(35 ILCS 135/12) (from Ch. 120, par. 453.42)
    Sec. 12. Declaration of possession of cigarettes on which tax not paid.
    (a) When cigarettes are acquired for use in this State by a person (including a distributor as well as any other person), who did not pay the tax herein imposed to a distributor, the person, within 30 days after acquiring the cigarettes, shall file with the Department a return declaring the possession of the cigarettes and shall transmit with the return to the Department the tax imposed by this Act.
    (b) On receipt of the return and payment of the tax as required by paragraph (a), the Department may furnish the person with a suitable tax stamp to be affixed to the package of cigarettes upon which the tax has been paid if the Department determines that the cigarettes still exist.
    (c) The return referred to in paragraph (a) shall contain the name and address of the person possessing the cigarettes involved, the location of the cigarettes and the quantity, brand name, place, and date of the acquisition of the cigarettes.
    (d) Nothing in this Section shall permit a secondary distributor to purchase unstamped original packages of cigarettes or to purchase original packages of cigarettes from a person other than a licensed distributor.
    (e) Any distributor who violates this Section is liable to pay to the Department, for deposit in the Tax Compliance and Administration Fund, a penalty of $1,000 for the first violation and $3,000 for any subsequent violation. The Department may adopt rules to administer the penalties under this Section. The Department may, in addition to the penalties imposed by this Section, and any other civil or criminal penalties provided for in this Act, assess tax, penalty, and interest on the original packages of cigarettes.
(Source: P.A. 100-940, eff. 8-17-18.)