Ohio Code 5743.21 – Stamp not to affixed to certain packages – seizure and destruction of packages
(A) No person shall affix a stamp required by section 5743.03 of the Revised Code to any package that:
Terms Used In Ohio Code 5743.21
- Cigarettes: includes any roll for smoking made wholly or in part of tobacco, irrespective of size or shape, and whether or not such tobacco is flavored, adulterated, or mixed with any other ingredient, the wrapper or cover of which is made of paper, reconstituted cigarette tobacco, homogenized cigarette tobacco, cigarette tobacco sheet, or any similar materials other than cigar tobacco. See Ohio Code 5743.01
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- imprisonment: means being imprisoned under a sentence imposed for an offense or serving a term of imprisonment, prison term, jail term, term of local incarceration, or other term under a sentence imposed for an offense in an institution under the control of the department of rehabilitation and correction, a county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse, a minimum security jail, a community-based correctional facility, or another facility described or referred to in section 2929. See Ohio Code 1.05
- Manufacturer: means any person who manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco products, or vapor products. See Ohio Code 5743.01
- Package: means the individual package, box, or other container in or from which retail sales of cigarettes are normally made or intended to be made. See Ohio Code 5743.01
- Person: includes individuals, firms, partnerships, associations, joint-stock companies, corporations, combinations of individuals of any form, and the state and any of its political subdivisions. See Ohio Code 5743.01
- Retail dealer: includes :
(1) In reference to dealers in cigarettes, every person other than a wholesale dealer engaged in the business of selling cigarettes in this state, regardless of whether the person is located in this state or elsewhere, and regardless of quantity, amount, or number of sales;
(2) In reference to dealers in tobacco products, any person in this state engaged in the business of selling tobacco products to ultimate consumers in this state, regardless of quantity, amount, or number of sales;
(3) In reference to dealers in vapor products, any person in this state engaged in the business of selling vapor products to ultimate consumers in this state, regardless of quantity, amount, or number of sales. See Ohio Code 5743.01
- Sale: includes exchange, barter, gift, offer for sale, and distribution, and includes transactions in interstate or foreign commerce. See Ohio Code 5743.01
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
- United States: includes all the states. See Ohio Code 1.59
(1) Bears any label or notice prescribed by the United States to identify cigarettes exempt from taxation by the United States pursuant to section 5704(b) of the “Internal Revenue Code of 1986,” 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 5704(b), including any notice or label described in 27 C.F.R. § 290.185;
(2) Is not labeled in conformity with the “Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act,” 79 Stat. 282, 15 U.S.C.A. 1331 (1965), or any other federal requirement for the placement of labels, warnings, or other information applicable to packages of cigarettes intended for domestic consumption;
(3) Has been altered by anyone other than the manufacturer or a person authorized by the manufacturer, including by the placement of a sticker to cover information on or add information to the package;
(4) Has been imported or brought into the United States after January 1, 2000, in violation of section 5754 of the “Internal Revenue Code of 1986,” 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 5754, or regulations adopted under that section;
(5) Is produced by a tobacco product manufacturer or is part of a brand family that is not included in the directory established under section 1346.05 of the Revised Code.
(B) No person shall sell or offer to sell any roll-your-own tobacco to any person in this state if the roll-your-own tobacco is not included in the directory established under section 1346.05 of the Revised Code. Any roll-your-own tobacco in the possession of a retail dealer in this state shall be prima facie evidence of offering to sell to a person in this state.
(C) Whenever the tax commissioner discovers any packages to which stamps have been affixed in violation of this section, or any roll-your-own tobacco sold or offered for sale in violation of this section, the tax commissioner may seize the packages or roll-your-own tobacco, which shall be forfeited to the state, and shall order the destruction of the packages or roll-your-own tobacco, provided that the seizure and destruction shall not exempt any person from prosecution or from the fine or imprisonment provided for the violation of this section.
(D) As used in this section, “roll-your-own” has the same meaning as in section 1346.01 of the Revised Code, and “tobacco product manufacturer” and “brand family” have the same meanings as in section 1346.04 of the Revised Code.