§ 48-11-25. Violations of Chapter; Penalties

1. 1. It shall be unlawful for any person, with the intent to evade the tax imposed by this chapter, to possess unstamped cigarettes or loose or smokeless tobacco or nontax-paid cigars, loose or smokeless tobacco, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products.
   2. Any person who violates paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
2. 1. It shall be unlawful for any person, with the intent to evade the tax imposed by this chapter, to:
      1. Sell cigarettes or loose or smokeless tobacco without the stamps required by this chapter being affixed to the cigarettes or loose or smokeless tobacco; or
      2. Sell cigars, loose or smokeless tobacco, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products without the stamp or stamps required by this chapter or without the tax being paid on the cigars, loose or smokeless tobacco, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products in accordance with the alternate method.
   2. Any person who violates paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned for not less than one year nor more than ten years.

History. Ga. L. 1955, p. 268, § 23; Ga. L. 1967, p. 563, § 14; Ga. L. 1969, p. 710, §§ 6, 7; Code 1933, § 91A-9921, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 309, § 2; Ga. L. 2003, p. 665, § 38; Ga. L. 2020, p. 257, § 2/SB 375.

The 2020 amendment, effective January 1, 2021, inserted “, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products” in paragraph (a)(1) and twice in subparagraph (b)(1)(B); and substituted “cigars, loose” for “cigars or loose” in paragraph (a)(1) and twice in subparagraph (b)(1)(B).

Editor’s notes.

Ga. L. 2003, p. 665, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘State and Local Tax Revision Act of 2003.’ ”