A. Exempted from the cigarette tax are sales of cigarettes:

(1)     to the United States or any agency or instrumentality thereof or the state of New Mexico or any political subdivision thereof;

(2)     to a tribe, or to a tribal member licensed by the governing body of a tribe for use or sale on that tribe’s land, if the tribe has in place a qualifying tribal cigarette tax; and

(3)     sales that the state is prohibited from taxing by a provision of the United States constitution or the constitution of the state of New Mexico.

B. As used in this section, the term “agency or instrumentality” does not include persons who are agents or instrumentalities of the United States for a particular purpose or only when acting in a particular capacity or corporate agencies or instrumentalities.