{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-131.622","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 131.622","heading":"When cigarettes deemed contraband -- Seizure and destruction --","body":"Injunction to compel compliance -- Prohibition against sale -- Penalty.\n(1) (a) The following shall be contraband and subject to seizure and destruction:\n1. Any cigarettes that  have been affixed with a stamp in this state in\nviolation of KRS 131.612; or\n2. Any cigarettes in the possession of a retailer from a tobacco product\nmanufacturer or brand family that has been removed from the directory.\n(b) Whenever any peace officer of this state, or any representative of the\ndepartment, finds any contraband cigarettes, the cigarettes shall be\nimmediately seized and stored in a depository to be selected by the officer or\nrepresentative.\n(c) The seized cigarettes shall be held for a perio d of twenty (20) days to allow\nthe owner or any person having an interest in the cigarettes to protest the\nseizure.\n(d) At the time of seizure, the officer or representative shall:\n1. Notify the department of the nature and quantity of the cigarettes seize d;\nand\n2. Deliver to the person in whose custody the cigarettes are found a receipt\nfor the cigarettes. The receipt shall state on its face the date of seizure,\nand a notice that the cigarettes shall be destroyed if the seizure is not\nprotested in writing to the Department of Revenue, Frankfort, Kentucky,\nwithin twenty (20) days from the seizure.\n(e) The owner or any person having an interest in the seized cigarettes may appeal\nto the Board of Tax Appeals a final determination made by the department\npursuant to KRS 49.220.\n(f) If the owner or any person having an interest in the seized cigarettes fails to\nprotest the seizure before the end of the twenty (20) day holding period, the\ndepartment shall destroy the seized cigarettes.\n(2) The Attorney General may seek an injunction to restrain a violation of KRS\n131.612 or 131.616 by a distributor or stamping agent and to compel the distributor\nor stamping agent to comply with KRS 131.612 and 131.616. In any action brought\npursuant to this section, the state shall be entitled to recover the costs of\ninvestigation, costs of the action, and attorneys' fees from any distributor or\nstamping agent found to be in violation of KRS 131.612 or 131.616.\n(3) No stamping agent, distributor, retailer, or any other person shall sell or distribute\ncigarettes, or acquire, hold, own, possess, transport, import, or cause to be imported\ncigarettes that the stamping agent, distributor, retailer, or person knows are intended\nfor distribution or sale in the state in violation of KRS 131.612. A violation of this\nsection is a Class A misdemeanor.\n(4) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a stamping agent or distributor from\npossessing unstamped containers of cigarettes hel d in inventory for delivery to, or\nfor sale in, another state if in possession of proof that the cigarettes are intended for\nsale in another state.\n(5) In addition to or in lieu of any other civil or criminal remedy provided by law, upon\na determination th at a stamping agent or distributor has violated KRS 131.612 or\nany administrative regulation promulgated pursuant to KRS 131.600 to 131.630, the\ncommissioner may suspend the sale of cigarette stamps to the stamping agent or\ndistributor for failure to comply with the provisions of KRS 131.600 to 131.630.","path":["KRS Chapter 131"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=51498","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:50:22Z","sha256":"dfb23451029bed32dd1cc23eebee6534f2e747351c582afd0e26da88c35e1d3b","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-131.620","next":"us-ky/krs-131.624"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}