PM USA continues to pursue counterfeit sellers in New York. Following last week's filing against Mastic, N.Y.-based Tammy's Smoke Shop (click here for previous CSP Daily News coverage), PM USA filed three lawsuits today against seven New York and New Jersey retailers in federal courts:
Eastern District of New York (Ashley One Stop Deli, Richmond Hill, N.Y.; 88 Stop & Go Newsstand, Forest Hills, N.Y.; Prospect Park Deli, Brooklyn, N.Y.). Southern District of New York (336 Deli Grocery, New York; Manhattan Tobacco & Grocery, New York). District of New Jersey (Jaritza II Supermarket, Jersey City, N.J.; New York Deli Grocery, Union City, N.J.). Increases in federal, state and local excise taxes have provided new incentives for tax evasion and other criminal activity related to cigarettes. In New Jersey, the average retail price for Marlboro brand cigarettes is $7.25, of which $3.58 is excise taxes (excise taxes include federal FET], state [SET] and, where applicable, locality excise taxes). By comparison, the average retail price for Marlboro brand cigarettes is $9.64 in New York City, of which $5.26 is excise taxes. The counterfeit cigarettes purchased from the retailers above bore no tax stamp or a counterfeit tax stamp. As a result, the applicable excise taxes were not paid.
"While the illegal cigarette trade in New York is becoming increasingly complex, Philip Morris USA remains committed to taking steps necessary to protect our brands and the legitimate cigarette trade," said Joe Murillo, vice president and associate general counsel for Altria Client Services, speaking on behalf of PM USA.
PM USA said that it pursues numerous strategies to address the sale of counterfeit, illegally imported, stolen and untaxed or under-taxed cigarettes. In addition to litigation, these include working closely with law enforcement authorities in New York to address the state's continuing contraband cigarette trafficking problems and advocating for legislation with more stringent penalties for the violation of laws related to contraband trade in cigarettes.
PM USA said that it supports H.R. 1676, the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (the PACT Act), introduced by Representative Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), which was scheduled to be considered by the U.S. House of Representatives on May 19.
The PACT Act includes provisions designed to bring an end to tax-evading sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products over the Internet and provides the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives with more resources and tools to accomplish this goal. These include creating six regional contraband cigarette trafficking teams, including one in New York City; a new national Tobacco Intelligence Center to monitor and coordinate illegal cigarette trafficking investigations in the United States; and a computer database that will track and analyze information from remote sellers of tobacco products.
Click herefor details on PACT.
"This latest round of counterfeit activity illustrates the need to provide law enforcement authorities with the tools they need to decisively address these problems," Murillo said. "We strongly support the PACT Act and applaud the sponsors for recognizing the importance of this issue."
Richmond, Va.-based PM USA is an operating company of Altria Group Inc., New York.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.