35 ILCS 135/3-10

(35 ILCS 135/3-10)

Sec. 3-10. Cigarette enforcement.

(a) Prohibitions. It is unlawful for any person:

(1) to sell or distribute in this State; to acquire, hold, own, possess, or transport, for sale or distribution in this State; or to import, or cause to be imported into this State for sale or distribution in this State:

(A) any cigarettes the package of which:

(i) bears any statement, label, stamp, sticker, or notice indicating that the manufacturer did not intend the cigarettes to be sold, distributed, or used in the United States, including but not limited to labels stating "For Export Only", "U.S. Tax Exempt", "For Use Outside U.S.", or similar wording; or

(ii) does not comply with:

(aa) all requirements imposed by or pursuant to federal law regarding warnings and other information on packages of cigarettes manufactured, packaged, or imported for sale, distribution, or use in the United States, including but not limited to the precise warning labels specified in the federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, 15 U.S.C. 1333; and

(bb) all federal trademark and copyright laws;

(B) any cigarettes imported into the United States in violation of 26 U.S.C. 5754 or any other federal law, or implementing federal regulations;

(C) any cigarettes that such person otherwise knows or has reason to know the manufacturer did not intend to be sold, distributed, or used in the United States; or

(D) any cigarettes for which there has not been submitted to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services the list or lists of the ingredients added to tobacco in the manufacture of the cigarettes required by the federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, 15 U.S.C. 1335a;

(2) to alter the package of any cigarettes, prior to sale or distribution to the ultimate consumer, so as to remove, conceal, or obscure:

(A) any statement, label, stamp, sticker, or notice described in subdivision (a)(1)(A)(i) of this Section;

(B) any health warning that is not specified in, or does not conform with the requirements of, the federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, 15 U.S.C. 1333; or

(3) to affix any stamp required pursuant to this Act to the package of any cigarettes described in subdivision (a)(1) of this Section or altered in violation of subdivision (a)(2).

(b) Documentation. On the first business day of each month, each person licensed to affix the State tax stamp to cigarettes shall file with the Department, for all cigarettes imported into the United States to which the person has affixed the tax stamp in the preceding month:

(1) a copy of:

(A) the permit issued pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. 5713, to the person importing the cigarettes into the United States allowing the person to import the cigarettes; and

(B) the customs form containing, with respect to the cigarettes, the internal revenue tax information required by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms;

(2) a statement, signed by the person under penalty of perjury, which shall be treated as confidential by the Department and exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, identifying the brand and brand styles of all such cigarettes, the quantity of each brand style of such cigarettes, the supplier of such cigarettes, and the person or persons, if any, to whom such cigarettes have been conveyed for resale; and a separate statement, signed by the individual under penalty of perjury, which shall not be treated as confidential or exempt from disclosure, separately identifying the brands and brand styles of such cigarettes; and

(3) a statement, signed by an officer of the manufacturer or importer under penalty of perjury, certifying that the manufacturer or importer has complied with:

(A) the package health warning and ingredient reporting requirements of the federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, 15 U.S.C. 1333 and 1335a, with respect to such cigarettes; and

(B) the provisions of Exhibit T of the Master Settlement Agreement entered in the case of People of the State of Illinois v. Philip Morris, et al. (Circuit Court of Cook County, No. 96-L13146), including a statement indicating whether the manufacturer is, or is not, a participating tobacco manufacturer within the meaning of Exhibit T.

(c) Administrative sanctions.

(1) Upon finding that a distributor, secondary distributor, retailer, or a person has committed any of the acts prohibited by subsection (a), knowing or having reason to know that he or she has done so, or upon finding that a distributor or person has failed to comply with any requirement of subsection (b), the Department may revoke or suspend the license or licenses of any distributor, retailer, or secondary distributor pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 6 and impose on the distributor, secondary distributor, retailer, or person, a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed the greater of 500% of the retail value of the cigarettes involved or $5,000.

(2) Cigarettes that are acquired, held, owned, possessed, transported in, imported into, or sold or distributed in this State in violation of this Section shall be deemed contraband under this Act and are subject to seizure and forfeiture as provided in this Act, and all such cigarettes seized and forfeited shall be destroyed or maintained and used in an undercover capacity. Such cigarettes shall be deemed contraband whether the violation of this Section is knowing or otherwise.

(d) Unfair trade practices. In addition to any other penalties provided for in this Act, a violation of subsection (a) or subsection (b) of this Section shall constitute an unlawful practice as provided in the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

(d-1) Retailers who are licensed under Section 4g of the Cigarette Tax Act and secondary distributors shall not be liable under subsections (c)(1) and (d) of this Section for unknowingly possessing, selling, or distributing to consumers or users cigarettes identified in subsection (a)(1) of this Section if the cigarettes possessed, sold, or distributed by the licensed retailer were obtained from a distributor or secondary distributor licensed under this Act or the Cigarette Tax Act.

(d-2) Criminal Penalties. A distributor, secondary distributor, retailer, or person who violates subsection (a), or a distributor, secondary distributor, or person who violates subsection (b) of this Section shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony.

(e) Unfair cigarette sales. For purposes of the Trademark Registration and Protection Act and the Counterfeit Trademark Act, cigarettes imported or reimported into the United States for sale or distribution under any trade name, trade dress, or trademark that is the same as, or is confusingly similar to, any trade name, trade dress, or trademark used for cigarettes manufactured in the United States for sale or distribution in the United States shall be presumed to have been purchased outside of the ordinary channels of trade.

(f) General provisions.

(1) This Section shall be enforced by the Department; provided that, at the request of the Director of Revenue or the Director's duly authorized agent, the Illinois State Police and all local police authorities shall enforce the provisions of this Section. The Attorney General has concurrent power with the State's Attorney of any county to enforce this Section.

(2) For the purpose of enforcing this Section, the Director of Revenue and any agency to which the Director has delegated enforcement responsibility pursuant to subdivision (f)(1) may request information from any State or local agency and may share information with and request information from any federal agency and any agency of any other state or any local agency of any other state.

(3) In addition to any other remedy provided by law, including enforcement as provided in subdivision (f)(1), any person may bring an action for appropriate injunctive or other equitable relief for a violation of this Section; actual damages, if any, sustained by reason of the violation; and, as determined by the court, interest on the damages from the date of the complaint, taxable costs, and reasonable attorney's fees. If the trier of fact finds that the violation is flagrant, it may increase recovery to an amount not in excess of 3 times the actual damages sustained by reason of the violation.

(g) Definitions. As used in this Section:

"Importer" means that term as defined in 26 U.S.C. 5702(1).

"Package" means that term as defined in 15 U.S.C. 1332(4).

(h) Applicability.

(1) This Section does not apply to:

(A) cigarettes allowed to be imported or brought into the United States for personal use; and

(B) cigarettes sold or intended to be sold as duty-free merchandise by a duty-free sales enterprise in accordance with the provisions of 19 U.S.C. 1555(b) and any implementing regulations; except that this Section shall apply to any such cigarettes that are brought back into the customs territory for resale within the customs territory.

(2) The penalties provided in this Section are in addition to any other penalties imposed under other provision of law.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)