Tax Law, §§ 171, 475 and 476
a dealer, including a licensed cigarette agent, shall be entitled to a refund of the actual amount of cigarette tax which was paid and borne by the dealer with respect to such cigarettes, provided an application for refund is timely filed. Further, whenever any cigarettes upon which stamps have been placed on packages thereof:
a dealer who is a licensed agent shall, upon timely application, be entitled to such a refund. Accordingly, a retail dealer and a wholesale dealer may be entitled to a refund of the face value of the stamps, including the city tax in the case of joint stamps. Where the dealer is a licensed cigarette agent and has purchased and affixed said stamps, such agent may be entitled to a refund of the face value of the stamps, less any commissions allowed the agent pursuant to article 20 of the Tax Law and the Administrative Code of the City of New York. In the event that an agent cannot establish the date of purchase of such stamps for purposes of ascertaining the applicable rate or rates of commission to be used in computing the net amount of refund due, the rate or rates in effect at the time of such sale, destruction or determination of unsuitability may be used, with the prior consent of the Department of Taxation and Finance.
N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 20 § 77.1