Electronic cigarettes need a tobacco license

According to the decision of the State Council on amending the Regulations on the Implementation of the Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China*** and the State of China on November 10, 2021, after the third revision, it will include e-cigarette products in the management of tobacco monopolies such as cigarettes and other tobacco monopoly matters.

According to Article 3 of the Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China (the Law), Article 6 of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China (the Administrative Regulations) and other laws and administrative regulations, the state carries out monopoly management of the sale of tobacco monopoly products in accordance with the law and implements the tobacco monopoly licensing system. Citizens, legal persons or other organizations that need to carry out retail business of tobacco products "must" (with reinforcing words) apply for a tobacco monopoly retail license in accordance with the law before they can carry out retail business of e-cigarettes. If, without obtaining a tobacco monopoly retail license, the person concerned carries out e-cigarette business without authorization, and the amount of illegal business operation is more than RMB 50,000 yuan, or the amount of illegal income is more than RMB 20,000 yuan, the person concerned shall be regarded as a "crime of illegal business operation", and shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 5 years or criminal detention, and shall be punished by concurrently or singularly imposing or a fine of not less than one but not more than five times the illegal income.

Note: The answer is only for genuine e-cigarettes, not shoddy, counterfeit or smuggled e-cigarettes.

References are as follows:

The Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China

Article 3 The State implements monopoly management of the production, sale, import and export of tobacco monopolies in accordance with the law and implements the tobacco monopoly licensing system.

Regulations on the Implementation of the Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China*** and the State (Administrative Regulations)

Article 65 Electronic cigarettes and other new types of tobacco products shall be enforced with reference to the relevant provisions of the present regulations on cigarettes.

Article 6 (1) Those engaged in the production, wholesale and retail business of tobacco monopoly products, as well as in the business of import and export of tobacco monopoly products and in the business of purchase and sale of foreign tobacco products, must apply for a tobacco monopoly license in accordance with the provisions of the Tobacco Monopoly Law and these Regulations.

Measures for the Administration of Electronic Cigarettes (State Tobacco Monopoly Administration Announcement No. 1 of 2022)

Article 18 To engage in the business of retailing e-cigarettes, one shall, in accordance with the law, apply to the administrative department in charge of tobacco monopoly for a tobacco monopoly retailing license or for a change in the scope of the license.

Obtaining a tobacco monopoly retail license to engage in the retail business of electronic cigarettes shall have the following conditions:

(1) having capital appropriate to the operation of the retail business of electronic cigarettes;

(2) having a fixed place of business independent of the domicile;

(3) conforming to the requirements of the local electronic cigarette retail outlets in terms of reasonable layout;

(4) Other conditions stipulated by the administrative department of tobacco monopoly under the State Council.

No sales outlets for e-cigarette products shall be set up in the vicinity of ordinary primary and secondary schools, special education schools, secondary vocational schools, specialized schools and kindergartens.

The Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (Law)

Article 225 The crime of illegal business operation violates the state regulations and one of the following illegal business operation behaviors disrupts the market order, and the circumstances are serious, it shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention, and be punished with or be singled out for a fine of not less than double and not more than five times of the illegal proceeds; if the circumstances are especially serious, it shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years, and be punished with The illegal income of more than double the five times the fine or confiscation of property: (a) without authorization to operate the laws and administrative regulations of monopoly, monopoly goods or other restrictions on the sale of goods;

The Supreme People's Court Supreme People's Procuratorate on the handling of the illegal production, sale of tobacco monopoly goods and other criminal cases of the interpretation of a number of issues on the specific application of the law (Legal Interpretation [2010] No. 7)

Article 3 of the illegal production, sale of tobacco monopoly goods

Article 3: Illegal operation of tobacco monopoly goods shall be deemed to be "aggravated circumstances" as stipulated in Article 225 of the Criminal Law if one of the following circumstances exists:

(1) illegal operation amounting to more than 50,000 yuan or the amount of unlawful proceeds of more than 20,000 yuan;

(2) illegal operation of more than 200,000 cigarettes. Cigarettes more than 200,000;

(3) has been subject to more than two administrative penalties within three years for illegal operation of tobacco monopoly goods, and illegal operation of tobacco monopoly goods and the amount of more than 30,000 yuan.

If one of the following circumstances applies, it shall be deemed as "particularly serious circumstances" as stipulated in Article 225 of the Criminal Law:

(1) Illegal operation of an amount of more than 250,000 yuan, or illegal proceeds of more than 100,000 yuan;

(2) Illegal operation of more than one million cigarettes. the.