(a)  Any manufacturer, wholesale dealer, agent or any other person or entity who knowingly sells or offers to sell cigarettes, other than through retail sale, in violation of § 23-20.11-4 shall, for first offense be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per each such sale of such cigarettes, and for a subsequent offense be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per each such sale of cigarettes, provided that in no case shall the penalty against any such person or entity exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for sales or offers to sell during a thirty (30) day period. Any retail dealer who knowingly sells or offers to sell cigarettes in violation of § 23-20.11-4 shall be subject to the following: (1) for a first offense be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500), and for a subsequent offense be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000), per each such sale or offer for sale of cigarettes; provided, that the total number of cigarettes sold or offered for sale in such sale does not exceed one thousand (1,000) cigarettes; (2) for a first offense be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), and for a subsequent offense be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) per each such sale or offer for sale of such cigarettes; provided, that the total number of cigarettes sold or offered for sale in such sale exceeds one thousand (1,000) cigarettes, provided that this penalty against any retail dealer shall not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) during a thirty (30) day period. In addition to any penalty prescribed by law, any corporation, partnership, sole proprietor, limited partnership or association engaged in the manufacturer of cigarettes that knowingly makes a false certification pursuant to § 23-20.11-5 shall, for a first offense be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and for a subsequent offense a civil penalty not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), for each such false certification. Any person violating any other provision in this section shall be subject to a civil penalty for a first offense not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), and for a subsequent offense subject to a civil penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each such violation. Any cigarettes that have been sold or offered for sale that do not comply with the safety standard required by § 23-20.11-4 shall be subject to forfeiture an disposal by the state; provided, however, that prior to the destruction of any cigarette forfeited pursuant to these provision, the true holder of the trademark rights in the cigarette brand shall be permitted to inspect such cigarette.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 23-20.11-7

  • Agent: shall mean any person authorized by the state to purchase and affix tax stamps on packages of cigarettes. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-20.11-3
  • Cigarette: shall mean any roll for smoking whether made wholly or in part of tobacco or any other substance, irrespective of size or shape and whether or not such tobacco or substance 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, and that because of its size, appearance, the type of tobacco used in its filler, or its packaging or labeling, is likely to be offered to, or purchased by, consumers as a cigarette or cigarette equivalent. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-20.11-3
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Director: shall mean the director of the Rhode Island department of health. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-20.11-3
  • Manufacturer: shall mean :

    (i)  Any entity which manufacturers or otherwise produces cigarettes or causes cigarettes to be manufactured or produced anywhere that such manufacturer intends to be sold in this state, including cigarettes intended to be sold in the United States through an importer; or

    (ii)  The first purchaser anywhere that intends to resell in the United States cigarettes manufactured anywhere that the original manufacturer or maker does not intend to be sold in the United States; or

    (iii)  Any entity that becomes a successor of an entity described in paragraph (a) or (b) of this subdivision. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-20.11-3

  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Retail dealer: shall mean any person other than a manufacturer or wholesale dealer engaged in selling cigarettes or tobacco products. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-20.11-3
  • Sale: shall mean any transfer of title or possession or both, exchange or barter, conditional or otherwise, in any manner or by any means whatever or any agreement therefor. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-20.11-3
  • Sell: shall mean to sell, or to offer or agree to do the same. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-20.11-3
  • Wholesale dealer: shall mean any person who sells cigarettes or tobacco products to retail dealers or other persons for purposes of resale, and any person who owns, operates or maintains one or more cigarette or tobacco product vending machines in, at or upon premises owned or occupied by any other person. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-20.11-3

(b)  The director is authorized to enforce this legislation and to promulgate regulations as necessary to effectuate the purposes of this law.

(c)  The director of the division of taxation, in the regular course of conducting inspections of wholesale dealers, agents, and retail dealers, may inspect cigarettes to determine if the cigarettes are marked as required by § 23-20.11-6 of this act. If the cigarettes are not marked as required, the director of the division of taxation shall notify the director.

(d)  In addition to any other remedy provided by law, the attorney general may file an action in state court for a violation of this chapter, including petitioning for injunctive relief or to recover any costs or damages suffered by the state government because of a violation of this section, including enforcement costs relating to the specific violation and attorney’s fees. Each violation of this section or of rules adopted under this section constitutes a separate civil violation for which the attorney general may obtain relief.

(e)  To enforce the provisions of this act, the attorney general and the director are hereby authorized to examine the books, papers, invoices and other records of any person in possession, control or occupancy of any premises where cigarettes are placed, stored, sold or offered for sale, as well as the stock of cigarettes in any such premises. Every person in the possession, control or occupancy of any premises where cigarettes are placed, sold or offered for sale, is hereby directed and required to give the attorney general and the director the means, facilities and opportunity for the examinations authorized by this section.

History of Section.
P.L. 2007, ch. 245, § 1; P.L. 2007, ch. 333, § 1.