2023 New York Laws › TAX - Tax › Article 37 - Crimes and Other Offenses, Seizures and Forfeitures › Part 6 - Seizures and Forfeitures › 1846-A - Forfeiture Action With Respect to Tobacco Products.

§  1846-a.  Forfeiture  action  with  respect to tobacco products. (a)
Whenever a police officer designated in section  1.20  of  the  criminal
procedure  law  or  a  peace  officer  designated in subdivision four of
section 2.10 of such law, acting pursuant to his special  duties,  shall
discover  any  tobacco  products in excess of five hundred cigars or ten
pounds of tobacco which are being imported for sale in the  state  where
the person importing or causing such tobacco products to be imported has
not  been  appointed  as  a distributor pursuant to section four hundred
seventy-two of this chapter, such police officer  or  peace  officer  is
hereby  authorized  and empowered forthwith to seize and take possession
of such tobacco products. Such  tobacco  products  seized  by  a  police
officer  or peace officer shall be turned over to the commissioner. Such
seized tobacco products shall be forfeited to  the  state.  All  tobacco
products  forfeited  to  the  state  shall  be destroyed or used for law
enforcement purposes, except that tobacco products that violate, or  are
suspected  of violating, federal trademark laws or import laws shall not
be used for law enforcement purposes. If the commissioner determines the
tobacco products may not be  used  for  law  enforcement  purposes,  the
commissioner must, within a reasonable time thereafter, upon publication
in  the  state  registry  of  a  notice to such effect before the day of
destruction, destroy such forfeited tobacco products.  The  commissioner
may,  prior  to  any  destruction  of  tobacco products, permit the true
holder of the trademark rights in the tobacco products to  inspect  such
forfeited  products  in  order  to assist in any investigation regarding
such tobacco products.
(a-1) Whenever a police officer designated  in  section  1.20  of  the
criminal procedure law or a peace officer designated in subdivision four
of section 2.10 of the criminal procedure law, acting pursuant to his or
her  special  duties,  discovers  any  roll-your-own  tobacco that is in
violation of section four hundred eighty-c of this chapter, the  officer
is  authorized  and  empowered  to  seize  and  take  possession  of the
roll-your-own tobacco, and the roll-your-own tobacco  is  subject  to  a
forfeiture   action   under  the  procedures  provided  for  in  article
thirteen-A of the civil practice law  and  rules,  as  if  that  article
specifically  provided  for  forfeiture  of roll-your-own tobacco seized
under this section as a preconviction forfeiture crime. Subdivisions (b)
and (c) of this section do not apply  to  roll-your-own  tobacco  seized
pursuant to this subdivision.
(b) In the alternative, the commissioner, on reasonable notice by mail
or otherwise, may permit the person from whom said tobacco products were
seized  to  redeem  the  said tobacco products by the payment of the tax
due, plus a penalty of fifty per centum thereof, plus  interest  on  the
amount  of  tax  due  for  each month or fraction thereof after such tax
became due (determined without regard  to  any  extension  of  time  for
filing  or  paying)  at  the  rate applicable under subparagraph (ii) of
paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section four hundred  eighty-one  of
this  chapter  and  the  costs  incurred in such proceeding, which total
payment shall not be less than five  dollars;  provided,  however,  that
such  seizure  and sale or redemption shall not be deemed to relieve any
person from fine or  imprisonment  provided  for  in  this  article  for
violation of any provision of article twenty of this chapter.
(c)  In  the  alternative, the commissioner may dispose of any tobacco
products seized pursuant to this section, except those that violate,  or
are  suspected  of  violating,  federal  trademark  or  import  laws, by
transferring  them  to  the  department  of  corrections  and  community
supervision  for  sale  to  or  use  by incarcerated individuals in such
institutions.