West Virginia Code 11-17-19a – Criminal penalties
(a) Misdemeanor penalties. -– If any person commits any act set forth in this subsection, the person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $1,000 nor more than $25,000, or imprisoned in a county or regional jail for not more than one year, or both fined and imprisoned. Each act constitutes a separate misdemeanor:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 11-17-19a
- Cigarette: means :
(A) Any roll for smoking made, wholly or in part, of tobacco, irrespective of size or shape and whether or not the tobacco is flavored, adulterated or mixed with any ingredient, the wrapping or cover of which is made of paper or any substance or material, except tobacco. See West Virginia Code 11-17-2
- Commissioner: means the State Tax Commissioner and, where the meaning of the context requires, all deputies or agents and employees duly authorized by him or her. See West Virginia Code 11-17-2
- Consumer: means a person who receives or in any way comes into possession of tobacco products for the purpose of consuming or giving them away or disposing of them in any way other than by sale, barter or exchange. See West Virginia Code 11-17-2
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Manufacturer: means a person who manufactures or produces a tobacco product. See West Virginia Code 11-17-2
- meter impression: means any cigarette stamp or any meter or ink impression or other indicia authorized by the Tax Commissioner to serve as a stamp and shall be of the design and color as prescribed by the Tax Commissioner. See West Virginia Code 11-17-2
- Package: means the individual package, box or other container in or from which retail sales of tobacco products are normally made or intended to be made. See West Virginia Code 11-17-2
- Person: means and includes any individual, firm, association, company, partnership, corporation, joint-stock company, club, agency, syndicate, limited liability company, other legal entity, municipal corporation or other political subdivision of this state, trust, receiver, trustee, fiduciary or conservator, and when used in connection with any penalties imposed by this article, means and includes officers, directors, trustees or members of any firm, copartnership, association, corporation, trust or any other unit acting as a group. See West Virginia Code 11-17-2
- Retail dealer: includes every person in this state, other than a wholesaler or subjobber, engaged in the selling of tobacco products at retail to a consumer or to any person for any purpose other than resale. See West Virginia Code 11-17-2
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Unstamped cigarettes: means that the stamp or impression as required by this article has not been affixed to the bottom of the package of cigarettes. See West Virginia Code 11-17-2
- Value: means in the case of any document not a gift, the amount of the full actual consideration for the document, paid or to be paid, including the amount of any lien or liens assumed. See West Virginia Code 11-22-1
- wholesale dealer: includes any person in this state who purchases tax-not-paid tobacco products directly from the manufacturer, or such other seller as may be approved by the Tax Commissioner. See West Virginia Code 11-17-2
(1) The person makes any false entry upon an invoice, package or container of tobacco products that is required to be made under the provisions of this article;
(2) The person with intent to evade the tax imposed by this article, presents any false entry upon an invoice, package or container of tobacco products for the inspection of the commissioner or the commissioner's authorized deputy, agent or employee;
(3) The person prevents or hinders the commissioner or the commissioner's authorized deputy, agent or employee from making a full inspection of any place where tobacco products subject to the tax imposed by this state are sold or stored;
(4) The person prevents or hinders the full inspection of invoices, books, records or papers required to be kept under the provisions of this article;
(5) The person sells cigarettes in this state without there having been first affixed to each individual package of cigarettes the stamp or meter impression required to be affixed to the package by this article;
(6) The person sells other tax-not-paid tobacco products in this state to a subjobber, retail dealer or consumer in this state;
(7) The person, being a retail dealer or subjobber in this state, has in his or her possession packages of cigarettes not bearing the stamps or meter impression required to be affixed to the package by this article;
(8) The person, being a retail dealer or subjobber in this state, has in his or her possession tax-not-paid packages of other tobacco products;
(9) The person fails to produce on demand by the commissioner, or the commissioner's authorized deputy, agent or employee, invoices of all tobacco products purchased or received by him or her within two years prior to the date of the demand, unless upon satisfactory proof it is shown that the nonproduction is due to providential or other causes beyond his or her control;
(10) The person being a wholesale dealer sells tobacco products to any person in this state other than to another wholesaler, or to a subjobber or retail dealer;
(11) A person who is not a wholesaler or subjobber in this state sells tobacco products to a retail dealer;
(12) A person being a retail dealer purchases or acquires tobacco products from any person other than a person who is a wholesaler or subjobber in this state;
(13) The original wholesaler who purchases unstamped cigarettes or tax-not-paid other tobacco products from a manufacturer or other person fails to pay the excise tax imposed by this article and fails to affix the required stamps or meter impressions;
(14) A person who is not a wholesaler of tobacco products, as defined in this article, has in his or her possession within this state more than twenty packages of cigarettes, that do not bear cigarette tax paid indicia of this state, stamps or meter impressions, or other tax-not-paid tobacco products, if the retail value of the tobacco products is more than $30 for all tax-not-paid tobacco products. The possession shall be presumed to be for the purpose of evading the payment of the taxes imposed or due on the tobacco products;
(15) The person violates any of the provisions of this article or any lawful rule promulgated by the commissioner under authority of article ten of this code.
(b) Felony penalties. -– If any person commits any act set forth in this subsection, the person shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $25,000 nor more than $50,000, and imprisoned in a state correctional facility for a term of not less than one year nor more than five years. Each constitutes a separate felony:
(1) The person falsely or fraudulently makes, forges, alters or counterfeits any stamps or meter impressions prescribed, or defined, by the provisions of this article, or its related rules;
(2) The person knowingly and willfully makes, causes to be made, purchases, receives or has in his or her possession, any device for forging or counterfeiting any stamp or meter impression;
(3) The person has in his or her possession any stamps not properly issued by the commissioner, or the commissioner's authorized employee, agent or deputy;
(4) The person tampers with or alters any stamping device authorized by the commissioner; or
(5) The person uses more than once any stamp or meter impression provided for and required by this article for the purpose of evading the tax imposed by this article.
(c) Deposit of penalties. –- All penalties collected under the provisions of this section shall be paid into the General Revenue Fund.