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Business Taxes Law Guide—Revision 2025
Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act
Business and Professions Code
Division 8.6. Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003
Chapter 3. License for Wholesalers and Distributors of Cigarettes and Tobacco Products
Section 22978.3
22978.3. Seizure authority and penalty against wholesalers. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, upon discovery by the department or a law enforcement agency that a wholesaler possesses, stores, or owns flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers, or has made a sale of flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers in violation of Section 104559.1 of the Health and Safety Code, the department or the law enforcement agency may seize the flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers possessed, stored, owned, or sold by the wholesaler.
(2) Any flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers seized by a law enforcement agency shall be delivered to the department, or its designee, within 30 days, unless the seized flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers will be destroyed by that law enforcement agency, or unless the seized flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers are otherwise required to be used as evidence in an administrative, criminal, or civil proceeding, or as part of an ongoing law enforcement operation. Any flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers seized by the department or delivered to the department by a law enforcement agency shall be deemed forfeited to the state and the department shall comply with procedures set forth in Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 30435) of Part 13 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(b) (1) In addition to seizure and forfeiture of the flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers described in subdivision (a), the department shall impose a civil penalty upon the wholesaler equal to fifty dollars ($50) per individual package of flavored tobacco product or tobacco product flavor enhancer seized or delivered to the department by a law enforcement agency regardless of the authority used by the law enforcement agency to seize the flavored tobacco product or tobacco product flavor enhancer. The department shall impose the civil penalty in accordance with the procedures applicable to the civil penalty authorized in Section 22978.7.
(2) In the case of a second seizure and forfeiture of flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers made pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall suspend the license of the wholesaler in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 22980.3.
(3) In the case of a third seizure and forfeiture of flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers made pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall revoke the license of the wholesaler in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 22980.3.
(4) Civil penalties collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund created pursuant to Section 22990.
(c) Upon discovery by the department that a distributor, wholesaler, or other person has made a sale in violation of Section 104559.1 of the Health and Safety Code, and, for wholesalers, if neither the department nor a law enforcement agency seized flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers from the wholesaler pursuant to subdivision (a), all of the following shall apply:
(1) Upon a first offense, the department shall issue a warning notice to the distributor, wholesaler, or other person.
(2) Upon a second offense, the department shall suspend the license of the distributor, wholesaler, or person in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 22980.3.
(3) Upon a third offense, the department shall revoke the license of the distributor, wholesaler, or other person in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 22980.3.
(d) The appeals procedures applicable to Section 22978.7 shall apply to the warning notice, suspension, and revocation actions taken by the department pursuant to this section.
History—Added by Stats. 2024, Ch. 849 (AB 3218), in effect January 1, 2025.