Possession of Unstamped Cigarettes

PURPOSE: This rule provides by whom and under what circumstances unstamped cigarettes may be possessed. (1) Except as provided by section 149.045, RSMo, only licensed Missouri cigarette wholesalers may possess unstamped cigarettes. Licensees must affix proper amounts of tax stamps to each individual package of cigarettes before transferring the possession of any cigarettes to a retailer, jobber, agent, or any other person who does not possess a Missouri cigarette wholesale license. (2) A cigarette wholesaler that receives cigarettes already stamped by another cigarette wholesaler must report all receipts of such cigarettes for each month. (3) A wholesaler must keep records of the number of cigarettes distributed for delivery or consumption outside Missouri, the date of distribution, and to whom distribution is made. (4) Any person who fails to affix stamps to packages of cigarettes sold in St. Louis County or Jackson County within the time and manner required by Chapter 149, RSMo, must pay a penalty equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the initial tax liability. The tax and penalty bears interest at the rate determined by section 32.065, RSMo. (5) Possession of an unstamped package of cigarettes in St. Louis or Jackson County by any person other than a licensed wholesaler is prima facie evidence that the cigarettes are intended for sale in St. Louis or Jackson County. AUTHORITY: sections 66.380, 136.030, 136.120, 149.021 and 210.320, RSMo 2000 and 149.015, RSMo Supp. 2005.* Cigarette Tax Regulation 5 was last filed Dec. 31, 1975, effective Jan. 10, 1976. Amended: Filed Feb. 18, 1983, effective June 11, 1983. Amended: Filed Jan. 31, 1994, effective July 30, 1994. Amended: Filed Sept. 30, 2005, effective April 30, 2006. *Original authority: 66.380, RSMo 1967, amended 1993, 1995; 136.030, RSMo 1945, amended 1947, 1949, 1965; 136.120, RSMo 1945; 149.015, RSMo 1974, amended 1982, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2005; 149.021, RSMo 1974, amended 1982; and 210.320, RSMo 1939, amended 1969, 1976, 1978, 1993, 1995.