Section 3-305 - Sales by Pennsylvania Liquor Stores(a) The board shall in its discretion determine where and what classes, varieties and brands of liquor and alcohol it shall make available to the public and where such liquor and alcohol will be sold. Every Pennsylvania Liquor Store shall be authorized to sell combination packages. If a person desires to purchase a class, variety or brand of liquor or alcohol not currently available from the board, he or she may place a special order for such item . A supplier of a special order may not refuse an order from a customer placing an order for one bottle of the item and may assess a surcharge on the order if the supplier otherwise requires a minimum quantity purchase. The board may require a reasonable deposit from the purchaser as a condition for accepting the order. The customer shall be notified immediately upon the arrival of the goods. In computing the retail price of such special orders for liquor or alcohol, the board shall not include the cost of freight or shipping before applying a mark-up that is equal to ten per centum of the cost of the product and taxes but shall add the freight or shipping charges to the price after the markup and taxes have been applied. In addition to the ten per centum mark-up, the board shall impose handling fees on special orders which come to rest at a store, in the same manner that it imposes them on the other alcohol that it sells.
A licensed importer or a licensed vendor may place special orders on behalf of customers and may deliver the orders to customers. The orders do not need to come to rest at a store, but delivery may not occur until payment for the order has been forwarded to the board and the board has authorized the delivery of the order. A handling fee may not be assessed by the board on an order delivered directly to a customer. Liability for special orders that do not come to rest at a store, shall, until the order is delivered to the customer, remain with the licensed importer or licensed vendor that placed the order on behalf of the customer. The board shall, by January 1, 2017, implement a procedure for processing special orders which do not come to rest at a store. The board may continue to accept special orders at its stores even after the procedure is implemented.
Unless the customer pays for and accepts delivery of any such special order within ten days after notice of arrival, the store may place it in stock for general sale and the customer's deposit shall be forfeited.
(a.1) The board may refuse to process a special order and preclude a vendor or importer from processing a special order, if it appears that the special order is for an item substantially similar to an item that is on the monthly list the board publishes under section 488(c) or if the board believes that demand for the item is such that it should be made available generally. If the processing of a special order is refused or precluded under this subsection, the item shall be made available through the board in the amount and manner the board deems appropriate.(a.2) The following shall apply: (1) Notwithstanding any provision of the law to the contrary, except as provided under paragraph (2), no product that meets the definition of a "ready-to-drink cocktail" may be sold as a special order.(2) A product that meets the definition of a "ready-to-drink cocktail" may be sold as a special order to licensees that do not possess a ready-to-drink cocktail permit if the products are not sold for off-premises consumption.(b) Every Pennsylvania Liquor Store shall sell liquors, including wine and ready-to-drink cocktails, at wholesale to hotels, restaurants, clubs, and railroad, pullman and steamship companies licensed under this act; and ready-to-drink cocktails to distributors and importing distributors that hold a ready-to-drink cocktail permit; and, under the regulations of the board, to pharmacists duly licensed and registered under the laws of the Commonwealth, and to manufacturing pharmacists, and to reputable hospitals approved by the board, or chemists. Sales to licensees shall be made at a price that includes a discount of ten per centum from the retail price; except that special order sales to licensees authorized in subsection (a) shall not be subject to the ten per centum discount. The board may sell to registered pharmacists only such liquors as conform to the Pharmacopoeia of the United States, the National Formulary, or the American Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia. The board may sell at special prices under the regulations of the board, to United States Armed Forces facilities which are located on United States Armed Forces installations and are conducted pursuant to the authority and regulations of the United States Armed Forces. All other sales by such stores shall be at retail, except that incentives, such as coupons or discounts on certain products, may be offered to unlicensed customers of the board as provided under sections 207(m) and 493(24)(ii)(B). A person entitled to purchase liquor at wholesale prices may purchase the liquor at any Pennsylvania Liquor Store upon tendering cash, check or credit card for the full amount of the purchase. For this purpose, the board shall issue a discount card to each licensee identifying such licensee as a person authorized to purchase liquor at wholesale prices. Such discount card shall be retained by the licensee. The board may contract through the Commonwealth bidding process for delivery to wholesale licensees at the expense of the licensee receiving the delivery.(b.1) The board may contract with a licensed transporter for hire through the Commonwealth bidding process for delivery to retail licensees and permit holders at the expense of the licensee or permit holder receiving delivery. Payment shall be by credit card or electronic fund transfer only and may occur no later than the time of delivery.(c) Whenever any checks issued in payment of liquor or alcohol purchased from State Liquor Stores by persons holding wholesale purchase permit cards issued by the board shall be returned to the board as dishonored, the board shall charge a fee of five dollars per hundred dollars or fractional part thereof, plus all protest fees, to the maker of such check submitted to the board. Failure to pay the face amount of the check in full and all charges thereon as herein required within ten days after demand has been made by the board upon the maker of the check shall be cause for revocation or suspension of any license issued by the board to the person who issued such check and the cancellation of the wholesale purchase permit card held by such person.(d) No liquor or alcohol package shall be opened on the premises of a Pennsylvania Liquor Store. No manager or other employe of the board employed in a Pennsylvania Liquor Store shall allow any liquor or alcohol to be consumed on the store premises, nor shall any person consume any liquor or alcohol on such premises, except liquor and alcohol which is part of a tasting conducted pursuant to the board's regulations. Such tastings may also be conducted in the board's headquarters or regional offices.(e) The board may sell tax exempt alcohol to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and to persons to whom the board shall, by regulation to be promulgated by it, issue special permits for the purchase of such tax exempt alcohol. Such permits may be issued to the United States or any governmental agency thereof, to any university or college of learning, any laboratory for use exclusively in scientific research, any hospital, sanitorium, eleemosynary institution or dispensary; to physicians, dentists, veterinarians and pharmacists duly licensed and registered under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; to manufacturing chemists and pharmacists or other persons for use in the manufacture or compounding of preparations unfit for beverage purposes.
