Connecticut General Statutes 12-304 – Sale of unstamped cigarettes prohibited. Penalty
(a)(1) No person shall sell, offer for sale, display for sale, transport for sale or possess with intent to sell, any cigarettes (A) which do not bear stamps evidencing the payment of the tax imposed by this chapter, or (B) the stamping of which is prohibited by subsection (b) of section 12-302 or subsection (b) of section 12-303, provided a licensed dealer may keep on hand, at the location for which such dealer’s license is issued, unstamped cigarettes, other than cigarettes, the stamping of which is prohibited by subsection (b) of section 12-303, for a period not exceeding twenty-four hours. Any unstamped cigarettes in the possession of a licensed dealer shall be presumed to have been held by such dealer for more than twenty-four hours unless proof is shown to the contrary.
Attorney's Note
Under the Connecticut General Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class C felony | up to 10 years | up to $10,000 |
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 12-304
- Cigarette: means and includes any roll for smoking made wholly or in part of tobacco, irrespective of size or shape, and irrespective of whether the tobacco is flavored, adulterated or mixed with any other ingredient, where such roll has a wrapper or cover made of paper or any other material, except where such wrapper is wholly or in the greater part made of tobacco and such roll weighs over three pounds per thousand, provided, if any roll for smoking has a wrapper made of homogenized tobacco or natural leaf tobacco, and the roll is a cigarette size so that it weighs three pounds or less per thousand, such roll is a cigarette and subject to the tax imposed by this part and part II of this chapter. See Connecticut General Statutes 12-285
- Dealer: means any person other than a distributor who is engaged in this state in the business of selling cigarettes, including any person operating and servicing fewer than twenty-five cigarette vending machines, and any person who is engaged in the business of selling taxed tobacco products, as defined in section 12-330a, at retail. See Connecticut General Statutes 12-285
- Licensed dealer: means a dealer licensed under the provisions of this chapter. See Connecticut General Statutes 12-285
- Person: means any individual, firm, fiduciary, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, trust or association, however formed. See Connecticut General Statutes 12-285
- sell: means an act done intentionally by any person, whether done as principal, proprietor, agent, servant or employee, of transferring, offering or attempting to transfer, for consideration, including bartering or exchanging, or offering to barter and exchange. See Connecticut General Statutes 12-285
(2) Except as provided in subdivision (3) of this subsection, any person who knowingly violates any provision of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall be subject to the following penalties: (A) If the violation involves one thousand or fewer unstamped cigarettes, such person shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both; (B) if the violation involves more than one thousand but fewer than twenty thousand unstamped cigarettes, such person shall be fined not more than one dollar per cigarette or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both; and (C) if the violation involves twenty thousand or more unstamped cigarettes, such person shall be fined not more than one dollar fifty cents per cigarette or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.
(3) Any licensed dealer who knowingly violates any provision of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall be fined three hundred fifty dollars, provided (A) the quantity of unstamped cigarettes in the possession of such dealer does not exceed one thousand cigarettes, and (B) it is such dealer’s first violation of the provisions of this subsection.
(b) Any person, whether or not previously convicted of a violation of any provision of this section, who wilfully attempts to evade the taxes imposed by this chapter or the payment thereof on twenty thousand or more cigarettes, shall be guilty of a class C felony.