Section 450.106  Seizure and Forfeiture

a)         After seizing any original packages of cigarettes, or cigarette vending devices, as provided in Section 450.105, the Department shall hold a hearing and shall determine whether such original packages of cigarettes, at the time of their seizure by the Department, were contraband cigarettes or whether such cigarette vending devices, at the time of their seizure, contained original packages of contraband cigarettes.  The Department shall give not less than 7 days' notice of the time and place of such hearing to the owner of such property if the owner is known, and also to the person in whose possession the property so taken was found, if such person is known and if such person in possession is not the owner of said property.  If neither the owner nor the person in possession of such property is known, the Department shall cause publication of the time and place of such hearing to be made at least once in each week for 3 weeks successively in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where such hearing is to be held.

b)         If, as a result of a hearing, the Department shall determine that the original packages of cigarettes seized were at the time of seizure contraband cigarettes, or that any cigarette vending device at the time of its seizure contained original packages of contraband cigarettes, the Department shall enter an order declaring such original packages of cigarettes or such cigarette vending devices confiscated and forfeited to the State, and to be held by the Department for disposal by it as provided in Section 27 of the Act. 

c)         The Department is not required to hold such a hearing if a waiver and consent to forfeiture has been executed by the owner of the property, if the owner is known, and by the person in whose possession the property so taken was found, if that person is known and if that person is not the owner of the property. Upon receipt of a properly executed waiver and consent to forfeiture as provided in subsection (c), the Department shall enter an order declaring such original packages of cigarettes or such cigarette vending devices confiscated and forfeited to the State, and to be held by the Department for disposal by it as provided in Section 27 of the Act.  [35 ILCS 135/25]

1)         The waiver and consent to forfeiture is limited to declaring the contraband items, such as cigarettes or little cigars, confiscated and forfeited to the State of Illinois for disposal as provided by Section 27 of the Act.

2)         The waiver and consent to forfeiture does not preclude the taxpayer from requesting a hearing on the tax, penalties, and interest imposed by the Department.

3)         The waiver and consent to forfeiture may not be introduced by the Department as evidence in any proceeding relating to the contraband items found in possession of the taxpayer.

d)         The Department shall give notice of such order to the owner of such property if the owner is known, and also to the person in whose possession the property so taken was found, if such person is known and if the person in possession is not the owner of said property.  If neither the owner nor the person in possession of such property is known, the Department shall cause publication of the time and place of such hearing to be made at least once in each week for 3 weeks successively in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where such hearing was held.  [35 ILCS 135/25]

(Source:  Added at 50 Ill. Reg. 8360, effective June 1, 2026)