§66-294. Duties of manufacturers

(a)        Participating Manufacturers. - Unless the Office of the Attorney General provides a waiver, a participating manufacturer must submit to the Office of the Attorney General a list of all of the manufacturer's brand families by April 30th of each year. The participating manufacturer must notify the Office of the Attorney General of any changes to the list of brand families it offers for sale 30 days prior to the change.

(b)        Nonparticipating Manufacturers. - A nonparticipating manufacturer must:

(1)        Appoint and continuously maintain a process service agent within the State of North Carolina to accept service of any notification or enforcement of an action under this Article. The manufacturer shall file a certified copy of each instrument appointing a process service agent with the Secretary of State and the Office of the Attorney General.

(2)        Submit an annual application to the Office of the Attorney General for inclusion of the nonparticipating manufacturer's products on the compliant nonparticipating manufacturer's list, in accordance with subsection (c) of this section.

(3)        Notify the Office of the Attorney General of any changes to the list of brand families it offers for sale 30 days prior to the change.

(4)        Have made the escrow payments required under G.S. 66-291(a)(2) for all cigarettes belonging to the brand families included in the list submitted in the application for inclusion and any brand families added to the list since it was submitted to the Office of the Attorney General.

(5)        Submit an escrow agreement to the Office of the Attorney General.

(6)        Not deliver cigarettes unless the cigarettes are included on the compliant nonparticipating manufacturer's list in effect on the date of delivery.

(c)        Nonparticipating Manufacturer's Application. - A nonparticipating manufacturer must submit an application to the Office of the Attorney General by April 30th of each year for inclusion on the compliant nonparticipating manufacturers' list. The Attorney General may provide a waiver of the deadline for good cause. The application must include a certification that the nonparticipating manufacturer has fulfilled the duties listed in subsection (b) of this section and a list of the brand families of the manufacturer offered for sale in the State during either the current calendar year or the previous calendar year. The certification must be in the form required by the Office of the Attorney General.

(2002-145, s. 3.)