Suspension of Dealer's or Distributor's License; Other Available Remedies; Falsification of Information

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  5. Suspension of Dealer's or Distributor's License; Other Available Remedies; Falsification of Information

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  1. In addition to or in lieu of any other civil or criminal remedy provided by law, upon a determination that a stamping agent has violated Code Section 10-13A-5 or any regulation adopted pursuant to this chapter, the commissioner may revoke or suspend the dealer or distributor's license of the stamping agent in the manner provided by Code Section 48-11-6. Each tax stamp affixed and each sale or offer to sell cigarettes in violation of Code Section 10-13A-5 or the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter shall constitute a separate violation. For each violation, the commissioner may also impose a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed the greater of 500 percent of the retail value of the cigarettes or $5,000.00 upon a determination of a violation of Code Section 10-13A-5 or any regulations adopted pursuant thereto. Such penalty shall be imposed in the manner provided in subsection (c) of Code Section 48-11-24.
  2. A license may also be subject to termination, suspension, or other available remedy found in Code Section 48-11-14, if:
    1. A distributor fails to provide a report required under Code Section 10-13A-8; or
    2. A distributor files an incomplete or inaccurate report required under Code Section 10-13A-8.
  3. Any cigarettes that have been sold, offered for sale, or possessed for sale in this state in violation of Code Section 10-13A-5 or other provisions of this chapter or Chapter 13 of this title shall be deemed contraband under Code Section 48-11-9 and such cigarettes shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture as provided in such Code section.
  4. The Attorney General, on behalf of the commissioner, may seek an injunction to restrain a threatened or actual violation of Code Section 10-13A-5 or of subsection (a) or (e) of Code Section 10-13A-8 by a distributor or stamping agent and to compel the distributor to comply with said Code section or either such subsection. In any action brought pursuant to this Code section, the state shall be entitled to recover the costs of investigation, costs of the action, and reasonable attorney fees.
  5. It shall be unlawful for a person to sell or distribute cigarettes or to acquire, hold, own, possess, transport, import, or cause to be imported cigarettes that the person knows or should know are intended for distribution or sale in this state in violation of Code Section 10-13A-5. Any person who violates this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
  6. A violation of Code Section 10-13A-5 shall constitute an unfair and deceptive act or practice under Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of this title, the "Fair Business Practices Act of 1975."
  7. It is unlawful for any person to knowingly submit any false information required pursuant to Chapter 13 of this title or this chapter. A violation of this subsection is a felony. Knowing submission of false information shall also be grounds for removal of a tobacco product manufacturer or brand from the directory.

(Code 1981, §10-13A-8, enacted by Ga. L. 2003, p. 829, § 1; Ga. L. 2015, p. 693, § 3-8/HB 233; Code 1981, §10-13A-9, as redesignated by Ga. L. 2016, p. 528, § 3/HB 899.)

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, substituted "Chapter 16 of Title 9" for "such Code section" at the end of subsection (b).

The 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, redesignated former Code Section 10-13A-8 as present Code Section 10-13A-9; in subsection (a), in the first sentence, twice substituted "stamping agent" for "distributor", and inserted "dealer or distributor's", inserted "or the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter" in the second sentence; added subsection (b); redesignated former subsection (b) as present subsection (c); inserted "or other provisions of this chapter or Chapter 13 of this title" in subsection (c); redesignated former subsection (c) as present subsection (d); substituted "subsection (a) or (e) of Code Section 10-13A-8 by a distributor or stamping agent" for "subsection (a) or (d) of Code Section 10-13A-7 by a distributor" in the first sentence of subsection (d); redesignated former subsections (d) and (e) as present subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and added subsection (g).

Editor's notes.

- Ga. L. 2015, p. 693, § 4-1/HB 233, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2015, and shall apply to seizures of property for forfeiture that occur on or after that date. Any such seizure that occurs before July 1, 2015, shall be governed by the statute in effect at the time of such seizure."

Ga. L. 2016, p. 528, § 3/HB 899, effective July 1, 2016, redesignated former Code Section 10-13A-9 as present Code Section 10-13A-10.

Law reviews.

- For article on the 2015 amendment of this Code section, see 32 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 1 (2015).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Cited in Carolina Tobacco Co. v. Baker, 295 Ga. App. 115, 670 S.E.2d 811 (2008).


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