R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-20-18
The tax administrator shall secure stamps, of those designs, types, and denominations as the tax administrator prescribes, suitable to be affixed to packages of cigarettes as evidence of the payment of the tax imposed by § 44-20-12. Each roll of stamps, or group of sheets, shall have a separate serial number, which shall be legible at the point of sale. The administrator shall keep records of which distributor purchases each roll or group of sheets identified by serial number. If the administrator permits distributors to purchase partial rolls or sheets, in no case may stamps bearing the same serial number be sold to more than one distributor. The remainder of the roll or sheet, if any, shall either be retained for later purchases by the same distributor or destroyed. The tax administrator is the custodian of the stamps and of the dies, plates, and other materials and things used in the manufacture of the stamps.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-20-18