Li's case has attracted huge social attention and has become a hot topic in the local area. There was a lot of discussion about whether Li should be punished. The life of this small convenience store owner bursts out of the ordinary and makes one wonder how his fate will unfold.
Li, an ordinary young man from the village, is only 32 years old, but the convenience store he runs has become the first choice for local villagers. He has always promised the villagers to be honest and ensure the quality of the goods, so his small shop has been doing well for many years. However, a recent series of events has made quite a splash in his life.
With the continuous development of the village economy, more and more villagers have begun to rebuild or rebuild their houses. Facing the brand-new high-rise buildings in the village, Li couldn't help but feel envious. In recent years, he and his wife have worked hard in business, earned a lot of money, and decided to build a new house in the countryside, which is a very grand event in the local area.
According to village custom, building a new house requires calling for family and friends to come and help. Since the other party came to help, Li naturally wanted to treat them as VIPs. In order to express his gratitude to his relatives and friends, Li began to prepare sumptuous ingredients, cigarettes and alcohol in advance. Due to the small size of the store, the amount of tobacco he could buy at a time was limited, so he had to buy cigarettes from elsewhere to meet the demand.
After being introduced by a friend, Li bought 78 cigarettes from several other cigarette hotels and placed them in the bedroom on the second floor of the store where he usually lives. He thinks it's just a temporary storage place and hasn't broken any laws.
However, fate seems to be incomprehensible, and shortly after he bought cigarettes, a sudden law enforcement officer conducted a routine spot check on merchants with tobacco licenses in accordance with work regulations. This includes Li's convenience store. However, when they came to Li's shop, Xiao Li was not there. Li's wife was looking at the store and receiving law enforcement officers.
According to the staff's request, Li's wife led them up to the second floor for inspection. There, law enforcement officers found seventy-eight cigarettes that Li had purchased. After verification, the total market price of this batch of cigarettes was 14,780 yuan. However, the law enforcement officers imposed a fine of 1,478 yuan on Li on the grounds that he did not purchase wholesale goods from the tobacco monopoly store, and confiscated all the cigarettes stored on the second floor.
For this result, Li felt extremely aggrieved and unconvinced. He insisted that he had not violated any rules, that he had a legal tobacco license, and that he had only purchased cigarettes for the purpose of entertaining friends and family. Although Xiao Li communicated with the staff several times, the staff insisted that Xiao Li had violated the regulations and that what they did did not violate the regulations.
Although these cigarettes and fines did not bankrupt Li's family financially, they were also a lot of money for Li. In addition, the family is building a house recently, and there is an urgent need for money. In order to get back his belongings, Li decided to go to court with the law enforcement department and demanded that the punishment be revoked and the 78 cigarettes that had been seized returned.
Uncle Jiang's point of view:
1) Xiao Li bought the cigarettes to show his gratitude to his relatives and friends, to entertain the VIPs who came to help, not to make a profit from sales. It was only because of the small size of the store and the shortage of tobacco ** that he purchased these cigarettes from other sources. He did not obtain the cigarettes through illegal means, so he should not be fined and his property confiscated.
2) Li is the owner of a small convenience store, he and his wife pay great attention to the integrity and quality of the business, and the business has been good for many years. He was not aware that his actions violated the rules of the tobacco monopoly because he had a tobacco monopoly retail license as a merchant and had not been warned or instructed by law enforcement officials beforehand. Law enforcement should give him a warning or an explanation, rather than an immediate penalty and confiscation of property.
Aunt Liang's point of view:
1) Although Xiao Li's behavior was to entertain relatives and friends, he, as a merchant holding a tobacco monopoly retail license, did not purchase goods through the tobacco monopoly wholesale channel in accordance with the regulations, which violated the regulations of the tobacco monopoly. It is the responsibility of law enforcement to enforce the relevant regulations, punish them and confiscate the offending items.
2) Although Xiao Li runs a small convenience store, as a merchant, he should have a clear understanding of his business behavior and the products he sells. Although he may not have intentionally violated the rules, as a merchant, it is his responsibility to comply with the relevant regulations and obtain the goods through legal channels to avoid similar penalties. Law enforcement has no problems in carrying out law enforcement tasks.
Legal opinion: After some investigation and evidence collection, the final judgment of the first instance was made. The lawyer judged Li to be in violation of regulations on the grounds that he did not purchase wholesale goods from the tobacco monopoly. According to the third paragraph of Article 12 of the Tobacco Monopoly Law, except in special circumstances, non-tobacco monopoly owners are not allowed to import, wholesale or retail tobacco products. However, Li holds a tobacco license but does not purchase wholesale goods in the monopoly store, which belongs to the category of illegal operation. Therefore, in accordance with the provisions of Article 31, Paragraph 1 of the "Tobacco Monopoly Law", Li was imposed an administrative penalty of a fine of 1,478 yuan and confiscated illegal gains.
Although Li was on the losing side, the case aroused people's attention and discussion on the tobacco monopoly law. Many people believe that this law is too draconian and difficult to implement in everyday life. However, Li's punishment is also a reminder of the importance of operating legally. After this lesson, Li is still more respectful and cautious about the law.