10-58.  Sale of forfeited tobacco products or vending devices.

(a) When any tobacco products or any vending devices are declared forfeited to the State by the Department, as provided in Section 10-55, and when all proceedings for the judicial review of the Department's decision have terminated, the Department shall, to the extent that its decision is sustained on review, sell the property for the best price obtainable and shall forthwith pay over the proceeds of the sale to the State Treasurer.  If the value of the property to be sold at any one time is $500 or more, however, the property shall be sold only to the highest and best bidder on terms and conditions, and on open competitive bidding after public advertisement, in a manner and for terms as the Department, by rule, may prescribe.
(b) If no complaint for review, as provided in Section 12 of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act,   1 has been filed within the time required by Law, and if no stay order has been entered under that Law, the Department shall proceed to destroy, maintain and use in an undercover capacity, or sell the property for the best price obtainable and shall forthwith pay over the proceeds of the sale to the State Treasurer.  If the value of the property to be sold at any one time is $500 or more, however, the property shall be sold only to the highest and best bidder on terms and conditions, and on open competitive bidding after public advertisement, in a manner and for terms as the Department, by rule, may prescribe.
(c) Upon making a sale of tobacco products as provided in this Section, the Department shall affix a distinctive stamp to each of the tobacco products so sold indicating that they are sold under this Section.
(d) Notwithstanding the foregoing, any tobacco products seized under this Act may, at the discretion of the Director of Revenue, be distributed to any eleemosynary institution within the State of Illinois.