(f) Every purchaser of liquor, alcohol, corkscrews, wine or liquor accessories, trade publications, gift cards, gift certificates, wine- or liquor-scented candles or wine glasses from a Pennsylvania Liquor Store shall receive a numbered receipt which shall show the price paid therefor and such other information as the board may prescribe. Copies of all receipts issued by a Pennsylvania Liquor Store shall be retained by and shall form part of the records of such store.(g) The board is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt and enforce appropriate rules and regulations to insure the equitable wholesale and retail sale and distribution, through the Pennsylvania Liquor Stores, of available liquor and alcohol at any time when the demand therefor is greater than the supply.(h) Every Pennsylvania Liquor Store shall sell gift certificates and gift cards which may be redeemed for any product sold by the board. In addition, the board may sell corkscrews, wine and liquor accessories, wine- or liquor-scented candles, trade publications and wine sleeves at Pennsylvania Liquor Stores.(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the board may sell wine in containers having a capacity of sixty liters or less (j) A Pennsylvania Liquor Store may continue to sell alcoholic cider and mead within the Pennsylvania Liquor Store's inventory after the effective date of this section until the alcoholic cider and mead within the Pennsylvania Liquor Store's current inventory is depleted. The board may not purchase additional alcoholic cider and mead after the effective date of this section.(k) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Act of August 26, 1971 (P.L.351, No.91), known as the "State Lottery Law," the following shall apply if the board becomes a licensed lottery sales agent, as set forth in section 305 of the State Lottery Law: (1) The Secretary of Revenue shall permit the board to operate and maintain Pennsylvania lottery instant ticket vending machines, player-activated terminals and technologies or systems subsequently approved by the Department of Revenue for the self- service sale of lottery tickets and games in Pennsylvania Liquor Stores. The board and the Secretary of Revenue shall mutually agree upon the number and location of the stores authorized to conduct self-service sales of lottery tickets and games.(2) The board shall not be required to post any type of bond prior to conducting self-service sales of lottery tickets and games.(3) Any commissions, compensation or any type of incentive award based upon the sale of lottery tickets and games shall be deposited by the board into the General Fund.Amended by P.L. (number not assigned at time of publication) 2024 No. 86,§ 2, eff. 9/16/2024.Amended by P.L. TBD 2016 No. 166, § 2, eff. 1/14/2017.Amended by P.L. TBD 2016 No. 39, § 3, eff. 8/7/2016.Amended by P.L. 1007 2012 No. 116, § 2, eff. 9/3/2012.1951, April 12, P.L. 90, art. III, § 305. Amended 1956, Feb. 17, P.L. (1955) 1078, § 1; 1965, Oct. 21, P.L. 642, No. 316, § 1; 1970, July 22, P.L. 538, No. 181, § 1; 1972, Oct. 11, P.L. 906, No. 215, § 2, imd. effective; 1974, June 17, P.L. 352, No. 115, § 1, imd. effective; 1974, Oct. 2, P.L. 668, No. 222, § 1, imd. effective; 1974, Oct. 4, P.L. 672, No. 224, § 1. Reenacted and amended 1987 , June 29, P.L. 32, No. 14, § 19, effective July 1, 1987. Amended 2002, Feb. 21, P.L. 103, No. 10, § 3, effective in 60 days; 2002, Dec. 9, P.L. 1653, No. 212, § 3, imd. effective; 2003 , May 8, P.L. 1, No. 1, § 2, imd. effective; 2003 , July 17, P.L. 63, No. 15, § 3, imd. effective; 2003, Dec. 30, P.L. 423, No. 59, § 4, imd. effective; 2004, Nov. 30, P.L. 1727, No. 221, § 2, imd. effective; 2004, Dec. 8, P.L. 1810, No. 239, § 4; 2005, July 6, P.L. 135, No. 39, § 1, effective in 60 days [Sept. 6, 2005].