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Business Taxes Law Guide—Revision 2024
Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law
Revenue and Taxation Code
Division 2. Other Taxes
Part 13. Cigarette Tax
Chapter 10. Violations
Section 30473.5
30473.5. Penalty for fraudulent stamps. (a) Any person who possesses, sells, or offers to sell, or buys or offers to buy, any false, fraudulent, or unaffixed stamps or meter impressions provided for or authorized under this part in a quantity of less than 2,000 is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) or imprisonment not exceeding one year in a county jail, or by both the fine and imprisonment.
(b) Any person who possesses, sells, or offers to sell, or buys or offers to buy, any false, fraudulent, or unaffixed stamps or meter impressions provided for or authorized under this part in a quantity of 2,000 or greater, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or imprisonment not exceeding one year in a county jail, or by both the fine and imprisonment. The court shall order any fines assessed be deposited in the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund.
(c) For purposes of this section, "unaffixed stamps" means stamps for which the tax has previously been paid by a licensed distributor and previously affixed to a package. "Unaffixed stamps" do not include any unused and unapplied rolls of stamps or loose stamps acquired from the board or its authorized agent and in the possession of a licensed distributor.
(d) The board shall destroy any stamps seized under this section.
History—Added by Stats. 1996, Ch. 1087, in effect January 1, 1997. Stats. 2003, Ch. 890 (AB 71), in effect January 1, 2004, added subdivision letter (a) to former sole paragraph, added "or" after "or offers to sell,", and substituted "in a quantity of less than 2,000 … or by both the fine and imprisonment" in subdivision (a); added subdivisions (b) and (c). Stats. 2016, Ch. 662 (AB 1901), in effect January 1, 2017, substituted "false, fraudulent, or unaffixed" for "false of fraudulent" after "offers to buy, any" in subdivision (a); substituted "buy," for "buy" after "buys or offers to" and substituted "false, fraudulent, or unaffixed" for "false or fraudulent" after "offers to buy, any" in the first sentence of subdivision (b); added subdivision (c); and relettered former subdivision (c) as (d).