Iowa Code 421B.3 – Sales at less than cost — penalties
Current as of: 2024 | Check for updates
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1. It shall be unlawful for any wholesaler or retailer to offer to sell, or sell, at wholesale or retail, cigarettes at less than cost to such wholesaler or retailer, as the case may be, as defined in this chapter. Any wholesaler or retailer who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a simple misdemeanor.
Attorney's Note
Under the Iowa Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Simple misdemeanor | up to 30 days | between $105 and $855 |
Terms Used In Iowa Code 421B.3
- Cigarettes: shall mean and include any roll for smoking, made wholly or in part of tobacco, irrespective of size or shape and whether or not such tobacco is flavored, adulterated or mixed with any other ingredient, the wrapper or cover of which is made of paper or any other substance or material except tobacco. See Iowa Code 421B.2
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Retailer: means any person engaged in the business of selling tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products to ultimate consumers. See Iowa Code 453A.42
- Retailer: means any person who is engaged in this state in the business of selling, or offering to sell, cigarettes at retail. See Iowa Code 421B.2
- Sale: means any transfer, exchange, or barter, in any manner or by any means whatsoever, for a consideration, and includes and means all sales made by any person. See Iowa Code 453A.42
- sell: shall mean and include any transfer for a consideration, exchange, barter, gift, offer for sale and distribution in any manner or by any means whatsoever. See Iowa Code 421B.2
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Wholesaler: means and includes any person who acquires cigarettes for the purpose of sale to retailers or to other persons for resale, and who maintains an established place of business when any part of the business is the sale of cigarettes at wholesale to persons licensed under this chapter, and where at all times a stock of cigarettes is available to retailers for resale. See Iowa Code 421B.2
2. Evidence of advertisement, offering to sell, or sale of cigarettes by any wholesaler or retailer at less than cost to the wholesaler or retailer as defined by this chapter shall be evidence of a violation of this chapter.
3. a. The following civil penalties shall be imposed for a violation of this section:
(1) A two hundred dollar penalty for the first violation.
(2) A five hundred dollar penalty for a second violation within three years of the first violation.
(3) A thousand dollar penalty for a third or subsequent violation within three years of the first violation.
b. Each day a violation occurs counts as a new violation for purposes of this subsection.
c. The civil penalty imposed under this subsection is in addition to the penalty imposed under subsection 1. Penalties collected under this subsection shall be deposited into the general fund of the state.