PACT Act & Consumer

PACT Act

Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act

The federal PACT Act requires any person engaged in the activities described below to register with both the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and file monthly reports with us. The PACT Act requirements apply to all sales of cigarettes, roll-your-own/smokeless tobacco, and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), including sales to consumers and sales between businesses.

The PACT Act requirements with us commonly apply to out-of-state businesses.

Generally, businesses located in California do not have a PACT Act registration and reporting requirement with us, unless you are doing business with Native American reservations within the exterior limits of California, or you are using a drop shipper located outside this state.

If you are engaged in the activities described below with a state other than California, see the topic below PACT Act Requirements with Other States, Localities, or Native American Reservations — Shipped in Interstate Commerce Out of California.

Activities that require you to have a PACT Act account and file monthly PACT Act reports with CDTFA

The following chart provides examples of activities that require you to have a PACT Act account and file monthly PACT Act reports with us.

Activities that require you to have a PACT Act account and file monthly PACT Act reports with CDTFA:
Interstate Commerce Origin/Shipped from Interstate Commerce Destination/Shipped into Activities Products
Outside California
  • California
  • Native American reservations within the exterior limits of the State of California
 Sell, transfer, ship, advertise, or offer for sale in interstate commerce.
  • Cigarettes
  • Roll-your-own tobacco
  • Smokeless tobacco
  • ENDS
Any Native American reservation within the exterior limits of the State of California
  • California
  • A different Native American reservation within the exterior limits of California
 Sell, transfer, ship, advertise, or offer for sale in interstate commerce.
  • Cigarettes
  • Roll-your-own tobacco
  • Smokeless tobacco
  • ENDS

PACT Act Definitions

The PACT Act provides several definitions, including, but not limited to:

  • Attorney general — Means, with respect to a state, the attorney general or other chief law enforcement officer of the state.
  • Cigarette — Generally is defined in section 2341 of title 18, United States Code excludes a cigar (as defined in section 5702 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), and includes:
    • Roll-your-own tobacco; and
    • Electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS).
  • Common carrier — Any person (other than a local messenger service or the United States Postal Service) that holds itself out to the general public as a provider for hire to transport merchandise by water, land, or air (regardless of whether or not the person actually operates the vessel, vehicle, or aircraft for such transportation) between a port or place and a port or place in the United States.
  • Consumer — Any person that purchases cigarettes, roll-your-own/smokeless tobacco, or ENDS; and does not include any person lawfully operating as a manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler, or retailer of cigarettes, roll-your-own/smokeless tobacco, or ENDS.
  • Delivery sale — Any sale of cigarettes, roll-your-own/smokeless tobacco, or ENDS to a consumer if:
    • The consumer submits the order for the sale by means of a telephone or other method of voice transmission, the mail, or the Internet or other online service, or the seller is otherwise not in the physical presence of the buyer when the request for purchase or order is made; or
    • The cigarettes, roll-your-own/smokeless tobacco, or ENDS are delivered to the buyer by common carrier, private delivery service, or other method of remote delivery, or the seller is not in the physical presence of the buyer when the buyer obtains possession of the cigarettes, roll-your-own/smokeless tobacco, or ENDS.
  • Delivery seller — A person who makes a delivery sale.
  • Electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) — Any electronic device that, through an aerosolized solution, delivers nicotine, flavor, or any other substance to the user inhaling from the device. ENDS includes:
    • Ecigarettes, eHookah, eCigar, vape pens, advanced refillable personal vaporizers, electronic pipes, and
    • Any component, liquid, part, or accessory of an ENDS device, without regard to whether the component, liquid, part, or accessory is sold separately from the device.

    • ENDS do not include a product that is:

    • Approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for sale as a tobacco cessation product or any other therapeutic purpose, and
    • Marketed and sold solely for such purpose.
  • Indian country — Has the meaning as described in section 1151 of title 18, United States Code, except that within the State of Alaska that term applies only to the Metlakatla Indian Community, Annette Island Reserve; and includes:
    • Any other land held by the United States in trust or restricted status for one or more Indian tribes.
  • Indian tribe, tribe, or tribal — Refers to an Indian tribe as defined in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b[e]) or as listed according to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a-1).
  • Interstate commerce — Generally means:
    • Commerce between a state and any place outside the state,
    • Commerce between a state and any Indian country in the state, or
    • Commerce between points in the same state but through any place outside the state or through any Indian country.
    • Into a state, place, or locality — A sale, shipment, or transfer of cigarettes, roll-your-own/smokeless tobacco, or ENDS that is made in interstate commerce shall be deemed to have been made into the state, place, or locality in which such products are delivered.
  • Person — An individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, state or local government, Indian tribal government, governmental organization of such a government, or joint stock company.
  • Smokeless tobacco — Any finely cut, ground, powdered, or leaf tobacco, or other product containing tobacco, that is intended to be placed in the oral or nasal cavity or otherwise consumed without being combusted.
  • State — Each of the several states of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or possession of the United States.
  • Tobacco tax administrator — The state, local, or tribal official duly authorized to collect the tobacco tax or administer the tax law of a state, locality, or tribe, respectively. For example, a local government or a Native American tribe that applies their own local or tribal taxes on cigarettes, roll-your-own/smokeless tobacco, or ENDS.
  • Use — Includes the consumption, storage, handling, or disposal of cigarettes, roll-your-own/smokeless tobacco, or ENDS.

