The Jenkins Act, which can be found at title 15, United States Code, section 375, applies to certain persons who sell cigarettes or advertise the sale of cigarettes in interstate commerce, including mail order sales and advertisements for such sales. Any person who advertises cigarettes for sale or who ships cigarettes into a State to any person other than a cigarette distributor licensed by the State must file a statement with the tobacco tax administrator of that State. The statement must list the seller’s name, trade name (if any), and address of all business locations.
The Jenkins Act also requires a person who ships cigarettes into a State to any person (other than a person licensed by that State as a wholesale or retail distributor) to report these sales to the tobacco tax administrator. This report must be filed no later than the 10th calendar day of the month and must contain the following information for shipments made into that State during the previous month:
The name and address of the person to whom the shipments were made
The brand of cigarettes shipped
The quantity of cigarettes shipped
Copies of commercial records can be utilized for this report, so long as the commercial record contains all of the necessary information. This report is not required if the shipment is made to a person who is a licensed wholesale or retail distributor in the State into which the cigarettes are shipped.
A violation of the Jenkins Act can result in a Federal prison term, a monetary fine, or both.