Unlawful acts
Official text prohibited actmental stateif conditionpenaltylegal term
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to ship, transport, receive, possess, sell, distribute, or purchase contraband cigarettes or contraband smokeless tobacco.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to make any false statement or representation with respect to the information required by this chapter to be kept in the records of any person who ships, sells, or distributes any quantity of cigarettes in excess of 10,000 in a single transaction.
History: (Added Pub. L. 95–575, §1, Nov. 2, 1978, 92 Stat. 2464; amended Pub. L. 109–177, title I, §121(a)(2), (b)(2), Mar. 9, 2006, 120 Stat. 221, 222.)
Simplified explanation
It is a federal crime to knowingly ship, transport, receive, possess, sell, distribute, or buy contraband cigarettes or smokeless tobacco. It is also a crime to knowingly make false statements in the records that must be kept by anyone who ships, sells, or distributes more than 10,000 cigarettes in one transaction.