§ 15-307 — Illegal acts

Sec. 15-307. - Illegal acts.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person who is required by this article to affix stamps to cigarettes to fail to affix such stamps or to fail to cancel such stamps in the manner or within the time required by this article. (b) It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, store or deliver within the city any cigarettes which have not been affixed with stamps and which have not been cancelled, or other tobacco products on which sales have not been reported and taxes have not been paid as provided in this article. (c) It shall be unlawful for any person to have in his possession or under his control, any cigarettes that have not been affixed with a stamp as required by this article for more than six hours after receipt of such cigarettes on the premises of such person. The possession of each package of a tobacco product which lacks the required number of stamps shall be deemed a separate offense. (d) It shall be unlawful for any person to effectuate or to attempt to manufacture, buy, sell, offer for sale or possess any reproduction or counterfeit of the stamps provided for in this article or to possess tools, implements, instruments or materials of any kind necessary or appropriate to reproduce or counterfeit such stamps, or to alter or cause to be altered any stamps as herein provided. (e) It shall be unlawful for any person to remove from a package or otherwise prepare any stamp with intent to use or cause the same to be used, after it has already been used, or to buy, sell, offer for sale or give away any washed, removed, altered or restored stamp to any person, or to have in possession any such washed, removed, restored or altered stamp, or, for the purpose of indicating payment of any license fee under this article, to reuse any stamp which previously has been used for the payment of any license fee provided in this article or for any person other than the city finance director to sell any stamp provided for herein. (f) It shall be unlawful for any person to reuse or refill with cigarettes any stamped package from which cigarettes have been removed and the required license fee has previously been paid. (g) It shall be unlawful for any person, who is required under this article to keep records, to fail or omit to keep the those records in the manner herein provided, or to refuse to permit the city finance director or his duly authorized deputy to inspect the same at any reasonable hour, or to interfere with or obstruct the city finance director or his duly authorized deputy in the making of any such inspection. (h) It shall be unlawful for any person who is required by this article to file statements with the city finance director to fail or omit to make or file any statement herein provided within the time herein specified, or to make any false statement therein, and such offense shall be a continuing offense against the city and each day during which such person shall sell, store, or deliver cigarettes or other tobacco products in the city during such default shall constitute a separate offense. (i) It shall be unlawful for any person who is required to pay the license fee provided for in this article to fail or omit to pay the same within the time herein specified, and such offense shall be a continuing offense against the city and each day during which such person shall sell, store or deliver tobacco products in the city during such default shall constitute a separate offense. Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not less than $25.00 nor more than $500.00 for each offense, and in addition may be imprisoned in the city jail for a period not to exceed six months. Each violation shall constitute a separate offense.

(Ord. No. 04-68, § 9, 1-22-2004; Ord. No. 25-388, § 18, 5-22-2025)