Sec. 4-28m. Cigarette manufacturers: Directory. Violations of law. Review.

(a)(1) Not later than July 1, 2005, the commissioner shall develop and make available for public inspection, on the Department of Revenue Services' web site and in such other forms as the commissioner deems appropriate, a directory listing of all tobacco product manufacturers that have provided current and accurate certifications conforming to the requirements of section 4-28l and all brand families that are listed in such certifications. The commissioner shall update the directory as necessary in order to correct mistakes and to add or remove a tobacco product manufacturer or brand family to keep the directory current and in conformity with the requirements of sections 4-28k to 4-28r, inclusive.

(2) The commissioner shall not include or retain in such directory the name or brand families of any manufacturer that has failed to provide the required certification or whose certification the commissioner determines is not in compliance with the provisions of section 4-28l, unless such violation has been remedied to the satisfaction of the commissioner.

(3) The commissioner shall not include or retain in the directory any brand family of a nonparticipating manufacturer if the commissioner concludes: (A) All escrow payments required pursuant to the provisions of sections 4-28h to 4-28j, inclusive, for any period for any brand family, whether or not listed by such nonparticipating manufacturer, have not been fully paid into a qualified escrow fund governed by a qualified escrow agreement that has been approved by the Attorney General; (B) any outstanding final judgment, including interest thereon, for a violation of sections 4-28h to 4-28j, inclusive, has not been fully satisfied for such brand family and such manufacturer; or (C) a nonparticipating manufacturer's total nation-wide reported sales of cigarettes on which federal excise tax is paid exceeds the sum of (i) its total interstate sales, as reported under 15 USC 375 et seq., as from time to time amended, or those made by its importer, and (ii) its total intrastate sales, by more than two and one-half per cent of its total nation-wide sales during any calendar year, unless the nonparticipating manufacturer cures or satisfactorily explains the discrepancy not later than ten days after receiving notice of the discrepancy.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any person:

(1) To affix a tax stamp to a package or other container of cigarettes of a tobacco product manufacturer or brand family not included in the directory; and

(2) To sell, offer, possess for sale or distribute in this state, cigarettes of a tobacco product manufacturer or brand family not included in the directory.

(c) A violation of subsection (b) of this section shall be a class A misdemeanor.

(d) Any person who violates subsection (b) of this section engages in an unfair and deceptive trade practice in violation of section 42-110b.

(e) A determination by the commissioner not to include a brand family or tobacco product manufacturer in the directory maintained pursuant to this section or to remove such brand family or manufacturer from the directory shall be subject to review in the manner prescribed by section 12-311.

(P.A. 04-218, S. 3; P.A. 10-32, S. 7; P.A. 14-155, S. 8; P.A. 17-105, S. 2.)

History: P.A. 10-32 made a technical change in Subsec. (a)(1), effective May 10, 2010; P.A. 14-155 amended Subsec. (a)(3) by adding Subpara. (C) re exclusion from directory for discrepancies in reported sales, effective January 1, 2015; P.A. 17-105 amended Subsec. (a)(3)(C) by replacing “nation-wide reports” with “total interstate sales, as reported” in clause (i) and replacing provision re intrastate sales reports under 15 USC 357 with “its total intrastate sales”, replacing “five per cent” with “two and one-half per cent” and deleting “or one million cigarettes, whichever is less,” in clause (ii).