Cite as: 512 U. S. 61 (1994)
Opinion of the Court
tailers who "are or have been" violating the regulations, § 336.7(d)(6), and may cancel the exemption certificates of noncomplying tribes or retailers. See §§ 336.6(d)(3), (e)(5).
Wholesalers who wish to sell tax-free cigarettes to Indian tribes or reservation retailers must ensure that the buyer intends to distribute the cigarettes to tax-exempt consumers, takes delivery on the reservation, and holds a valid state tax exemption certificate.5 Reservation retailers may sell unstamped cigarettes only to "qualified Indian consumers," who at the time of first purchase must provide the retailer with a "certificate of individual Indian exemption" and provide written evidence of their identity for subsequent purchases. §§ 336.6(e)(2), (g)(1).6
Wholesale distributors of tax-exempt cigarettes must hold state licenses authorizing them to purchase and affix New York cigarette tax stamps, and must collect taxes on nonexempt sales. §§ 336.7(b)(2), (e). They must also keep records reflecting the identity of the buyer in each tax-exempt sale and make monthly reports to the Department on all such sales. §§ 336.6(g)(3)-(4). New York's regulatory scheme, unsurprisingly, imposes no restrictions on the sale of stamped cigarettes—i. e., those on which taxes have been precollected by wholesalers.
II
Respondents are wholesalers licensed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the United States Department of the Interior (BIA) to sell cigarettes to reservation Indians. Before New
5 See §§ 336.6(d)(1), (f)(1); § 336.7(b)(1). The purchasing tribe or retailer must display its exemption certificate at the time of first purchase, and must sign an invoice for subsequent purchases. § 336.6(g)(1).
6 A "qualified Indian consumer" is an enrolled member of one of New York's exempt Indian nations or tribes "who purchases or intends to purchase cigarettes within the boundaries of a qualified reservation for such Indian's own use or consumption (i. e., other than for resale) within such reservation." § 336.6(b)(1)(ii).
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