Gov. Cuomo may soon be able to check off another item on Albany’s long-ig nored to-do list: cracking down on illegal sales of tax-free cigarettes on Indian reservations.

In the weeks since the courts lifted a restraining order, state and federal agents have seized nearly 15,000 cartons — a haul with an estimated tax value of about $1.5 million.

That’s a notable start.

Here’s hoping Cuomo & Co. follow through.

Indian tribes have long bought cartons wholesale, avoiding a state-imposed $4.35-a-pack tax. That enables them to resell the cigs for far less than their law-abiding competition.

Not only does Albany lose out on significant tax revenue, but legitimate businesses are put at a virtually insurmountable disadvatange.

Cigarette smuggling has also been linked to organized crime.

Which is why for years we’ve been calling on governors to level the playing field: If non–Indian dealers are taxed, so should those on reservations — at least, when the buyer isn’t a member of the reservation’s tribe.

That’s what the law prescribes. And it’s what should have been the case all along.

Alas, governors — fearing tribal violence like what broke out when George Pataki tried to crack down in 1997 — have eschewed enforcement.

Cuomo seems to be taking a different tack. Along with the feds, state agents have been eyeing reservation smoke shops for weeks and intercepting deliveries of premium-brand cigs. His office says the state is “moving aggressively” and that the crackdown “will continue.”

It’s encouraging.

Indeed, the squeeze already appears to be working: Wholesalers who supplied tax-free cigs to reservations are getting spooked and cutting off sales.

Still, the crackdown is just beginning.

And, by the way, the tribes are adjusting, refocusing their efforts on selling Indian-made cigs, like the Seneca brand, that aren’t shipped from traditional wholesalers — even though all cigarettes sold to non-tribal members must be taxed, including Indian brands.

So the gov has work to do.

Let’s hope he keeps the heat on.