Section 7. Enforcement and penalties.
(a) Penalties.--
(1) Any manufacturer, wholesale dealer, agent or any
other person or entity who knowingly sells or offers to sell
cigarettes, other than through retail sale, in violation of
section 4 shall, for a first offense, be subject to a civil
penalty not to exceed $10,000 per each sale of cigarettes
and, for a subsequent offense, be subject to a civil penalty
not to exceed $25,000 per each sale of cigarettes. A penalty
against a person or entity under this section may not exceed
$100,000 during any 30-day period.
(2) Any retail dealer who knowingly sells or offers to
sell cigarettes in violation of section 4 shall, for a first
offense, be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $500
and, for a subsequent offense, be subject to a civil penalty
not to exceed $5,000 for each violation. In no case shall the
penalty against any retail dealer exceed $25,000 for sales or
offers to sell during any 30-day period.
(3) In addition to any penalty provided by statute, an
entity engaged in the manufacture of cigarettes that
knowingly makes a false certification under section 5 shall
be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $75,000 and
not more than $250,000 for each false certification.
(4) Any cigarettes that have been sold or offered for
sale and are not certified pursuant to this act or do not
bear the package marking approved by the department shall be
deemed to be contraband and shall be subject to immediate
seizure. The seized cigarettes may be destroyed by the
Commonwealth ten days after written notice of such seizure is
given to the manufacturer. The manufacturer may inspect such
seized cigarettes during that ten-day period.
(5) Any cigarettes that have been sold or offered for
sale that do not comply with the performance standard
required under this act shall be deemed to be contraband and
shall be subject to seizure by the Commonwealth, provided
that the Commonwealth gives written notice to the
manufacturer ten days prior to seizure. The Commonwealth may
apply for a court order to shorten this time period. The
manufacturer may apply for a court order to prevent such
seizure. If seized, the manufacturer shall have the
opportunity to inspect and test such seized cigarettes and to
appear in a forfeiture proceeding which will determine
whether such cigarettes may be destroyed by the Commonwealth.
(b) Enforcement.--The department, the commissioner and the Office of Attorney General are authorized to enforce this act.
(c) Regulations.--The department and the commissioner may promulgate regulations as necessary to implement and administer this act.
(d) Memorandum of understanding.--The department may enter into a memorandum of understanding with the commissioner and the Attorney General to coordinate the random inspections of wholesale dealers, agents and retail dealers to ensure that only cigarettes complying with this act and related acts are sold in this Commonwealth.
(e) Injunctive relief.--In addition to any other remedy provided by law, the Attorney General may file an action in State court for a violation of this act, including petitioning for injunctive relief or to recover any costs or damages suffered by the Commonwealth because of a violation of this act, including enforcement costs relating to the specific violation and attorney fees. In any such action, the Attorney General shall have the same authority to investigate and to obtain remedies. Each violation of this section or of rules adopted under this section constitutes a separate civil violation for which the Attorney General may obtain relief.