2023 New York Laws › TAX - Tax › Article 37 - Crimes and Other Offenses, Seizures and Forfeitures › Part 3 - Other Taxes › 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, or (iii)
four hundred forty pounds of tobacco 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  his   custody,
possession  or under his control more than ten pounds of tobacco or more
than five hundred cigars 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 his custody, possession or under his  control  more
than  fifteen  pounds of tobacco or more than seven hundred fifty cigars
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 his custody, possession or under his control twenty-five hundred
or  more  cigars or fifty or more pounds of tobacco 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  his  custody,  possession  or under his control
tobacco or cigars 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 his 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.