(a) A consumer making a purchase from a Grocer shall pay at the time of purchase an Advanced Recovery Fee (ARF) of $.10 for each Permitted Paper Bag used during the purchase. A Grocer shall not advertise or hold out or state to the public or to a customer directly or indirectly that the reimbursement of the ARF or any part thereof to be collected by the Grocer will be assumed or absorbed by the Grocer or otherwise refunded to the customer. All Grocers shall indicate on the consumer transaction receipt the number of Permitted Paper Bags provided and the total amount of ARF charged.

(b) Each Grocer shall retain $.05 of each $.10 ARF collected as a collection and remittance expense (also known as a “Vendor Fee”) to be taken as a Grocer credit against the ARF due the Town.

(c) The total portion of the ARF retained by the Grocer as a Vendor Fee under this Section shall not be classified as revenue and shall be tax-exempt. The ARF retained as a Vendor Fee by the Grocer shall be excluded from the definition of Retail Sales as defined under Telluride Municipal Code Section 4-2-20.

(d) The remaining amount of each ARF collected by a Grocer shall be paid to the Town of Telluride Finance Department and shall be deposited as revenue in the Waste Reduction and Reusable Carryout Bag Line Item. A Grocer shall pay and the Town of Telluride shall collect this ARF at the same time and pursuant to all applicable provisions of the Town Sales Tax, pursuant to the provisions of the Telluride Municipal Code Chapter 4, Article 2 and consistent with all applicable Sales Tax provisions regarding administration, collection, and enforcement as the same now apply to the ARF, to the extent not modified in this section. The Town shall provide the necessary forms for Grocers to file individual returns with the Town, separate from the required Town Sales Tax forms, to demonstrate compliance with the provisions of the ARF. Notwithstanding the fact that the ARF will be collected at the same time and following a similar procedure as used for the Town Sales Tax, such manner of collection contemporaneous with the Town Sales Tax is for the convenience of the Grocer and does not change the nature of the ARF from a fee to a tax.

(e) If payment of any amounts to the Town for the ARF is not received on or before the applicable due date, penalty and interest charges shall be added to the amount due and owing to the Town pursuant to Telluride Municipal Code Sections 4-2-390 and 4-2-400.

(f) Any Town Business may voluntarily opt in and apply the ARF to its business. (Ord. 1340, 2010)