Title 16, Title 16

The department of justice may adopt rules to implement 16-11-103, 16-11-118, 16-11-124, 16-11-141, 16-11-142, and 16-11-147.

Every person who engages in the regular or systematic solicitation of consumers in this state to purchase tobacco products in any manner shall comply with all the requirements of this chapter and any rules adopted pursuant to this chapter.

Every person who engages in the regular or systematic solicitation of consumers in this state to purchase tobacco products in any manner without a license as required by this chapter must, by so doing, be considered to appoint the secretary of state as its agent upon whom all law…

(1) Service of process pursuant to 16-11-107 must be made by delivering to and leaving with the secretary of state's office two copies of the summons and complaint and any fees required by law. The secretary of state shall, in a timely manner, mail by registered or certified mail…

(1) (a) A tax on the purchase of cigarettes for consumption, use, or any purpose other than resale in the regular course of business is imposed and must be precollected by the wholesaler and paid to the state of Montana. The tax is $1.70 on each package containing 20 cigarettes. …

All taxes paid pursuant to 16-11-111 shall be conclusively presumed to be direct taxes on the retail consumer precollected for the purpose of convenience and facility only. The full face value of the insignia or tax shall be added to the cost of the cigarettes and recovered from …

(1) Except as provided in this section, the wholesaler of any cigarettes shall cause to be securely affixed to the cigarettes the required insignia denoting the applicable tax. (2) The insignia must be properly applied prior to sale, under regulations that the department may pres…

(1) Each licensed wholesaler is entitled to purchase an insignia at full face value less the following percentage of the face value upon payment for the insignia as defrayment of the costs of affixing insignia and precollecting the tax on behalf of the state of Montana: (a) 0.90%…

(1) The department may authorize any wholesaler of cigarettes licensed under this part to use a tax meter machine to imprint an insignia upon each package of cigarettes imported, sold, or delivered in this state. The insignia must be one approved by the department. Each package o…

A wholesaler may not resell to any other wholesaler any insignia purchased from the department. A wholesaler who has on hand any meter settings or tax insignia at the time of discontinuing the business of selling cigarettes may apply to the department and be paid the face value o…

The department may permit a licensed wholesaler to pay for the insignia purchased, or affixation of insignia, within 30 days. To be eligible to defer payment, a wholesaler shall file with the department either a surety bond or other cash security, as approved by the department, f…

(1) All wholesalers and subjobbers shall keep for 3 years all: (a) invoices of tobacco products purchased, imported, or sold; (b) all receipts issued and insignia purchased; and (c) an accurate record of all sales of tobacco products, showing the name and address of each purchase…

(1) A sum equal to the amount necessary to purchase cigarette tax stamps must be deposited to or allocated from the state special revenue fund to the credit of the department from cigarette taxes collected under the provisions of 16-11-111, as provided in subsection (5) of this s…

Every wholesaler, subjobber, retailer, or tobacco product vendor shall obtain a license from the department before engaging in the business of wholesaler, subjobber, retailer, or tobacco product vendor. A separate application and a separate license is required for each place of b…

Cigarette vending machines may not be considered as places of business per se, but a report of each machine must be made on forms prescribed by the department. The form must include the name and address of the cigarette vendor, the assigned location of each machine, with best mac…

(1) Each application for a wholesaler's license or a tobacco product vendor's license must be accompanied by a fee of $50. (2) Each application for a subjobber's license must be accompanied by a fee of $50. (3) Each application for a retailer's license must be accompanied by a fe…

(1) Each license shall be prominently displayed on the licensed premises, and a separate license shall be displayed at each place of business owned, controlled, or operated by such wholesaler, subjobber, retailer, or cigarette vendor. (2) Each cigarette vendor shall affix a licen…

(1) All license fees collected under the provisions of this part must be deposited with the state treasurer in the general fund. (2) Each biennium, there must be appropriated to the department and the department of justice an amount justified and reasonable to operate the cigaret…

This chapter does not prevent a person from being licensed as both a wholesaler and a retailer.

(1) An individual is individually liable, jointly and severally, with and to the same extent as the business upon a determination that the individual possessed the responsibility on behalf of the business to comply or direct compliance with state law regarding sales of tobacco pr…

(1) Prior to delivering, mailing, or shipping tobacco products into Montana to a person other than a licensed wholesaler or retailer, a person who accepts purchase orders for tobacco product sales shall file a statement with the department. The statement must set forth: (a) the n…

The attorney general, a designee of the attorney general, or any person who holds a permit under 26 U.S.C. 5713 may bring an action in the appropriate Montana district court to prevent or restrain violations of 16-11-128 by any person or by a principal of the person.

