An Act To Provide for the Direct Shipment of Spirits to Consumers
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1358
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: STEWART, PIERCE
Amends: 28-A MRSA §1381, 28-A MRSA §1382, 28-A MRSA §2073, 28-A MRSA §2075

Legislative Document
No. 1358
S.P. 444
In Senate, April 7, 2021
An Act To Provide for the Direct Shipment of Spirits to Consumers
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on April 5, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Veterans and Legal Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator STEWART of Aroostook.
Cosponsored by Representative: PIERCE of Falmouth.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  28-A MRSA §1381, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 615, §4 and affected 
by §7, is amended to read:
5.  Shipment restrictions.  Except as provided in sections 1382, 2073 and 2075, a 
person that has been issued a certificate of approval under this section may only transport 
spirits into the State or cause spirits to be transported into the State only if the spirits are 
delivered to a warehouse designated by the commission under section 81.
Sec. 2.  28-A MRSA §1382 is enacted to read:
§1382.  Direct shipment of spirits by distilleries
1.  Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A. "Direct shipper" means a distillery licensed under subsection 2 that holds a current 
manufacturer license under section 1355-A or, for a distillery outside the State, a 
current manufacturer license from that state, territory or possession of the United 
States.
B. "Outside the State" means in any other state or territory or possession of the United 
States but does not include a foreign country.
2.  Direct shipment of spirits; licensure.  A direct shipper may ship spirits within the 
State subject to the licensure requirements of this section.  A distillery that holds a federal 
basic spirits manufacturing permit may obtain an annual spirits direct shipper license by 
filing with the bureau an application in a form determined by the bureau accompanied by 
an application fee of not more than $200 and a copy of the applicant's current federal basic 
spirits manufacturing permit.
3.  Direct shipper application.  Before sending a shipment to a resident of this State, 
a direct shipper must file an application for a spirits direct shipper license under subsection 
with the bureau on a form issued by the bureau along with a true copy of its current 
manufacturer license under section 1355-A or issued outside the State and a $100 
registration fee.
4.  Direct shipment of spirits; requirements.  A direct shipper may ship only spirits 
produced by the direct shipper in accordance with the direct shipper's federal permit. A 
direct shipper may ship spirits to a recipient only for personal use and not for resale.  A 
direct shipper shall label each package to be shipped in accordance with this section so that 
it conspicuously reads "CONTAINS ALCOHOL: SIGNATURE OF A PERSON 21 
YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER IS REQUIRED FOR DELIVERY."
5.  Common carrier.  Shipments made in accordance with this section must be made 
by a common carrier and must be accompanied by a shipping label that clearly indicates 
the name of the direct shipper and the name and address of the recipient. The common 
carrier shall obtain the signature of a person 21 years of age or older at the address listed 
on the shipping label prior to delivery of the shipment. The common carrier shall request 
photographic identification from the person signing for the shipment and verify that the 
person is 21 years of age or older.
6.  Bottle size and case limit.  A direct shipper may not ship a container of spirits of 
less than 750 milliliters and may ship no more than 4 cases, each of which may contain no 
more than 9 liters or an equivalent volume, to any one recipient address in a calendar year.
7.  Prohibited shipping areas.  A direct shipper may not ship to any address identified 
by the bureau as within a prohibited shipping area or a municipality that has voted in any 
particular local option election against the sale of all types of liquor.
8.  License renewal.  A direct shipper may annually renew its spirits direct shipper 
license with the bureau by paying a $50 renewal fee and providing the bureau with a true 
copy of its manufacturer license under section 1355-A or issued outside the State.
9.  Sales tax registration and payment required.  As a condition of receiving a 
certificate of approval, a shipper located outside the State shall comply with the provisions 
of Title 36, Part 3, including all requirements relating to registration as a seller and the 
collection, reporting and remittance of the sales and use taxes of the State, and shall agree 
to be subject to the jurisdiction of the State for purposes of the enforcement of those 
obligations. The requirements of this subsection apply notwithstanding any provision of 
law of the State to the contrary.
10.  Payment of excise taxes.  A direct shipper located outside the State shall annually 
pay to the bureau an excise tax of $11.96 per gallon of spirits sold to residents of the State 
in the preceding year. Spirits shipped by a direct shipper located outside the State are not 
subject to any premium or additional tax under Title 28-A or Title 36.
