N.Y. Tax Law § 1814: Cigarette and tobacco products tax

§ 1814. Cigarette and tobacco products tax.--(a) Any person who

willfully attempts in any manner to evade or defeat the taxes imposed by

article twenty of this chapter or payment thereof on (i) ten thousand

cigarettes or more, (ii) twenty-two thousand cigars or more, (iii) four

hundred forty pounds of tobacco or more, or (iv) six thousand six

hundred units of alternative nicotine products or more, or has

previously been convicted two or more times of a violation of paragraph

one of this subdivision shall be guilty of a class E felony.

(b) Any person, other than an agent licensed by the commissioner, who

possesses or transports for the purpose of sale any unstamped or

unlawfully stamped packages of cigarettes subject to tax imposed by

section four hundred seventy-one of this chapter, or who sells or offers

for sale unstamped or unlawfully stamped packages of cigarettes in

violation of the provisions of article twenty of this chapter shall be

guilty of a misdemeanor. Any person who violates the provisions of this

subdivision after having previously been convicted of a violation of

this subdivision within the preceding five years shall be guilty of a

class E felony.

(c) (1) Any person, other than an agent licensed by the commissioner,

who willfully possesses or transports for the purpose of sale ten

thousand or more cigarettes subject to the tax imposed by section four

hundred seventy-one of this chapter in any unstamped or unlawfully

stamped packages or who willfully sells or offers for sale ten thousand

or more cigarettes in any unstamped or unlawfully stamped packages in

violation of article twenty of this chapter shall be guilty of a class E

felony.

(2) Any person, other than an agent licensed by the commissioner, who

willfully possesses or transports for the purpose of sale thirty

thousand or more cigarettes subject to the tax imposed by section four

hundred seventy-one of this chapter in any unstamped or unlawfully

stamped packages or who willfully sells or offers for sale thirty

thousand or more cigarettes in any unstamped or unlawfully stamped

packages in violation of article twenty of this chapter shall be guilty

of a class D felony.

(d) For the purposes of this section, the possession or transportation

within this state by any person, other than an agent, at any one time of

five thousand or more cigarettes in unstamped or unlawfully stamped

packages shall be presumptive evidence that such cigarettes are

possessed or transported for the purpose of sale and are subject to the

tax imposed by section four hundred seventy-one of this chapter. With

respect to such possession or transportation any provisions of article

twenty of this chapter providing for a time period during which a use

tax imposed by such article may be paid on unstamped cigarettes or

unlawfully or improperly stamped cigarettes or during which such

cigarettes may be returned to an agent shall not apply. The possession

within this state of more than four hundred cigarettes in unstamped or

unlawfully stamped packages by any person other than an agent at any one

time shall be presumptive evidence that such cigarettes are subject to

tax as provided by article twenty of this chapter.

(e) Nothing in this section shall apply to common or contract carriers

or warehousemen while engaged in lawfully transporting or storing

unstamped packages of cigarettes as merchandise, or lawfully

transporting or storing tobacco products, nor to any employee of such

carrier or warehouseman acting within the scope of his employment, nor

to public officers or employees in the performance of their official

duties requiring possession or control of unstamped or unlawfully

stamped packages of cigarettes or possession or control of tobacco

products, nor to temporary incidental possession by employees or agents

of persons lawfully entitled to possession, nor to persons whose

possession is for the purpose of aiding police officers in performing

their duties.

(f) Any willful act or omission, other than those described in section

eighteen hundred one of this article or subdivision (a), (b), (c), (d),

(e), (g), (h) or (i) of this section, by any person which constitutes a

violation of any provision of article twenty of this chapter shall

constitute a misdemeanor.

(g) Any person who falsely or fraudulently makes, alters or

counterfeits any stamp prescribed by the tax commission under the

provisions of article twenty of this chapter, or causes or procures to

be falsely or fraudulently made, altered or counterfeited any such

stamp, or knowingly and willfully utters, purchases, passes or tenders

as true any such false, altered or counterfeited stamp, or knowingly and

willfully possesses any cigarettes in packages bearing any such false,

altered or counterfeited stamp, and any person who knowingly and

willfully makes, causes to be made, purchases or receives any device for

forging or counterfeiting any stamp, prescribed by the tax commission

under the provisions of article twenty of this chapter, or who knowingly

and willfully possesses any such device, shall be guilty of a class E

felony. For the purposes of this subdivision, the words "stamp

prescribed by the tax commission" shall include a stamp, impression or

imprint made by a metering machine, the design of which has been

approved by such commission.

(h) (1) Any dealer, other than a distributor appointed by the

commissioner of taxation and finance under article twenty of this

chapter, who shall knowingly transport or have in their custody,

possession or under their control more than ten pounds of tobacco, more

than five hundred cigars, or more than one hundred fifty units of

alternative nicotine products, upon which the taxes imposed by article

twenty of this chapter have not been assumed or paid by a distributor

appointed by the commissioner of taxation and finance under article

twenty of this chapter, or other person treated as a distributor

pursuant to section four hundred seventy-one-d of this chapter, shall be

guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than five

thousand dollars or by a term of imprisonment not to exceed thirty days.

(2) Any person, other than a dealer or a distributor appointed by the

commissioner under article twenty of this chapter, who shall knowingly

transport or have in their custody, possession or under their control

more than fifteen pounds of tobacco, more than seven hundred fifty

cigars, or more than two hundred twenty-five units of alternative

nicotine products, upon which the taxes imposed by article twenty of

this chapter have not been assumed or paid by a distributor appointed by

the commissioner under article twenty of this chapter, or other person

treated as a distributor pursuant to section four hundred seventy-one-d

of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of

not more than five thousand dollars or by a term of imprisonment not to

exceed thirty days.

(3) Any person, other than a distributor appointed by the commissioner

under article twenty of this chapter, who shall knowingly transport or

have in their custody, possession or under their control twenty-five

hundred or more cigars, fifty or more pounds of tobacco, or seven

hundred fifty units or more of alternative nicotine products, upon which

the taxes imposed by article twenty of this chapter have not been

assumed or paid by a distributor appointed by the commissioner under

article twenty of this chapter, or other person treated as a distributor

pursuant to section four hundred seventy-one-d of this chapter shall be

guilty of a misdemeanor. Provided further, that any person who has twice

been convicted under this subdivision shall be guilty of a class E

felony for any subsequent violation of this section, regardless of the

amount of tobacco products involved in such violation.

(4) For purposes of this subdivision, such person shall knowingly

transport or have in their custody, possession or under their control

tobacco, cigars, or alternative nicotine products, on which such taxes

have not been assumed or paid by a distributor appointed by the

commissioner where such person has knowledge of the requirement of the

tax on tobacco products and, where to their knowledge, such taxes have

not been assumed or paid on such tobacco products by a distributor

appointed by the commissioner of taxation and finance.

(i) Any person who falsely or fraudulently makes, alters or

counterfeits a registration certificate or sticker required under the

provisions of section four hundred eighty-a of this chapter, or causes

or procures to be falsely or fraudulently made, altered or counterfeited

any such registration certificate or sticker, or knowingly and willfully

utters, purchases, passes or tenders as true any such false, altered or

counterfeited registration certificate or sticker, and any person who

knowingly and willfully makes, causes to be made, purchases or receives

any device for forging or counterfeiting any registration certificate or

sticker required under the provisions of such section, or who knowingly

and willfully possesses any such device, shall be guilty of a class B

misdemeanor.