CHAPTER 300
HB 1352 – FINAL VERSION
17Feb2010… 0422h
05/12/10 2013s
2010 SESSION
03/10
HOUSE BILL 1352
AN ACT relative to direct shippers.
COMMITTEE: Commerce and Consumer Affairs
This bill changes reporting requirements for direct shippers of alcoholic beverages and modifies the limitations on the number of containers of liquor and wine a direct shipper may ship to a customer. This bill also prohibits transportation of unauthorized direct shipments.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
17Feb2010… 0422h
05/12/10 2013s
10-2338
03/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to direct shippers.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
300:1 Definitions; Direct Shipper. Amend RSA 175:1, XXIX-a to read as follows:
XXIX-a. “Direct shipper” means any licensee outside the state of New Hampshire who accepts orders placed from New Hampshire, by mail, telephone, Internet, or any electronic or other means, for liquor or beverages and who ships, packages for shipment, or facilitates in any way shipment of said liquor or beverages by a [third party or common] licensed carrier to a New Hampshire location.
300:2 Direct Shippers. Amend RSA 178:27, I(a) to read as follows:
I.(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any person currently licensed in its state of domicile as a wine manufacturer, beverage manufacturer, importer, wholesaler, or retailer shall apply for a direct shipper permit from the commission.
300:3 Direct Shippers. Amend RSA 178:27, III to read as follows:
III. Except with written permission of the commission, no direct shipper shall ship more than 60 individual containers of not more than one liter each of liquor and not more than 12 - 9 liter cases or equivalent of wine to any one [licensee in New Hampshire or to any] consumer [or consumer’s address] in New Hampshire in any calendar year. The commission shall only grant permission for additional shipments if the additional shipments are of products not otherwise available in New Hampshire. Furthermore, in the event any [manufacturer or wholesaler] direct shipper wishes to ship more than a total of [1,200 individual containers of not more than one liter each] 600 liters of any particular liquor or wine directly to any combination of licensees and/or consumers in New Hampshire, the shipper shall offer to sell a matching amount to the commission or beer distributor at the lower of the wholesale [prices] price or the lowest price delivered into New Hampshire. A licensee may purchase from a direct shipper pursuant to RSA 179:32, III.
300:4 Direct Shippers; Reports. Amend RSA 178:27, V to read as follows:
V.(a) Direct shippers shall file [invoices] reports for each shipment with the liquor commission [showing the retail price of the product], and shall pay a fee of 8 percent of the retail price for shipments of liquor, wine, beer, or beverage to the commission. Such [filings] reports shall be [monthly, and arrive at the commission no later than the tenth of the month following shipment] filed once per month for any month in which a shipment was made in a manner and form required by the commission and include the following information:
(1) The total amount of alcoholic beverages shipped into or within the state for the preceding month.
(2) The names and addresses of the purchasers to whom the alcoholic beverages were shipped.
(3) The date of purchase, if appropriate, the name of the common carrier used to make each delivery, and the quantity and retail value of each shipment.
(b) The commission may assess a $250 penalty for failure to report to the commission in a timely manner.
(c) Direct shippers shall maintain records for at least 3 years which will permit the commission to ascertain the truthfulness of the information filed and permit the commission to perform an audit of the direct shippers’ filings upon reasonable request. Wholesale shipments of any liquor or wine shall be permitted only in accordance with RSA 175:6.
300:5 New Paragraph; Fees. Amend RSA 178:29 by inserting after paragraph V-a the following new paragraph:
V-b.(a) Annual direct shipper permit fees:
(1) Wine manufacturers, $100.
(2) Importers, retailers, and wholesalers, $500.
(b) If a direct shipper made less than 5 shipments during the permit year, the commission shall, upon request of the direct shipper, refund a portion of the permit fee. The amount of the refund shall be equal to 20 percent of the fee paid multiplied by the difference between 5 and the number of shipments made.
300:6 Prohibited Sales. Amend RSA 179:5, I to read as follows:
I. No licensee, salesperson, direct shipper, common carrier, delivery agent, nor any other person, shall sell or give away or cause or allow or procure to be sold, delivered, or given away any liquor or beverage to a person under the age of 21 or serve an individual who is visibly intoxicated or who a reasonable and prudent person would know is intoxicated. For all deliveries of packages by common carrier or delivery agent marked “alcoholic beverages” or “alcoholic products,” the [addressee shall sign a delivery receipt] carrier shall obtain an adult signature. [In no case shall any section of this title be so construed as to permit sale of liquor or beverages in any so-called saloon or speakeasy.] A licensed carrier shall not transport any liquor, wine, or beverage that has been identified by the commission as originating from a person who does not hold a valid New Hampshire direct shipper permit, provided that such identification has first been provided to and received by the licensed carrier in writing. The commission shall notify carriers by mail on a monthly basis of the identity of unauthorized shippers, which notification shall be effective 15 days after such mailing.
300:7 New Paragraph; Purchase of Supplies. Amend RSA 179:32 by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:
III. The commission may, upon request, grant licensees permission to purchase product not otherwise available in New Hampshire from direct shipper permit holders.
300:8 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2011.
Approved: July 13, 2010
Effective Date: January 1, 2011