If I purchase cigarettes online that are manufactured in Russia and
have Russian writing on them, do I have to pay taxes on them if they
are delivered to the USA? If so, how would I go about paying the
taxes?

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Clarification of Question by omegaloki-ga on 25 Aug 2004 07:55 PDT

Made under control of Philip Moris Products S.A., Switzerland. 

is also written on the box.

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Request for Question Clarification by tar_heel_v-ga on 26 Aug 2004 07:21 PDT

What state do you live in?

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Clarification of Question by omegaloki-ga on 26 Aug 2004 09:54 PDT

AZ

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Request for Question Clarification by nenna-ga on 26 Aug 2004 10:24 PDT

Hello,

Is their a certain website or business that you would be purchasing from?

Nenna-GA

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Clarification of Question by omegaloki-ga on 26 Aug 2004 14:48 PDT

http://www.discount-cigarettes-store.com

Hello omegaloki-ga,

This question is answered on the FAQ of http://www.discount-cigarettes-store.com/.

Number nine talks about taxes on their products being shipped to the USA.

"Should I pay the duty tax to receive the cigarettes?

All products have already been taxed in the country of origin. Customs
policies vary widely from country to country and if you have any
questions, we suggest that you should contact your local customs
office for more information. Our customers from the USA, Japan have
not had any problems with buying our products
If there is a duty tax in your country, you can pay it or reject the
order. We guarantee 100% money back minus shipping charges. Return
time may be longer than the time required for the same parcel to reach
you. It usually takes 2-6 weeks.
We do not have true information about worldwide duty taxes at the
moment, but we'll add it to our store in the nearest future. Feel free
to provide us with proper information about taxes in your country. It
will help us to improve on our service and to make our service better
and wider."

http://www.discount-cigarettes-store.com/faq.php#9

Therefore, if you did not want to pay the tax, and there was one, you
could return them, or contact the AZ Customs Office. You would pay the
Duty Tax to the shipper upon pick-up or delivery, so refusing the
order and having it returned would not be hard.

Also...to note:

"Title IV of the Tariff Suspension and Trade Act of 2000 (P.L.
106-476), also known as the Imported Cigarette Compliance Act of 2000,
imposes special requirements on the importation of cigarettes and
other tobacco products. Importers of cigarettes or other tobacco
products are urged to contact the United States port of entry at which
their merchandise will arrive for information about the new
requirements."

Therefore, I would find out what Port of Entry they will be coming in
on, and speak with them for the most accurate information. The company
shipping the product should be able to tell you what P of E it will
be.

This is part of the Customs Modernization Act of 2002. You can find
more on it here, as it will download as a MS Word doc at the 5th item
down.
http://search.cbp.gov/query.html?charset=utf-8&qt=cigarettes+from+Russia


Google Search Used: US Customs
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=us%20customs&btnG=Google+Search
I used the search feature on the US Customs site to find the
information I gave you.


If this answer requires further explanation, please request
clarification before rating it, and I'll be happy to look into this
further.
Nenna-GA
Google Answers Researcher

You know really i am not to sure. I do believe that you have to pay
local state and city taxes. As for the russian cigerettes they are
known as grey market cigerettes They are a cheaper made ciggerette
i.e. the tobbaco that the compoanies won't use. Basically rejected
tobbaco. Thats a big part of why they are cheaper.

Russian cigarettes are not grey market. Simply cheaper to make and
have less taxes on them. Dont you know it costs Phillip Morris only 8
cents to make each pack of cigarettes, at which point the rest is all
their profit + taxes. Russia just has really low taxes and post office
costs thats why they are able to provide such cheap cigarettes. I
tried both Russian cigarettes and european cigarettes and like the
fresh taste of russian more. As far as the taxes i never had to pay
any or know anyone that has ordering from sites in russia.

Grey market cigaretes are cigarettes not made in the USA. They are
made in foreign country's to sell in foreign country's. And they don't
have the same taste and quality as the one's made in the USA.

www.ecommercetimes.com/story/21467.html 
www.bambooweb.com
they have information on internet sales taxes. some places like
walmart have them, some don't.
Ive purchased cigarettes from the now defunct site where i bought
marlboros for 15 bucks with free shipping.
If youre worried about legality ,congress has been trying to pass a
tax on internet sales due to lost state revenues but it still hasnt
been approved. the only thing that you can be taxed on for online buys
are things from your homestate! its a great deal.

further heres info from 
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20040409/1116248.shtml 
on your next file of taxes with the government theres a place you can
put down your amount you bought online.  this is not traceable or
neccasry though.  If youre buying mass quantities then go ahead and
put it down if you feel worried about it.




Ah, it's tax time. We first mentioned this last month, but some states
are getting a bit more explicit in reminding people that they're
supposed to pay taxes on out-of-state items that they purchased - even
if the payment is mostly on the honor system. They've added an extra
line on tax forms where people can fill in just how much out-of-state
purchases they made online. Of course, what it's really doing is
confusing many taxpayers who have no idea what to put down on the
additional line. Many are simply recommending that people leave that
line blank - even to the point where one NY newspaper says: "They've
got to be crazy, and you are, too, if you comply." Still, some tax
professionals are warning that if you leave that line blank (claiming
you didn't make any online out-of-state purchases) and you get
audited, it's something they might focus on.

i get my marlboro from www.yesmoke.ch
they send it from Switzerland  and its pretty cheap.
also i think the quality is pretty good. i just read somewhere that
the tobacco quality is not good. is it so?
i feel its ok?