French Public Health Code
In forceI.-A fine of 45,000 euros shall be imposed:
1° Any tobacco product manufacturer or importer who places a tobacco product on the market without having submitted the declaration defined in Article L. 3512-17 ;
2° Failure by a tobacco product manufacturer or importer to submit a market survey in breach of the provisions of article L. 3512-18;
3° Importing, with a view to selling, distributing or offering free of charge, tobacco products manufactured in a non-EU Member State or originating from an EU Member State which do not bear a unique identifier on the packaging unit, in breach of the provisions of Article L. 3512-23;
4° Importing, with a view to selling, distributing or offering free of charge, tobacco products manufactured in a non-EU Member State or originating from an EU Member State, the unit packet of which does not bear the forgery-proof security device, in breach of the provisions of Article L. 3512-25;
5° Any modification or alteration, by any person involved in the trade in tobacco products, from the manufacturer to the last operator before the first retailer, of the information contained in the data processing managed by the independent third party provided for in Article L. 3512-24;
6° Any manufacturer or importer who places a nicotine-containing vaping product on the market without having notified the manufacturer or importer in accordance with the conditions and deadlines set out in Article L. 3513-10;
7° Failure by a manufacturer or importer of a vaping product to send the annual declaration for the previous year in disregard of the provisions of article L. 3513-11;
8° Failure by a manufacturer, distributor or importer of a vaping product to set up or update a system for collecting the information referred to in article L. 3513-13, on all the presumed undesirable effects of these products on human health;
9° Failure by a manufacturer, distributor or importer of a vaping product to immediately inform the public establishment referred to in article L. 3513-10 of risks to human health and safety posed by a vaping product that it markets or sells, in breach of the provisions of the third paragraph of article L. 3513-13 ;
10° Failure by a manufacturer, distributor or importer of a vaping product to provide the public establishment mentioned in article L. 3513-10 with the additional information it requests in accordance with article L. 3513-13;
11° Any manufacturer or importer of a non-tobacco plant-based smoking product who places such a product on the market in disregard of the obligation to declare the ingredients used, as defined in Article L. 3514-5.
II - Infringements of articles L. 3512-23 to L. 3512-25 and their implementing provisions, other than those provided for in 3°, 4° and 5° of I of this article, are punishable by a fine of between €1,000 and €5,000 and a penalty of between one and five times the value of the tobacco used in the fraud, without prejudice to the confiscation of the tobacco.
When the offences provided for in the first paragraph of this II are committed by an organised gang, the fines and penalties provided for in the same first paragraph are doubled and a penalty of one year's imprisonment is incurred.
The offences provided for in the first two paragraphs of this II are investigated, recorded and prosecuted in the same way as for indirect taxation.
These offences may be investigated and recorded by criminal investigation officers acting in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
