(a) An excise tax, in addition to all other taxes of every kind imposed by law, is imposed upon the sale, receipt, purchase, possession, consumption, handling, distribution, or use of cigars, cigarettes, and loose or smokeless tobacco in this state at the following rates:

(1) Little cigars: two and one-half mills each;

(2) All cigars other than little cigars: 23 percent of the wholesale cost price, exclusive of any trade, cash, or other discounts or any promotion, advertising, display, or similar allowances;

(3) Cigarettes: 37 cent(s) per pack of 20 cigarettes and a like rate, pro rata, for other size packages; and

(4) Loose or smokeless tobacco: 10 percent of the wholesale cost price, exclusive of any trade, cash, or other discounts or any promotion, advertising, display, or similar allowances.

(b) When the retail selling price is referred to in this chapter as the basis for computing the tax, it is intended to mean the ordinary retail selling price of the article to the consumer before adding the amount of the tax.

(c) The taxes imposed by this chapter are levied on the purchase or use of cigars, cigarettes, or loose or smokeless tobacco by the state or any department, institution, or agency of the state and by the political subdivisions of the state and their departments, institutions, and agencies. The taxes imposed by this chapter are not imposed on cigars, cigarettes, or loose or smokeless tobacco purchased exclusively for use by the patients at the Georgia War Veterans Home and the Georgia War Veterans Nursing Home.

(d) The taxes imposed by this chapter are not levied on cigars, cigarettes, or loose or smokeless tobacco the purchase or use of which this state is prohibited from taxing under the Constitution or statutes of the United States.

(e) The taxes imposed by this chapter shall be advanced and paid by the dealer or distributor licensed pursuant to this chapter to the commissioner for deposit and distribution as provided in this chapter upon the first transaction within this state, whether or not the transaction involves the ultimate purchaser or consumer. The licensed dealer or distributor shall collect the tax on the first transaction within this state from the purchaser or consumer, and the purchaser or consumer shall pay the tax to the dealer or distributor. The dealer or distributor shall be responsible for the collection of the tax and the payment of the tax to the commissioner. Whenever cigars, cigarettes, or loose or smokeless tobacco is shipped from outside this state to anyone other than a distributor, the person receiving the cigars, cigarettes, or loose or smokeless tobacco shall be deemed to be a distributor and shall be responsible for the tax on the cigars, cigarettes, or loose or smokeless tobacco and the payment of the tax to the commissioner. No tobacco products shall be received in, sold in, or shipped into this state unless lawfully obtained from a person licensed pursuant to this chapter or from an importer with a valid permit issued pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Section 5712.

(f) The amount of taxes advanced and paid to the state as provided in this Code section shall be added to and collected as a part of the sales price of the cigars, cigarettes, or loose or smokeless tobacco sold or distributed. The amount of the tax shall be stated separately from the price of the cigars, cigarettes, or loose or smokeless tobacco.

(g) The cigars, cigarettes, and loose or smokeless tobacco tax imposed shall be collected only once upon the same cigars, cigarettes, or loose or smokeless tobacco.