Each licensed wholesale dealer shall affix or cause to be affixed to each individual package of cigarettes sold or distributed by him or her stamps of the proper denomination as required by section 7771 of this title and in such manner as the Commissioner may specify in regulations issued pursuant to this chapter. The stamps may be affixed by a licensed wholesale dealer at any time before the cigarettes are transferred out of his or her possession. (Amended 1971, No. 73, § 28, eff. April 16, 1971; 1981, No. 31, § 11; 2013, No. 14, § 15.)