(a) Any wholesaler may advertise, offer to sell, or sell cigarettes at a price made in good faith to meet the price of a competitor who is rendering the same type of service and is selling the same article at cost to the said competing wholesaler as defined in the Unfair Cigarette Sales Law. Any retailer may advertise, offer to sell, or sell cigarettes at a price made in good faith to meet the price of a competitor who is selling the same article at cost to the said competing retailer as defined in the Unfair Cigarette Sales Law. The price of cigarettes advertised, offered for sale, or sold under the exceptions specified in Section 75-23-13 shall not be considered the price of a competitor and shall not be used as a basis for establishing prices below cost, nor shall the price established at a bankrupt sale be considered the price of a competitor within the purview of this section.
(b) In the absence of proof of the actual cost to the said competing wholesaler or the said competing retailer, as the case may be, such cost may be presumed to be the lowest cost to wholesalers or the lowest cost to retailers, as the case may be, within the same trading area as determined by a cost survey made pursuant to in subsection (b) of Section 75-23-19.