54:40A-49 Conditions for non-face-to-face sale of cigarettes.

4. A person shall not engage in a retail sale of cigarettes in this State unless the sale is a face-to-face sale, except that a person may engage in a non-face-to-face sale of cigarettes to a person in this State if the following conditions are met:

a. The seller has fully complied with all of the requirements of the Jenkins Act, 15 U.S.C. s.375 et seq., for shipments to this State;

b. The seller has verified payment of, paid, or collected all applicable State taxes, including the cigarette taxes imposed by the "Cigarette Tax Act," P.L.1948, c.65 (C.54:40A-1 et seq.) and the sales or use taxes imposed by the "Sales and Use Tax Act," P.L.1966, c.30 (C.54:32B-1 et seq.), due on the cigarettes; and

c. The seller has, before mailing or shipping the cigarettes:

(1) obtained from the purchaser reliable confirmation that the purchaser is at least 21 years old and a statement by the purchaser under penalty of perjury certifying the purchaser's date of birth and address;

(2) made good faith effort to verify the information contained in the certification provided by the purchaser against a commercially available database or has obtained a photocopy or other image of a government-issued identification bearing the purchaser's image and stating the date of birth or age of the purchaser;

(3) received payment for the sale from the prospective purchaser by a credit or debit card that has been issued in the purchaser's name or by check; and

(4) verified that a credit or debit card used for payment has been issued in the purchaser's name, and the address to which the cigarettes are being shipped matches the credit or debit card company's address for the cardholder.

Sellers taking an order for a non-face-to-face sale may request that prospective purchasers provide their e-mail addresses.

L.2005, c.85, s.4; amended 2005, c.384, s.7; 2017, c.118, s.7.