(a) When any property has been seized under the provisions of section 12-305, the commissioner may, at his discretion, after a hearing as provided in this section, advertise such property for sale in a newspaper published or having a circulation in the town in which the seizure took place, at least five days before the sale.

(b) Any person claiming an interest in such property may make written application to the commissioner for a hearing within thirty days after the date of such seizure, stating his interest in the property and his reasons why it should not be forfeited. Upon receipt of such application, the commissioner shall, within thirty days, assign a date for such hearing and give written notice as to the time thereof to any person or persons making such application. At such hearing, the commissioner shall determine whether such cigarettes should be forfeited and written notice of such determination shall be forwarded to each applicant claiming to have an interest in such cigarettes.

(c) Any person aggrieved by any such determination may appeal therefrom to the superior court for the judicial district of New Britain, as provided in section 12-312.

(d) No sale of any property under the provisions of section 12-305 shall be made while an application for a hearing is pending before the commissioner, but the pendency of an appeal under the provisions of section 12-312 shall not prevent the sale unless the appellant posts a satisfactory bond, with surety, in an amount double the estimated value of the property, conditioned upon the successful termination of the appeal.

(e) When any such sale has been consummated, the proceeds thereof shall become the property of the state, provided any person who has an interest in such property shall have the same rights with respect to the proceeds of such sale as such person had in relation to such property prior to sale.

(1949 Rev., S. 1988; 1957, P.A. 524, S. 3; P.A. 88-230, S. 1, 12; P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; P.A. 95-65, S. 1, 3; 95-220, S. 4–6; P.A. 99-215, S. 24, 29.)

History: P.A. 95-65 divided the section into Subsecs. (a) to (e), added provision in Subsec. (b) re the commissioner's responsibilities when unstamped cigarettes are seized, added provision as Subsec. (c) re appeals to the Superior Court and added provisions as Subsec. (e) establishing a time for a person whose cigarettes are seized to apply for a hearing, effective July 1, 1995 (Revisor's note: P.A. 88-230, 90-98, 93-142 and 95-220 authorized substitution of “judicial district of Hartford” for “judicial district of Hartford-New Britain” in 1995 public and special acts, effective September 1, 1998); P.A. 99-215 replaced “judicial district of Hartford” with “judicial district of New Britain” in Subsec. (c), effective June 29, 1999.