N.Y. Tax Law § 1814 — Cigarette and tobacco products tax

§ 1814. Cigarette and tobacco products tax.--(a) Any person who\nwillfully attempts in any manner to evade or defeat the taxes imposed by\narticle twenty of this chapter or payment thereof on (i) ten thousand\ncigarettes or more (ii) twenty-two thousand cigars or more, or (iii)\nfour hundred forty pounds of tobacco or more or has previously been\nconvicted two or more times of a violation of paragraph one of this\nsubdivision shall be guilty of a class E felony.\n (b) Any person, other than an agent licensed by the commissioner, who\npossesses or transports for the purpose of sale any unstamped or\nunlawfully stamped packages of cigarettes subject to tax imposed by\nsection four hundred seventy-one of this chapter, or who sells or offers\nfor sale unstamped or unlawfully stamped packages of cigarettes in\nviolation of the provisions of article twenty of this chapter shall be\nguilty of a misdemeanor. Any person who violates the provisions of this\nsubdivision after having previously been convicted of a violation of\nthis subdivision within the preceding five years shall be guilty of a\nclass E felony.\n (c) (1) Any person, other than an agent licensed by the commissioner,\nwho willfully possesses or transports for the purpose of sale ten\nthousand or more cigarettes subject to the tax imposed by section four\nhundred seventy-one of this chapter in any unstamped or unlawfully\nstamped packages or who willfully sells or offers for sale ten thousand\nor more cigarettes in any unstamped or unlawfully stamped packages in\nviolation of article twenty of this chapter shall be guilty of a class E\nfelony.\n (2) Any person, other than an agent licensed by the commissioner, who\nwillfully possesses or transports for the purpose of sale thirty\nthousand or more cigarettes subject to the tax imposed by section four\nhundred seventy-one of this chapter in any unstamped or unlawfully\nstamped packages or who willfully sells or offers for sale thirty\nthousand or more cigarettes in any unstamped or unlawfully stamped\npackages in violation of article twenty of this chapter shall be guilty\nof a class D felony.\n (d) For the purposes of this section, the possession or transportation\nwithin this state by any person, other than an agent, at any one time of\nfive thousand or more cigarettes in unstamped or unlawfully stamped\npackages shall be presumptive evidence that such cigarettes are\npossessed or transported for the purpose of sale and are subject to the\ntax imposed by section four hundred seventy-one of this chapter. With\nrespect to such possession or transportation any provisions of article\ntwenty of this chapter providing for a time period during which a use\ntax imposed by such article may be paid on unstamped cigarettes or\nunlawfully or improperly stamped cigarettes or during which such\ncigarettes may be returned to an agent shall not apply. The possession\nwithin this state of more than four hundred cigarettes in unstamped or\nunlawfully stamped packages by any person other than an agent at any one\ntime shall be presumptive evidence that such cigarettes are subject to\ntax as provided by article twenty of this chapter.\n (e) Nothing in this section shall apply to common or contract carriers\nor warehousemen while engaged in lawfully transporting or storing\nunstamped packages of cigarettes as merchandise, or lawfully\ntransporting or storing tobacco products, nor to any employee of such\ncarrier or warehouseman acting within the scope of his employment, nor\nto public officers or employees in the performance of their official\nduties requiring possession or control of unstamped or unlawfully\nstamped packages of cigarettes or possession or control of tobacco\nproducts, nor to temporary incidental possession by employees or agents\nof persons lawfully entitled to possession, nor to persons whose\npossession is for the purpose of aiding police officers in performing\ntheir duties.\n (f) Any willful act or omission, other than those described in section\neighteen hundred one of this article or subdivision (a), (b), (c), (d),\n(e), (g), (h) or (i) of this section, by any person which constitutes a\nviolation of any provision of article twenty of this chapter shall\nconstitute a misdemeanor.