By Armbrister S.B. No. 937
77R5492 DAK-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the cigarette tax.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 154, Tax Code, is amended by
1-5 adding Section 154.0401 to read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 154.0401. APPLICABILITY. (a) Except as provided by
1-7 Subsection (b), this subchapter does not apply to cigarettes:
1-8 (1) imported or brought into the United States for
1-9 personal use; or
1-10 (2) sold or intended to be sold as duty-free
1-11 merchandise by a duty-free sales enterprise in accordance with 19
1-12 U.S.C. Section 1555(b), as amended, and any implementing
1-13 regulations.
1-14 (b) This subchapter applies to cigarettes brought back into
1-15 the customs territory for resale within the customs territory.
1-16 SECTION 2. Section 154.042, Tax Code, is amended by adding
1-17 Subsection (e) to read as follows:
1-18 (e) On or before the 15th business day of each month, each
1-19 distributor shall file with the comptroller, for all cigarettes
1-20 imported into the United States to which the distributor has
1-21 affixed the tax stamp in the preceding month, copies of the customs
1-22 certificates for the cigarettes required by 19 U.S.C. Section
1-23 1681a(c), as amended.
1-24 SECTION 3. Section 154.053, Tax Code, is amended by adding
2-1 Subsection (c) to read as follows:
2-2 (c) The comptroller shall design and furnish stamps in a
2-3 manner that permits identification of the person that affixed the
2-4 stamp to the particular package of cigarettes by means of a serial
2-5 number or other mark on the stamp. The comptroller shall maintain
2-6 for at least three years the information identifying the person
2-7 that affixed the stamp to each package of cigarettes. The
2-8 information is not confidential or exempt from disclosure to the
2-9 public.
2-10 SECTION 4. Subchapter H, Chapter 154, Tax Code, is amended by
2-11 adding Section 154.402 to read as follows:
2-12 Sec. 154.402. SEIZURE AND DESTRUCTION OF CERTAIN CONTRABAND
2-13 CIGARETTES. (a) This section applies only to cigarettes:
2-14 (1) that do not comply with all applicable
2-15 requirements imposed by or under federal law and implementing
2-16 regulations; or
2-17 (2) to which stamps may not be affixed under Section
2-18 154.0415.
2-19 (b) A person may not:
2-20 (1) sell or distribute in this state cigarettes to
2-21 which this section applies;
2-22 (2) acquire, hold, own, possess, or transport, for
2-23 sale or distribution in this state, cigarettes to which this
2-24 section applies; or
2-25 (3) import, or cause to be imported, into this state
2-26 for sale or distribution in this state cigarettes to which this
2-27 section applies.
3-1 (c) Cigarettes that are acquired, held, owned, possessed,
3-2 transported, imported into, or sold or distributed in this state in
3-3 violation of Subsection (b) are subject to seizure and forfeiture
3-4 under Sections 154.403 and 154.405, without regard to whether the
3-5 violation was knowing or otherwise.
3-6 (d) Any cigarettes seized and forfeited under this section
3-7 shall be destroyed.
3-8 SECTION 5. Subchapter H, Chapter 154, Tax Code, is amended by
3-9 adding Section 154.416 to read as follows:
3-10 Sec. 154.416. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. (a) A person who
3-11 sustains economic or commercial injury as a result of a violation
3-12 of Section 154.0415, 154.042(e), or 154.402 may bring an action
3-13 for:
3-14 (1) appropriate injunctive or other equitable relief;
3-15 (2) actual damages, if any, sustained as a result of
3-16 the violation; and
3-17 (3) as determined by the court:
3-18 (A) interest on damages beginning on the date
3-19 the complaint is filed;
3-20 (B) costs; and
3-21 (C) reasonable attorney's fees.
3-22 (b) If the trier of fact finds that the violation is
3-23 egregious, the court may increase the judgment to an amount equal
3-24 to or less than three times the amount of actual damages.
3-25 (c) The remedy provided by this section is in addition to
3-26 any other remedy provided by law.
3-27 SECTION 6. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
4-1 (b) Section 154.416, Tax Code, as added by this Act, applies
4-2 only to a violation to which that section applies that occurs on or
4-3 after the effective date of this Act. A violation that occurs
4-4 before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
4-5 effect on the date the violation occurs, and that law is continued
4-6 in effect for that purpose.