PACT Act Registration Requirements

California CDTFA – Register with us from our Online Services page. Under the heading Registration, select Register a New Business Activity.

Federal ATF – Contact the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for information on how to register.

PACT Act Reporting Requirements

Monthly – PACT Act reports must be filed with us (not with the ATF).

Due Date – not later than the 10th day of each calendar month for each and every shipment made into California during the previous calendar month.

File Online – You must file your PACT Act reports electronically with us using our online services. Below are some resources to help you file online:

PACT Act Requirements with Other States, Localities, or Native American Reservations — Shipped in Interstate Commerce Out of California

Any person engaged in the activities described below must register and file reports with the ATF and with the other state tobacco tax administrators, localities, or Native American reservation.

Any person who sells, transfers, or ships for profit cigarettes, roll-your-own/smokeless tobacco, or ENDS in interstate commerce in which such products are shipped out of California into a state, locality, or Native American reservation of a Native American tribe taxing the sale or use of such products, or who advertises or offers such products for such a sale, transfer, or shipment, must contact the state(s), locality, or Native American reservation of a Native American tribe receiving the cigarettes, roll-your-own/smokeless tobacco, or ENDS to register and file monthly PACT Act reports with them; and also for your state, local, or tribal tax reporting requirements and responsibilities.

PACT Act Background and Resources

Background

The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) administers and enforces the PACT Act.

The PACT Act of 2009 or PACT Act (Senate Bill 1147), amended the federal Jenkins Act of 1949 (15 U.S.C. sections 375-378 and CCTA 18 U.S.C. section 2341-2346) to revise provisions governing the collection of taxes on, and trafficking in, cigarettes and smokeless tobacco by requiring Internet and other remote sellers of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to comply with the same laws that apply to local cigarette and tobacco retailers; revised the federal definition of cigarette to include roll-your-own tobacco and to exclude cigars.

The 2020 PACT Act amendment, “Preventing Online Sales of eCigarettes to Children Act”, effective March 27, 2021, revised and amended the original federal definition of “cigarette” in the PACT Act to include electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) (Federal Law 2021 Omnibus Appropriations Bill HR 133 section 601).

The PACT Act requires any person who sells, transfers, or ships for profit cigarettes, roll-your-own/smokeless tobacco, or ENDS in interstate commerce, whereby such cigarettes, roll-your-own/smokeless tobacco, or ENDS are shipped into a state (such as California), a locality, or an Native American reservation of a Native American tribe taxing the sale or use of cigarettes, roll-your-own/smokeless tobacco, or ENDS, or who advertises or offers cigarettes, roll-your-own/smokeless tobacco, or ENDS for such a sale, transfer, or shipment must register and file monthly reports with the state tobacco tax administrator into which shipment is made or in which such advertisement or offer is disseminated.

Additional Resources

Consumer

If you purchase cigarettes or tobacco products for your own use from outside California, including cigarettes or tobacco products purchased through the mail, by telephone, or online without paying both California cigarette and/or tobacco products excise taxes and California use tax at the time of your purchase, you are required to register, file a return and pay those taxes electronically using our online services. You may not report and pay the excise taxes or use taxes on your sales and use tax return or on your California state income tax return. For information regarding California use tax, please visit our guide for Use Tax.

You will not owe the cigarette excise taxes if you personally bring less than 400 cigarettes (typically 20 packs or two cartons) into California for your own use or consumption, but you will still owe the use tax.

You will be liable for the payment of excise and use taxes to CDTFA unless your purchase invoices specifically show you paid the California cigarette and tobacco products excise taxes and California sales or use taxes. You should keep documents (for example, bills, receipts, invoices, and so forth) showing a description of the items purchased, the amount paid for the items, and separately stated excise taxes.

Should you fail to report the excise and use taxes on cigarette or tobacco products purchased without tax, the statute of limitations for failure to file a return allows CDTFA to bill the taxes, penalties, and interest eight years back.

Consumer Responsibilities

Consumers of cigarettes and/or tobacco products are required to:

  • Report the amount of cigarettes and/or tobacco products received in the preceding calendar quarter,
  • File a tax return, and
  • Submit the amount of tax due on or before the last day of the month following the end of a calendar quarter.

Consumer Special/Important Notices

Below are some special/important notices you might find helpful: