19 U.S.C. § 1681a Requirements For Entry of Certain Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco Products

• Library: United States Statutes
• Edition: 2023 Edition
• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-19 (published on www.congress.gov on 10/06/2023)

(a) General rule

Except as provided in subsection (b), cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products may be imported into the United States only if-

(1) the original manufacturer of those cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products has timely submitted, or has certified that it will timely submit, to the Secretary of Health and Human Services the lists of the ingredients added to the tobacco in the manufacture of such cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products as described in section 1335a of title 15 or section 4403 of title 15, as the case may be;

(2) the precise warning statements in the precise format specified in section 1333 of title 15 or section 4402 of title 15, as the case may be, are permanently imprinted on both-

(A) the primary packaging of all those cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products; and

(B) any other pack, box, carton, or container of any kind in which those cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products are to be offered for sale or otherwise distributed to consumers;

(3) the manufacturer or importer of those cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products is in compliance with respect to those cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products being imported into the United States with a rotation plan approved by the Federal Trade Commission pursuant to section 1333(c) ¹ of title 15 or section 4402(d) ¹ of title 15, as the case may be;

(4) if such cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products bear a United States trademark registered for such cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products, the owner of such United States trademark registration for cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products (or a person authorized to act on behalf of such owner) has consented to the importation of such cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products into the United States; and

(5) the importer has submitted at the time of entry all of the certificates described in subsection (c).

(b) Exemptions

Cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products satisfying the conditions of any of the following paragraphs shall not be subject to the requirements of subsection (a):

(1) Personal-use cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products

Cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products that are imported into the United States in personal use quantities that are allowed entry free of tax and duty under subchapter IV of chapter 98 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. The preceding sentence shall not apply to any cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products sold in connection with a delivery sale.

(2) Cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products imported into the United States for analysis

Cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products that are imported into the United States solely for the purpose of analysis in quantities suitable for such purpose, but only if the importer submits at the time of entry a certificate signed, under penalties of perjury, by the consignee (or a person authorized by such consignee) providing such facts as may be required by the Secretary to establish that such consignee is a manufacturer of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products, a Federal or State government agency, a university, or is otherwise engaged in bona fide research and stating that such cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products will be used solely for analysis and will not be sold in domestic commerce in the United States.