Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 63 Part 1.djvu/175

 63 STAT.] 81ST CONG., 1ST SESS.-CH. 146-MAY 27, 1949 (d) The word "Commissioners" shall mean the Commissioners of "Commissioners." the District of Columbia. (e) The words "designated District agency" shall mean any officer, "Designated Dis- employee, department, office, or agency in or under the municipal gov- ernment of the District of Columbia who or which is designated by the Commissioners to perform a function or duty under the terms and provisions of this Act. (f) The word "sell" or "sale" shall include offering for sale, keeping "Sell"; "sale." for sale, bartering, trafficking in, peddling, and any transfer or exchange in any manner or by any means for a consideration. (g) The term "original package" shall mean the individual package, "Original package." parcel, or other container in which cigarettes are put up by the manu- facturer to which is affixed the required United States Government Internal Revenue stamp, and the Commissioners may, by regulation, include within this definition any wrapper immediately enclosing such package, parcel, or other container. (h) The word "stamp" shall include impressions made by metering 'Stamp." machines authorized to be used under the provisions of this title. SEC. 603. IMPOsrITIN OF TAx.-(a) There shall be levied, collected, and paid on all cigarettes sold in the District by licensed wholesalers, licensed retailers, or by licensed vending-machine operators, to con- sumers, a tax at the rate of 1 cent on each twenty cigarettes or fractional part thereof, such tax to be levied, collected, and paid once only on cigarettes sold as aforesaid. (b) Said tax shall be collected by and paid to the Collector of Taxes of the District and shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the District. (c) Said tax shall be collected and paid by the affixture of a stamp or stamps secured from the Collector of Taxes, denoting the payment of the amount of the tax imposed by this title upon such cigarettes, each such affixture to be on the original package, unless the Commis- sioners shall by regulation permit otherwise. Cancellation of such stamps shall be in the manner prescribed by regulation approved by the Commissioners. (d) The Collector of Taxes shall furnish suitable stamps, to be prescribed by the Commissioners, denoting the payment of the tax imposed by this title and shall by the sale of such stamps at the amounts indicated on the faces thereof cause the said taxes to be collected. (e) If at the time of acquisition of original packages by licensed retailers or by licensed vending-machine operators such original packages do not have affixed thereto the stamp or stamps denoting payment of the tax imposed by this title it shall be the duty of each such retailer and vending-machine operator to affix to each such origi- nal package such stamp or stamps before selling or delivering cigarettes to consumers and before removing or permitting the removal of ciga- rettes from the licensed premises or licensed vending machines of such retailers or operators for delivery to consumers. (f) No person shall use or cause to be used for the payment of the tax imposed by this title a stamp already theretofore used for the payment of any such tax. (g) Any person who shall counterfeit or forge any stamp required Penay. or authorized by this title shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment of not more than two years, or to both such fine and imprisonment. (h) The Commissioners are authorized by regulation to permit licensees to pay the tax imposed by this title by the method of imprint- ing impressions upon original packages by the use of metering devices in lieu of the method of paying such tax by the affixture of stamps: Provided, That the Collector of Taxes shall control the use of such 137

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