South Carolina § 11-48-90 Sale or possession of counterfeit cigarettes; penalties; definition; seizure as contraband.

South Carolina Statutes

§ 11-48-90 — Sale or possession of counterfeit cigarettes; penalties; definition; seizure as contraband.

South Carolina § 11-48-90

Title 11PUBLIC FINANCE

Ch. 48TOBACCO QUALIFIED ESCROW FUND ENFORCEMENT

This text of South Carolina § 11-48-90 (Sale or possession of counterfeit cigarettes; penalties; definition; seizure as contraband.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

S.C. Code Ann. § 11-48-90 (2026).

Text

(A)It is unlawful for a cigarette manufacturer, cigarette importer, cigarette distributor, or cigarette retailer to sell or possess counterfeit cigarettes. A person who violates this subsection is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be punished as follows for a:

(1)first violation with a total quantity of fewer than two cartons of cigarettes, by a fine of one thousand dollars or five times the retail value of the cigarettes involved, whichever is greater, or imprisonment not to exceed five years, or both;

(2)subsequent violation with a total quantity of fewer than two cartons of cigarettes, by a fine of five thousand dollars or five times the retail value of the cigarettes involved, whichever is greater, or imprisonment not to exceed five years, or both the fine and imprisonme

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(A) It is unlawful for a cigarette manufacturer, cigarette importer, cigarette distributor, or cigarette retailer to sell or possess counterfeit cigarettes. A person who violates this subsection is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be punished as follows for a: (1) first violation with a total quantity of fewer than two cartons of cigarettes, by a fine of one thousand dollars or five times the retail value of the cigarettes involved, whichever is greater, or imprisonment not to exceed five years, or both; (2) subsequent violation with a total quantity of fewer than two cartons of cigarettes, by a fine of five thousand dollars or five times the retail value of the cigarettes involved, whichever is greater, or imprisonment not to exceed five years, or both the fine and imprisonment, and the revocation by the Department of Revenue of any license required pursuant to Article 5, Chapter 21, of Title 12, held by the cigarette manufacturer, cigarette importer, cigarette distributor, or cigarette retailer; (3) first violation with a total quantity of two cartons of cigarettes or more by a fine of two thousand dollars or five times the retail value of the cigarettes involved, whichever is greater, or imprisonment not to exceed five years, or both; or (4) subsequent violation with a quantity of two cartons of cigarettes or more by a fine of fifty thousand dollars or five times the retail value of the cigarettes involved, whichever is greater, or imprisonment not to exceed five years, or both the fine and imprisonment, and revocation by the Department of Revenue of any license required pursuant to Article 5, Chapter 21, of Title 12 held by the cigarette manufacturer, cigarette importer, cigarette distributor, or cigarette retailer license. (B)(1) For purposes of this section, counterfeit cigarettes includes cigarettes with false manufacturing labels or packages of cigarettes bearing counterfeit tax stamps. (2) Counterfeit cigarettes and related machinery encountered by a law enforcement agency in connection with a charged violation of this section are declared contraband and must be seized by the law enforcement agency and held by it pending adjudication of the charges. Upon conviction, the counterfeit cigarettes and related machinery are forfeited and must be destroyed.