobacco products, fermented malt beverages, intoxicating liquor or wine, or motor vehicle fuel, “cost to retailer” means the invoice cost of the merchandise to the retailer, or replacement cost of the merchandise to the retailer, whichever is lower, less all trade discounts except customary discounts for cash, plus any excise taxes imposed on such merchandise or the sale thereof other than excise taxes collected by the retailer, and any cost incurred for transportation and any other charges not otherwise included in the invoice cost or the replacement cost of the merchandise as herein set forth.

(b)“Cost to retailer” and “cost to wholesaler” as defined in pars.

(am)and

(c)mean bona fide costs; and purchases made by retailers, wholesalers, wholesalers of motor vehicle fuel and refiners at prices which cannot be justified by prevailing market conditions within this state shall not be used in determining cost to the retailer and cost to the wholesaler. Prices at which purchases of merchandise other than motor vehicle fuel are made by retailers or wholesalers cannot be justified by prevailing market conditions in this state when they are below the lowest prices at which the manufacturer or producer of such merchandise sells to other retailers or wholesalers in this state. Prices at which sales of motor vehicle fuel are made by retailers, wholesalers, wholesalers of motor vehicle fuel and refiners cannot be justified by prevailing market conditions in this state when they are below the applicable cost to retailers and cost to wholesalers specified under pars.

(am)and

(c).

a. With respect to the sale of cigarettes or other tobacco products, fermented malt beverages or intoxicating liquor or wine, “cost to wholesaler” means, except as provided in subd. 1. b. , the invoice cost of the merchandise to the wholesaler within 30 days prior to the date of sale, or the replacement cost of the merchandise to the wholesaler, whichever is lower, less all trade discounts except customary discounts for cash, plus any excise taxes imposed on the sale thereof prior to the sale at retail, and any cost incurred for transportation and any other charges not otherwise included in the invoice cost or the replacement cost of the merchandise as herein set forth, to which shall be added, except for sales at wholesale between wholesalers, a markup to cover a proportionate part of the cost of doing business, which markup, in the absence of proof of a lesser cost, shall be 3 percent of the cost to the wholesaler as herein set forth.

b. For every person holding a permit as a distributor as defined in s. 139.30

(3)or as a multiple retailer as defined in s. 139.30

(8), with respect to that portion of the person’s business which involves the purchase and sale of cigarettes “cost to wholesaler” means the cost charged by the cigarette manufacturer, disregarding any manufacturer’s discount or any discount under s. 139.32

(5), plus the amount of tax imposed under s. 139.31 . Except for a sale at wholesale between wholesalers, a markup to cover a proportionate part of the cost of doing business shall be added to the cost to wholesaler. In the absence of proof of a lesser cost, this markup shall be 3 percent of the cost to wholesaler as set forth in this subd. 1. b.

1g. With respect to the wholesale sale of motor vehicle fuel by a refiner, “cost to wholesaler” means the refiner’s lowest selling price to other retailers or to wholesalers of motor vehicle fuel on the date of the refiner’s wholesale sale, less all trade discounts except customary discounts for cash, plus any excise, sales or use taxes imposed on the motor vehicle fuel or on its sale and any cost incurred for transportation and any other charges not otherwise included in the invoice cost of the motor vehicle fuel, to which shall be added a markup to cover a proportionate part of the cost of doing business, which markup, in the absence of proof of a lesser cost, shall be 3 percent of the cost to the wholesaler as set forth in this subdivision.

1r. With respect to the wholesale sale of motor vehicle fuel by a person other than a refiner, “cost to wholesaler” means the invoice cost of the motor vehicle fuel to the wholesaler of motor vehicle fuel within 10 days prior to the date of the sale or the replacement cost of the motor vehicle fuel, whichever is lower, less all trade discounts except customary discounts for cash, plus any excise, sales or use taxes imposed on the motor vehicle fuel or on its sale and any cost incurred for transportation and any other charges not otherwise included in the invoice cost or the replacement cost of the motor vehicle fuel to which shall be added a markup to cover a proportionate part of the cost of doing business, which markup, in the absence of proof of a lesser cost, shall be 3 percent of the cost to the wholesaler as set forth in this subdivision.

2. With respect to the sale of merchandise other than cigarettes or other tobacco products, fermented malt beverages, intoxicating liquor or wine, or motor vehicle fuel, “cost to wholesaler” means the invoice cost of the merchandise to the wholesaler, or the replacement cost of the merchandise to the wholesaler, whichever is lower, less all trade discounts except customary discounts for cash, plus any excise taxes imposed on the sale thereof prior to the sale at retail, and any cost incurred for transportation and any other charges not otherwise included in the invoice cost or the replacement cost of the merchandise as herein set forth.

1. Except as provided in subd. 2. , “determination date” is the day preceding the day of the sale at retail of motor vehicle fuel.

2. If a retailer sells motor vehicle fuel on a day other than the day on which the retailer last purchased any motor vehicle fuel and the sale of the motor vehicle fuel by the retailer occurs no later than 10 days after its last purchase by the retailer, “determination date” means any of the following dates selected by the retailer:

a. The day preceding the day of the sale of motor vehicle fuel by the retailer.