1. After notice to the licensee and a hearing as prescribed by the Department, the Department may suspend or revoke the license of a licensee who:

(a) Fails to file a report or certification required by this chapter or files an incomplete or inaccurate report or certification required by this chapter;

(b) Fails to pay any tax owed upon cigarettes or other tobacco products required by this chapter;

(c) Is licensed as a wholesale dealer of cigarettes and fails to cure any shortfall for which the wholesale dealer of cigarettes is liable pursuant to NRS 370.683;

(d) Sells in this State, purchases or possesses any cigarettes, cigarette packages or other tobacco products in violation of any provision of this chapter;

(e) Imports into or exports from this State any cigarettes, cigarette packages or other tobacco products in violation of any provision of this chapter; or

(f) Otherwise violates, or causes or permits to be violated, the provisions of this chapter or any regulation adopted thereunder.

2. Except as otherwise provided by subsection 4, the Department, upon a finding that the licensee has knowingly or negligently failed to comply with any provision of this chapter or any regulation adopted by the Commission, may:

(a) Impose on the licensee a civil penalty pursuant to NRS 370.523;

(b) In the case of a first violation of a provision of this chapter or any regulation adopted by the Commission, suspend the license of the licensee for not more than 60 consecutive calendar days;

(c) In the case of a second or subsequent violation of the same provision of this chapter or any regulation adopted by the Commission, suspend the license of the licensee for not more than 180 consecutive calendar days or permanently revoke the license of the licensee; or

(d) Take any combination of the actions authorized by paragraphs (a), (b) and (c).

3. A person whose license has been suspended or revoked shall not purchase or sell cigarettes or other tobacco products or permit cigarettes or other tobacco products to be sold during the period of suspension or revocation:

(a) On the premises in this State occupied or controlled by the person; or

(b) From any premises located outside this State if the cigarettes or other tobacco products are purchased or sold for distribution in this State.

4. The expiration, transfer, surrender, continuance, renewal or extension of a license issued pursuant to this chapter does not bar or abate any disciplinary proceedings or action.

5. The Department shall permanently revoke the license of any licensee who knowingly or negligently:

(a) Sells or otherwise disposes of cigarettes or other tobacco products that are in the constructive possession of the Department; or

(b) Is convicted of any felony relating to the manufacture, distribution or sale of cigarettes or other tobacco products.

6. In determining the penalty to be imposed on a licensee for a violation of paragraph (a) of subsection 1, the Department shall consider:

(a) The documented reporting and discipline record of the licensee with the Department from the immediately preceding 24 months;

(b) The timeliness of the licensee in correcting any inaccurate information included in a report or certification required by this chapter;

(c) The efforts of the licensee to provide an explanation of the reason for any inaccurate information included in a report or certification required by this chapter or the basis for the omission of information from such a report or certification;

(d) If a report or certification is inaccurate because of a variance between the inventory of cigarettes provided in the report or certification and the actual inventory of cigarettes, the quantity of the variance, the materiality of the variance and the extent to which the licensee accounts for the variance by brand or by whether tax has been paid on the cigarettes;

(e) Any remedial measures initiated by the licensee to prevent future violations of a similar nature; and

(f) Any other mitigating factors offered by the licensee or aggravating or mitigating factors identified by the Department.

7. For the purposes of this section, a report or certification required by this chapter is:

(a) Inaccurate if the report or certification does not correctly record factual information or there is a discrepancy in the information included in the report and the factual information.

(b) Incomplete if the report or certification does not include all necessary or responsive information.

(Added to NRS by 2019, 619)