North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 14B - Public Safety › Chapter 15 - ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL COMMISSION › Subchapter C - INDUSTRY MEMBERS: RETAIL/INDUSTRY MEMBER RELATIONSHIPS: SHIP CHANDLERS: AIR CARRIERS: FUEL ALCOHOL › Section .0700 - ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES: RETAILER/INDUSTRY MEMBER RELATIONSHIP: TRADE PRACTICES › Section 15C .0708 - CONSIGNMENT SALES: CONDITIONAL SALES: RETURNS

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a) Consignment
				  Sales Prohibited. No industry member shall sell, offer for sale, or contract to
				  sell to any retail permittee, nor shall any retail permittee purchase, offer to
				  purchase, or contract to purchase from any industry member any alcoholic
				  beverages on consignment or under conditional sale, or with the privilege of
				  return, or on any basis other than a bona fide cash sale. For the purposes of
				  this Rule, a consignment sale is any transaction in which title to the
				  merchandise is not transferred at the time of shipment or delivery and which
				  does not involve some form of full cash settlement. No industry member shall
				  contract or agree with a retailer to retain title to alcoholic beverages until
				  those products are sold.
(b)
				  Privilege of Return. No industry member and retailer shall enter into any
				  agreement whereby the retailer has an expressed or implied right to return
				  alcoholic beverages that he cannot sell. Any acceptance of returned merchandise
				  is considered a strong indication that the "privilege of return" existed at the
				  time of sale, and a repeated practice of accepting returned merchandise from a
				  retailer would establish an implied privilege of return, even though no formal
				  agreement has been made.
(c) Sales
				  Conditioned on the Acquisition of Other Merchandise. No industry member shall
				  make any agreement with any retailer with terms that allow the industry member
				  to remove the retailer's inventory conditioned upon present or future sales.
				  The exchange of alcoholic beverages for equal quantities of the same type and
				  brand in containers of another size and style is not considered an acquisition
				  of "other" alcoholic beverages and, therefore, is not prohibited where the
				  return is otherwise permissible.
(d) Exceptions. This Rule does not apply to
				  the following transactions:
(1) returns of
				  malt beverages or wine for ordinary and usual commercial reasons arising after
				  the alcoholic beverages have been sold, such as mutilated or damaged labels or
				  containers, error in delivery, product deterioration, products have been deemed
				  unsafe by State or federal authorities, the product approval has been withdrawn
				  as referenced by
				  14B NCAC
				  15C .0201 and
				  15C .0202, or a bona fide
				  discontinuance of the retailer's business;
(2) exchanges of malt beverage products for
				  equal quantities of the same brand and type, so long as the manufacturer's code
				  date on the products will expire within 30 calendar days of the date of
				  exchange, and the quantity exchanged does not exceed 50 cases of each brand per
				  30 day period per retail permittee. For the purposes of this Rule, the term
				  "exchange" means to replace product for product and does not authorize the
				  wholesaler to accept returned malt beverage products for cash or credit;
				  and
(3) returns of wine or malt
				  beverage products from a seasonal retailer who is open only a portion of the
				  year if the products are likely to spoil during the off-season. For purposes of
				  this Rule, a "seasonal retailer" is defined as one that closes its business
				  completely for a period of at least eight weeks during the summer or winter
				  months. Returns from a seasonal retailer may be for cash or credit.
Note:
The return or exchange of wine products
					 is governed by this Rule and the regulations under the Federal Alcohol
					 Administration Act found in Title 27 of the United States Code of Federal
					 Regulations, Part 11 (27 CFR Sec. 11.1 through 11.46), and nothing in these
					 Rules shall be construed to authorize the return or exchange of wine products
					 if the transaction is prohibited by federal law.