\n (g) Any person who falsely or fraudulently makes, alters or\ncounterfeits any stamp prescribed by the tax commission under the\nprovisions of article twenty of this chapter, or causes or procures to\nbe falsely or fraudulently made, altered or counterfeited any such\nstamp, or knowingly and willfully utters, purchases, passes or tenders\nas true any such false, altered or counterfeited stamp, or knowingly and\nwillfully possesses any cigarettes in packages bearing any such false,\naltered or counterfeited stamp, and any person who knowingly and\nwillfully makes, causes to be made, purchases or receives any device for\nforging or counterfeiting any stamp, prescribed by the tax commission\nunder the provisions of article twenty of this chapter, or who knowingly\nand willfully possesses any such device, shall be guilty of a class E\nfelony. For the purposes of this subdivision, the words "stamp\nprescribed by the tax commission" shall include a stamp, impression or\nimprint made by a metering machine, the design of which has been\napproved by such commission.\n (h) (1) Any dealer, other than a distributor appointed by the\ncommissioner of taxation and finance under article twenty of this\nchapter, who shall knowingly transport or have in his custody,\npossession or under his control more than ten pounds of tobacco or more\nthan five hundred cigars upon which the taxes imposed by article twenty\nof this chapter have not been assumed or paid by a distributor appointed\nby the commissioner of taxation and finance under article twenty of this\nchapter, or other person treated as a distributor pursuant to section\nfour hundred seventy-one-d of this chapter, shall be guilty of a\nmisdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars\nor by a term of imprisonment not to exceed thirty days.\n (2) Any person, other than a dealer or a distributor appointed by the\ncommissioner under article twenty of this chapter, who shall knowingly\ntransport or have in his custody, possession or under his control more\nthan fifteen pounds of tobacco or more than seven hundred fifty cigars\nupon which the taxes imposed by article twenty of this chapter have not\nbeen assumed or paid by a distributor appointed by the commissioner\nunder article twenty of this chapter, or other person treated as a\ndistributor pursuant to section four hundred seventy-one-d of this\nchapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not\nmore than five thousand dollars or by a term of imprisonment not to\nexceed thirty days.\n (3) Any person, other than a distributor appointed by the commissioner\nunder article twenty of this chapter, who shall knowingly transport or\nhave in his custody, possession or under his control twenty-five hundred\nor more cigars or fifty or more pounds of tobacco upon which the taxes\nimposed by article twenty of this chapter have not been assumed or paid\nby a distributor appointed by the commissioner under article twenty of\nthis chapter, or other person treated as a distributor pursuant to\nsection four hundred seventy-one-d of this chapter shall be guilty of a\nmisdemeanor. Provided further, that any person who has twice been\nconvicted under this subdivision shall be guilty of a class E felony for\nany subsequent violation of this section, regardless of the amount of\ntobacco products involved in such violation.\n (4) For purposes of this subdivision, such person shall knowingly\ntransport or have in his custody, possession or under his control\ntobacco or cigars on which such taxes have not been assumed or paid by a\ndistributor appointed by the commissioner where such person has\nknowledge of the requirement of the tax on tobacco products and, where\nto his knowledge, such taxes have not been assumed or paid on such\ntobacco products by a distributor appointed by the commissioner of\ntaxation and finance.\n (i) Any person who falsely or fraudulently makes, alters or\ncounterfeits a registration certificate or sticker required under the\nprovisions of section four hundred eighty-a of this chapter, or causes\nor procures to be falsely or fraudulently made, altered or counterfeited\nany such registration certificate or sticker, or knowingly and willfully\nutters, purchases, passes or tenders as true any such false, altered or\ncounterfeited registration certificate or sticker, and any person who\nknowingly and willfully makes, causes to be made, purchases or receives\nany device for forging or counterfeiting any registration certificate or\nsticker required under the provisions of such section, or who knowingly\nand willfully possesses any such device, shall be guilty of a class B\nmisdemeanor.\n