Distributor tells committee Michigan's shipping-label rule imposes heavy labor costs; pallet labeling proposed

Kamal Turfa, owner/operator of Chase Cash and Carry, told the House Regulatory Reform Committee that Michigan's tobacco shipping-label requirement, as interpreted by Treasury, forces his warehouse to affix an origin/destination marking to every box shipped interstate.

Turfa said his operation ships thousands of cases daily and that the current practice requires depalletizing, labeling each case and repalletizing for interstate shipments, which he estimated costs his business as much as a quarter-million dollars a year in labor. He proposed allowing a single label per pallet with an invoice to serve as the shipping container marking required by statute.

Lawmakers confirmed that Treasury is the agency involved. Turfa said his company reports shipments to destination states and undergoes audits, and that the labeling requirement is unique to Michigan. The committee did not vote on the matter during the hearing; Turfa's testimony was taken as part of bill consideration.