An Act To Expand the Options for Shipping Wine Directly to Customers
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1093
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: MIRAMANT, PLUECKER, CUDDY, DOUDERA, EVANGELOS, GEIGER, WHITE
Amends: 28-A MRSA §1361, 28-A MRSA §1401, 28-A MRSA §1403-A

Legislative Document
No. 1093
S.P. 354
In Senate, March 22, 2021
An Act To Expand the Options for Shipping Wine Directly to 
Customers
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on March 18, 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 MIRAMANT of Knox.
Cosponsored by Representative PLUECKER of Warren and
Representatives: CUDDY of Winterport, DOUDERA of Camden, EVANGELOS of 
Friendship, GEIGER of Rockland, McDONALD of Stonington, WHITE of Waterville.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  28-A MRSA §1361, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1997, c. 373, §115, is 
further amended to read:
1.  Certificate of approval required.  No Except as otherwise authorized in section 
1403-A, an out-of-state manufacturer or foreign out-of-state wholesaler of malt liquor or 
wine may hold for sale, sell or offer for sale in intrastate commerce, or transport or cause 
to be transported into the State for resale, any malt liquor or wine not engage in the 
following activities unless the manufacturer or foreign wholesaler has obtained from the 
bureau a certificate of approval. from the bureau in accordance with this section:
A.  Offer malt liquor or wine for sale in the State or sell malt liquor or wine in the State; 
or
B.  Transport into or cause to be transported into the State malt liquor or wine for sale 
or resale in the State.
Sec. 2.  28-A MRSA §1361, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2019, c. 529, §7, is further 
amended to read:
4.  No sales of malt liquor or wine to person without wholesale license.  No Except 
as otherwise authorized in sections 1403-A, 2073 and 2077, a certificate of approval holder, 
except a licensed small brewery or small winery authorized under section 1355‑A to sell 
its own products directly to retailers, may sell or cause to be transported into the State any 
may not sell malt liquor or wine to any a person to whom a Maine wholesale license has 
not been issued by the bureau.  Malt liquor or wine must be delivered to the place of 
business of the wholesaler as shown in the wholesaler's license, must be unloaded and 
inventoried at the wholesaler's premises upon the wholesaler's receipt of the shipment and 
must come to rest before delivery is made to any retailer to enable the bureau to inspect 
and inventory wholesale warehouses for the purpose of verifying taxes that are required to 
be paid on malt liquor and wine purchased by importers that is not a wholesale licensee or 
cause malt liquor or wine to be transported into the State for sale to a person that is not a 
wholesale licensee.
Malt liquor or wine must be delivered to the place of business of the wholesale licensee as 
shown in the wholesale licensee's license, must be unloaded and inventoried at the 
wholesale licensee's premises upon the wholesale licensee's receipt of the shipment and 
must come to rest before delivery is made to any retailer to enable the bureau to inspect 
and inventory the wholesale licensee's warehouses for the purpose of verifying taxes that 
are required to be paid on imported malt liquor and wine.
This subsection does not apply to a licensed small brewery or small winery authorized 
under section 1355-A to sell its own products directly to retailers.
Sec. 3.  28-A MRSA §1401, sub-§9, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 476, Pt. A, §30, is 
amended to read:
9.  Sales to licensees only.  A Except as otherwise authorized in section 1403-A, a 
licensee under this section may sell or distribute malt liquor, wine and fortified and wine 
only to persons licensed for the retail sale of malt liquor, wine or fortified and wine for on-
premises or off-premises consumption on or off the licensed premises in accordance with 
this Title.
Sec. 4.  28-A MRSA §1403-A, as amended by PL 2015, c. 166, §5, is further 
amended to read:
§1403-A.  Direct shipment of wine
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Direct shipper" means a small winery, winery, retailer licensed to sell wine for 
off-premises consumption or wholesaler that has obtained a wine direct shipper license 
under subsection 2.
B.  "Outside the State" means any state other than Maine and any territory or possession 
of the United States, but does not include a foreign country.
2.  Direct shipment of wine.  A small winery or other winery holding a federal basic 
wine manufacturing permit located within or outside the State, retailer licensed in this State 
or another state to sell wine for off-premises consumption or a wholesaler licensed in this 
State or another state to sell wine may obtain a wine 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, a copy of the applicant's current federal basic wine 
manufacturing permit, retailer license or wholesaler license and a list of wine labels to be 
shipped in accordance with this section.
3.  Direct shipper application.  Before sending a shipment to a resident of this State, 
a direct shipper must file an application for a wine direct shipper license under subsection 
with the bureau on a form issued by the bureau along with a true copy of its current 
alcoholic beverage winery, retailer or wholesaler license issued in this State or another state 
and a $100 registration fee.
4.  Direct shipment requirements.  A direct shipper may only ship wine that was 
produced by the direct shipper in accordance with the direct shipper's federal basic wine 
manufacturing permit to a recipient in this State for personal use and not for resale.  A 
direct shipper may not ship wine products commonly known as "wine coolers."  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 chapter 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 Case limit.  A direct shipper may not ship a container of wine 
of less than 750 milliliters and may ship no more than 12 24 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 in an area 
identified by the bureau as a prohibited shipping area or a local option area.
8.  License renewal.  A direct shipper may annually renew its wine direct shipper 
license with the bureau by paying a $50 renewal fee and providing the bureau with a true 
copy of its current alcoholic beverage winery, retailer or wholesaler license issued in this 
State or another state.
9.  Sales tax registration and payment required.  As a condition of receiving a 
certificate of approval, a shipper located outside the license under this section, an entity 
that does not have a winery, retailer or wholesaler license issued in this 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 other 
provision of law of the State.
10.  Payment of excise taxes.  A direct shipper located outside the State shall annually 
pay to the bureau all excise taxes due on sales to residents of the State in the preceding 
year, the amount of such taxes to be calculated under section 1652 as if the sales were in 
the State.
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 wine shipped 
to recipients in the State and, for a direct shipper located in the State, shipments made 
outside the State, 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 wine to a person under 21 years of age is subject to a fine 
up to $5,000.  The bureau may suspend or revoke a wine 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, 
wine 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 subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 
375, subchapter 2-A.
SUMMARY
Under current law, a winery or small winery located within this State or another state 
may obtain a license from the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, 
Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations to ship its products directly to 
Maine customers.   The bill expands the types of entities eligible to receive licenses from 
the bureau for the direct shipment of wine to Maine customers to include retailers licensed 
in this State or another state to sell wine for off-premises consumption as well as 
wholesalers licensed in this State or another state.  The bill also increases from 12 to 24 the 
maximum number of 9-liter cases of wine that may be directly shipped by one entity to any 
one recipient address and removes the prohibitions against the direct shipment of containers 
of less than 750 milliliters of wine and of products commonly known as "wine coolers."  
Finally, the bill removes the provision of current law that exempts from the State's beverage 
container redemption law wine that is imported to the State by a licensed direct shipper.