Famous Smoke Shop ready for Cuban Cigars?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Famous Smoke Shop can now legally sell Cuban cigars

U.S. Treasury Dept. grants temporary license to import tobacco products

EASTON, PA -- March 31, 2011 -- If you're an American cigar smoker who's been champing at the bit to buy Cuban cigars legally, your ship may be coming in - literally! Thanks to a temporary license issued by the U.S. Treasury Department, you may be ordering your Cuban Cohibas, Montecristos and Bolivars from Famous Smoke Shop sooner than you think.

After almost three years of legal wrangling and a mountain of paperwork, Famous Smoke Shop, the nation's leading cigar cataloger and retailer of premium handmade cigars, has been granted an "exception" by the Secretary of the Treasury under Title 31 C.F.R. Part 515 - Cuban Assets Control Regulations, Subpart B-Prohibitions, specifically with regard to §515.204 "Importation of and dealings in certain merchandise" which states:

(a) Except as specifically authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury (or any person, agency, or instrumentality designated by him) by means of regulations, rulings, instructions, licenses, or otherwise, no person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States may purchase, transport, import, or otherwise deal in or engage in any transaction with respect to any merchandise outside the United States if such merchandise:
(1) Is of Cuban origin; or

(2) Is or has been located in or transported from or through Cuba; or

(3) Is made or derived in whole or in part of any article which is the growth, produce or manufacture of Cuba.

Famous began contacting U.S. State Department and Treasury officials shortly after President Barak Obama eased American travel restrictions to Cuba in April of 2009. But it was Cuba's recent devaluation of the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), now pegged to the U.S. dollar, which gave the Treasury Department the ability to approve a pilot program to help them estimate Cuban tobacco import tax revenues. Under the new provision, the Easton, PA-based cigar store was granted "exclusive authorization" to import up to 10,000 Cuban cigars a year for a two year period. The license will be effective starting July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2013.
"If the program works for Famous Smoke Shop, we will consider expanding it permanently, which will allow other U.S. tobacconists to apply for the licenses." said a Treasury Department spokesperson.
Arthur Zaretsky, president of Famous Smoke Shop-PA, Inc., who received the fortuitous phone call from Washington this past Tuesday, was ecstatic at the news.
"This is the biggest shot in the arm we could ever have hoped for," said Mr. Zaretsky. "Our customers are going to be bowled over by the opportunity to get Cuban cigars without having to go outside the law."
Due to the limited supply of Cuban cigars Famous will be allowed to import, the company is trying to work out the fairest way to get them into as many of their customers hands as possible.

"Our first idea was to auction the cigars, but we decided against it," said Famous Marketing Director, Mike Vandenstockt. "For one, we thought that might be a little too greedy. And since we're required to send sales figures to the Treasury Department, they wouldn't be able to get an accurate number for estimating the tax dollars."
Famous decided the best way to level the playing field was to make up Cuban 5-packs and limit sales to one pack per customer. However, it was also decided that Famous Smoke Shop's best customers will get first dibs on the Havanas via a private email campaign.
"I believe charity begins at home," said Mr. Zaretsky. "The customers who have opened their wallets for us the most deserve to go to the head of the line." But he also assured he will do his best to see that as many customers as possible get a chance to add some Cuban cigars to their humidors.

For now, the company has posted a landing page on their web site where customers who want to purchase the Cuban 5-packs can input their names, email addresses and customer numbers. The landing page also has details explaining exactly how the Cuban 5-pack program will work.

This was a great April Fools promotion, have to hand it to them, especially knowing this may actually happen in my lifetime.  :-)