69-2709 Revocation or suspension of stamping agent license; civil penalty; contraband; actions to enjoin; criminal penalty; remedies cumulative. - Nebraska Statutes

69-2709. Revocation or suspension of stamping agent license; civil penalty; contraband; actions to enjoin; criminal penalty; remedies cumulative.(1) In addition to or in lieu of any other civil or criminal remedy provided by law, upon a determination that a stamping agent has violated subsection (4) of section 69-2706 or any rule or regulation adopted and promulgated pursuant thereto, the Tax Commissioner may revoke or suspend the license of any stamping agent in the manner provided by section 77-2615.01. For each violation hereof, the Tax Commissioner may also impose a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed the greater of five hundred percent of the retail value of the cigarettes or five thousand dollars upon a determination of violation of subsection (4) of section 69-2706 or any rules or regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant thereto. Such penalty shall be imposed in the manner provided by section 77-2615.01.(2) Any cigarettes that have been sold, offered for sale, or possessed for sale in this state in violation of subsection (4) of section 69-2706 shall be deemed contraband under section 77-2620 and such cigarettes shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture as provided in section 77-2620, except that all such cigarettes so seized and forfeited shall be destroyed and not resold. The stamping agent shall notify its customers for a brand family with regard to any notice of removal of a tobacco product manufacturer or a brand family from the directory and give its customers a seven-day period for the return of cigarettes that become contraband.(3) The Attorney General, on behalf of the Tax Commissioner, may seek an injunction to restrain a threatened or actual violation of subsection (4) of section 69-2706 or subsection (1) or (4) of section 69-2708 by a stamping agent and to compel the stamping agent to comply with any of such subsections. In any action brought pursuant to this section, the state shall be entitled to recover the costs of investigation, costs of the action, and reasonable attorney's fees.(4) It is unlawful for a person to (a) sell or distribute cigarettes for sale in this state or (b) acquire, hold, own, possess, transport, import, or cause to be imported cigarettes that the person knows or should know are intended for distribution or sale in the state in violation of subsection (4) of section 69-2706. A violation of this section is a Class III misdemeanor.(5) If a court determines that a person has violated any portion of sections 69-2704 to 69-2710, the court shall order the payment of any profits, gains, gross receipts, or other benefits from the violation to be remitted to the State Treasurer for distribution in accordance with Article VII, section 5, of the Constitution of Nebraska. Unless otherwise expressly provided, the remedies or penalties provided by sections 69-2704 to 69-2710 are cumulative to each other and to the remedies or penalties available under all applicable laws of this state. SourceLaws 2003, LB 572, § 6; Laws 2007, LB580, § 4.