11.  Report.  A direct shipper shall submit a report to the bureau annually in a manner 
and form prescribed by the bureau that includes the total number of cases of spirits shipped 
to recipients in the State and the name and residence address of shipment recipients in the 
State, the common carrier used to deliver the shipments and the date, quantity and purchase 
price of each shipment.
12.  Audit.  The bureau may perform an audit of a direct shipper's records relevant to 
compliance with this section. A direct shipper shall provide copies of any records requested 
by the bureau within 10 business days of that request.
13.  Violation.  A person, including a common carrier, who knowingly causes a direct 
shipment in violation of this section is subject to a fine up to $500 for a first offense and 
up to $1,000 for any subsequent violation of this section. A direct shipper or common 
carrier who knowingly delivers spirits to a person under 21 years of age is subject to a fine 
up to $5,000. The bureau may suspend or revoke a spirits direct shipper license for failure 
to comply with the shipping limits and reporting requirements required by this section. The 
bureau may accept payment of an offer in compromise in lieu of suspension; such payments 
must be determined by rules adopted by the bureau.
14.  Jurisdiction.  A direct shipper, as a condition of licensure, is subject to the 
jurisdiction and enforcement authority of the State for the purposes of enforcement of this 
section.
15.  Not subject to beverage container law.  Notwithstanding Title 38, chapter 33, a 
container of spirits shipped pursuant to this section does not require a refund value for 
beverage container control purposes.
16.  Rules.  The bureau shall adopt rules to carry out the purposes of this section. Rules 
adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 
375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 3.  28-A MRSA §2073, sub-§3, ¶E, as amended by PL 2013, c. 476, Pt. A, 
§33, is further amended by amending subparagraph (4) to read:
(4)  To any licensed pharmacist in the State for use in the compounding of 
prescriptions and other medicinal use, but not for sale by pharmacists unless 
compounded with or mixed with other substances; or
Sec. 4.  28-A MRSA §2073, sub-§3, ¶E, as amended by PL 2013, c. 476, Pt. A, 
§33, is further amended by amending subparagraph (5) to read:
(5)  To any physician, surgeon, osteopath, chiropractor, optometrist, dentist or 
veterinarian for medicinal use only.; or
Sec. 5.  28-A MRSA §2073, sub-§3, ¶E, as amended by PL 2013, c. 476, Pt. A, 
§33, is further amended by enacting a new subparagraph (6) to read:
(6)  To a recipient by a common carrier under section 1382, subsection 5 or section 
1403-A, subsection 5.
Sec. 6.  28-A MRSA §2075, sub-§1-B, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. P, §6 
and affected Pt. X, §2, is amended to read:
1-B.  Permitted importation.  An individual may transport into the State and may 
transport from place to place within the State spirits for the individual's personal use in a 
quantity not greater than 4 quarts and a common carrier may deliver to a recipient under 
section 1382, subsection 5 up to the amount of spirits allowed in section 1382, subsection 
6.
Sec. 7.  28-A MRSA §2075, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2013, c. 368, Pt. V, §50, is 
further amended to read:
2.  Transportation of spirits within State.  A person, except for a common carrier 
under section 1382, subsection 5, may not transport or cause to be transported any spirits 
within the State in a quantity greater than 4 quarts unless the spirits were purchased from 
an agency liquor store.
Sec. 8.  28-A MRSA §2075, sub-§2-A, as amended by PL 2015, c. 166, §7, is 
further amended to read:
2-A.  Evidence.  The Except for possession by a common carrier under section 1382, 
subsection 5, the possession of more than 8 quarts of spirits in one or more containers that 
are not labeled in accordance with Title 38, section 3105 is prima facie evidence of a 
violation of this section.
SUMMARY
This bill allows distilleries located inside and outside of the State to ship spirits 
manufactured by the distilleries directly to recipients for personal use upon licensure of the 
distilleries by the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of 
Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations. Patterned on the provisions in the liquor laws 
allowing for direct shipment of wine, direct shipment of spirits requires use of a common 
carrier, requires that a recipient be 21 years of age or older with identification and requires 
the direct shipper to register for and pay sales tax.  Out-of-state direct shippers also must 
pay an excise tax of $11.96 per gallon but are not subject to any other premium or additional 
tax under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 28-A or Title 36. The direct shipper is required 
to report to the bureau and is subject to audit by the bureau.