(a) Civil Penalty. – It is unlawful for a person required to pay taxes pursuant to Part 2 or 3 of Article 2A of Chapter 105 of the N.C. Gen. Stat. to sell or deliver cigarettes belonging to a brand family of a nonparticipating manufacturer if the sale of the cigarettes is subject to such taxes unless the cigarettes are included on the compliant nonparticipating manufacturer’s list prepared and made public by the Office of the Attorney General under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 66-294.1 as of the date the person sells or delivers the cigarettes. It is not a violation of this subsection if the brand family was on the compliant nonparticipating manufacturer’s list when the person purchased the cigarettes and the person sold or delivered the cigarettes within 30 days of the purchase. The Attorney General may impose a civil penalty on a person that it finds violates this subsection. The amount of the penalty may not exceed the greater of five hundred percent (500%) of the retail value of the cigarettes sold or five thousand dollars ($5,000).

(b) Contraband. – Cigarettes described in subsection (a) of this section are contraband and may be seized by a law enforcement officer. The procedure for seizure and disposition of this contraband is the same as the procedure under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-113.31 and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-113.32 for non-tax-paid cigarettes. (2002-145, s. 3; 2015-241, s. 6.24(d).)