Rhode Island General Laws 44-20-39. Forgery and counterfeiting – Tampering with meters – Reuse of stamps or containers
Any person who or that fraudulently makes or utters or forges or counterfeits any stamp, disc, license, or marker, prescribed by the tax administrator under the provisions of this chapter, or who causes or procures this to be done; or who willfully utters, publishes, passes or renders as true, any false, altered, forged, or counterfeited stamp, license, disc, or marker; or who knowingly possesses more than twenty (20) packs of cigarettes containing any false, altered, forged, or counterfeited stamp, license, disc, or marker; or who tampers with, or causes to be tampered with, any metering machine authorized to be used under the provisions of this chapter; or who removes or prepares any stamp with intent to use, or cause that stamp to be used, after it has already been used; or who buys, sells, offers for sale, or gives away any washed or removed or restored stamp to any person; or who has in his or her possession any washed or restored or removed or altered stamp that was removed from the article to which it was affixed, or who reuses or refills with cigarettes any package, box, or container required to be stamped under this chapter from which cigarettes have been removed, is deemed guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction, shall be fined one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), or be imprisoned for not more than fifteen (15) years, or both.
History of Section.
P.L. 1939, ch. 663, § 20; impl. am. P.L. 1940, ch. 875, § 1; G.L. 1956, § 44-20-39; P.L. 2007, ch. 246, § 3; P.L. 2007, ch. 250, § 3; P.L. 2012, ch. 241, art. 21, § 6; P.L. 2014, ch. 151, § 1; P.L. 2014, ch. 168, § 1; P.L. 2016, ch. 512, art. 1, § 32.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 44-20-39
- Administrator: means the tax administrator;
(2) "Cigarettes" means and includes any cigarettes suitable for smoking in cigarette form, and each sheet of cigarette rolling paper, including but not limited to, paper made into a hollow cylinder or cone, made with paper or any other material, with or without a filter suitable for use in making cigarettes;
(3) "Dealer" means any person whether located within or outside of this state, who sells or distributes cigarettes and/or other tobacco products to a consumer in this state;
(4) "Distributor" means any person:
(A) Whether located within or outside of this state, other than a dealer, who sells or distributes cigarettes and/or other tobacco products within or into this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 44-20-1
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Person: means any individual, including an employee or agent, firm, fiduciary, partnership, corporation, trust, or association, however formed;
(10) "Pipe" means an apparatus made of any material used to burn or vaporize products so that the smoke or vapors can be inhaled or ingested by the user;
(11) "Place of business" means any location where cigarettes and/or other tobacco products are sold, stored, or kept, including, but not limited to; any storage room, attic, basement, garage or other facility immediately adjacent to the location. See Rhode Island General Laws 44-20-1
- Stamp: means the impression, device, stamp, label, or print manufactured, printed, or made as prescribed by the administrator to be affixed to packages of cigarettes, as evidence of the payment of the tax provided by this chapter or to indicate that the cigarettes are intended for a sale or distribution in this state that is exempt from state tax under the provisions of state law; and also includes impressions made by metering machines authorized to be used under the provisions of this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 44-20-1