(1) It is unlawful for a person to transport into, receive, carry, or move from place to place within this state, except in the course of interstate commerce, any tobacco products that do not comply with the requirements of this chapter. (2) (a) When transporting unstamped cigare…

(1) Unless approved by the department, a person may not sell, offer to sell, or possess with intent to sell any tobacco products, at wholesale or retail, unless the person's license is current and valid under the provisions of this part. (2) A person may not sell, offer to sell, …

(1) Unless approved by the department, a person who sells any package of cigarettes that does not bear the insignia required by this part and a person who uses or consumes a cigarette within this state, taken from a package that does not bear the required insignia, is guilty of a…

A person who makes, alters, forges, or counterfeits any license stamp or insignia provided for in this law, who assists or is concerned in the creation of the stamp or insignia, or who has in the person's possession any altered, forged, counterfeit, or spurious stamp, license, or…

(1) The department of justice is a criminal justice agency. Designated agents of the department of justice have peace officer status and may arrest any person violating any provision of this chapter, enter a complaint before any court of competent jurisdiction, and lawfully searc…

In the enforcement of this chapter, the department of justice may call to its assistance and it is the duty of any county attorney or any peace officer in this state to assist the department of justice in the enforcement of this chapter.

(1) If a person fails or refuses to pay the tobacco product tax required by this part when due, the department shall proceed to determine the tax due from the information that the department can obtain and shall assess the tax plus penalty and interest as provided in 15-1-216. (2…

(1) The department may revoke or suspend the license of any wholesaler, subjobber, tobacco product vendor, retailer, or person licensed under 16-11-303 for failure to comply with any provision of The Montana Cigarette Sales Act (Title 16, chapter 10), this chapter, or with any la…

Each person having possession or control of or who maintains a building or place where tobacco products are sold in violation of this chapter or who permits the tobacco products to be sold in violation of this chapter in any place or building possessed, controlled, or maintained …

A person found guilty of forgery under 16-11-134 shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 1 year or more than 14 years. In addition, the department may impose the civil penalties in 16-11-148.

A motor vehicle, airplane, conveyance, vehicle, or other means of transportation in which contraband with a value of $1,000 or more is being unlawfully transported, together with the contraband and other equipment or personal property used in connection with and found in that tra…

(1) Unless otherwise provided, the purposeful, knowing, or negligent violation of any provision of this part constitutes a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to 1 year or by a fine of up to $1,000, or both. For a first offense, if a violation of this part inv…

(1) A person aggrieved by any action of the department or its authorized agents taken to enforce the tax provisions of this part, except for a revocation of a license pursuant to 16-11-144, may apply to the department, in writing, for a hearing or rehearing within 30 days after t…

Any person aggrieved by any action or decision of the department or the department of justice or a licensing decision of the department made under the provisions of this part may appeal to the district court in accordance with the Montana Administrative Procedure Act.

As used in 16-11-111, 16-11-155, 16-11-156, and 16-11-158, the following definitions apply: (1) "Indian reservation" means lands declared to be a reservation for an Indian tribe or tribes: (a) by a treaty between the tribe and a territorial government, a state government, or the …

Except for cigarettes sold on a military reservation, cigarettes sold in Montana must have a Montana cigarette tax stamp affixed prior to sale.

(1) When property is forfeited under 16-11-159, the department may: (a) retain the property or any part of the property for official use or, upon application by a law enforcement agency of this state, another state, the District of Columbia, or the United States, for the exclusiv…

(1) Upon the seizure of any contraband and within 10 working days after seizure of any equipment or property, the officer making the seizure shall: (a) deliver an inventory of the property or contraband seized to the person from whom the seizure was made or to any other person ha…

This part may be cited as the "Youth Access to Tobacco Products Control Act".

For the purposes of 16-11-301 through 16-11-308, the following definitions apply: (1) (a) "Alternative nicotine product" means any manufactured noncombustible product containing nicotine derived from tobacco that is intended for human consumption, whether chewed, absorbed, dissol…

(1) A person may not sell tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products at retail, whether over the counter, by vending machine, or otherwise, without a license obtained from the department of revenue. (2) A license for the retail sale of tobacco products, al…

A retail seller of tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products shall conspicuously display, at each place on the premises at which tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products are displayed and sold, a sign that is to be provided witho…

(1) A person may not sell or distribute a tobacco product, alternative nicotine product, or vapor product to an individual under 18 years of age, whether over the counter, by vending machine, or otherwise. (2) If there is a reasonable doubt as to the individual's age, the seller …

(1) Tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products may be sold through a vending machine only in places where alcoholic beverages are sold and consumed on the premises and where the vending machine is under the direct line-of-sight supervision of the owner or…