Section 4-415.1 - Ready-to-Drink Cocktail Permit(a)(1) The holder of a restaurant, hotel, distributor or importing distributor license may apply for a ready-to-drink cocktail permit. The board shall issue a ready-to-drink cocktail permit to the applicant if the applicant meets the requirements set forth in this act and the board's regulations and pays the appropriate fees.(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the ability of an existing licensee to operate within the scope of its current license as authorized by this act, except that no sales of ready-to-drink cocktails for off-premises consumption may take place by a ready-to-drink cocktail permit holder after eleven o'clock postmeridian. Sales by restaurant and hotel license holders may occur on Sundays from the time the licensee may legally begin to sell alcohol that day until eleven o'clock postmeridian if the licensee has a permit authorized under sections 406(a)(3) and 432(f). Sales by distributor and importing distributor license holders may occur on Sundays between the hours of nine o'clock antemeridian and nine o'clock postmeridian if the licensee has a permit authorized under section 492.1(c).(3) A ready-to-drink cocktail permit may not be issued to a license holder whose underlying license is subject to a pending objection by the director of the Bureau of Licensing or the board under section 470(a.1), until the matter is decided. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a holder of a ready-to-drink cocktail permit may continue to normally operate under the permit if its underlying license is operational, notwithstanding if the underlying license is objected to by the director of the Bureau of Licensing or the board under section 470(a.1).(4) If the board has approved the operation of another business which has an inside passage or communication to or with the licensed premises, the sale and purchase of ready-to-drink cocktails shall be confined strictly to the areas covered by the license. The payment for the purchase of goods obtained from the unlicensed area of the premises shall be permitted in the licensed area.(5) For purposes of selling ready-to-drink cocktails for off-premises consumption, a holder of a ready-to-drink cocktail permit is not subject to section 493(14).(6) A ready-to-drink cocktail permit holder shall comply with the responsible alcohol management provisions under section 471.1.(7) A ready-to-drink cocktail permit holder may store ready-to-drink cocktails in a noncontiguous area that is not accessible to the public and is:(i) locked at all times when not being accessed by the licensees' employees;(ii) not accessible to employees under eighteen years of age; and(iii) identified by dimensions and locations on forms submitted to the board.(8) A ready-to-drink cocktail permit holder shall utilize a transaction scan device to verify the age of an individual who appears to be under thirty-five years of age before making a sale of a ready-to-drink cocktail. A ready-to-drink cocktail permit holder may not sell or share data from the use of a transaction scan device, provided that the licensee may use the data to show the enforcement bureau of the board that the licensee is in compliance with this act. As used in this paragraph, the term "transaction scan device" means a device capable of deciphering, in an electronically readable format, the information encoded on the magnetic strip or bar code of an identification card under section 495(a).(9) A sale of ready-to-drink cocktails by a ready-to-drink cocktail permit holder shall be made through a register, which is located on the licensed premises, which is well designated with signage, which is staffed at all times when patrons are on the licensed premises. The actual sale shall be conducted by a person who is at least eighteen years of age and has been trained under section 471.1 and which utilizes a transaction scan device for the sale as set forth in paragraph (8). The sale of ready-to-drink cocktails may not occur at a point of sale where the customer scans the customer's own purchases. Sales of ready-to-drink cocktails must occur on the licensed premises.(10) If a ready-to-drink cocktail permit holder has an interior connection to another business that it operates, the permit holder may use one or more of the registers in the other business to sell ready-to-drink cocktails for off-premises consumption under the following conditions: (i) the building is eleven thousand (11,000) square feet or less;(ii) the registers are located in the same building as the licensed premises;(iii) the registers comply with the signage, staffing, training, carding, scanning and prohibition on the sharing of data provisions of paragraphs (8) and (9); and(iv) the board has been provided notice of compliance with this paragraph by the ready-to-drink cocktail permit holder, including square footage of the building and the location of the specific registers to be used prior to their use.(11) The registers used under paragraph (10) shall be deemed to be licensed areas but no formal application beyond notice to the board shall be required. The registers may be used by the other business.(b) The application and renewal fee for a ready-to-drink cocktail permit shall be as follows: (1) An initial application fee of two thousand and five hundred dollars ($2,500).(2) An annual renewal fee equal to two per centum of the cost of ready-to-drink cocktails purchased for off-premises consumption.(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 802, all fees paid to the board under this section shall be paid into the State Treasury for deposit as follows:(1) All moneys shall be deposited into the State Stores Fund.(2) Beginning June 1, 2025, and every June 1 thereafter, all moneys deposited under paragraph (1) shall be transferred to the General Fund.(d) A restaurant or hotel license holder that is also a ready-to-drink cocktail permit holder may sell for off-premises consumption, in a single transaction, up to one hundred ninety-two (192) fluid ounces. Ounces of ready-to-drink cocktails shall not be combined with wine or malt or brewed beverages for the purpose of calculating the sale restrictions applicable to each of those beverages. A distributor or importing distributor license holder that is also a ready-to-drink cocktail permit holder, may sell ready-to-drink cocktails, in any quantity. No ready-to-drink cocktail permit holder may sell ready-to-drink cocktails to a permit or license holder.(e)(1) Ready-to-drink cocktail permit holders shall comply with the provisions of section 201(f), (k) and (o) of the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6, No.2), known as the "Tax Reform Code of 1971," regarding the purchase of ready-to-drink cocktails from a Pennsylvania Liquor Store.(2) The sale of ready-to-drink cocktails by a ready-to-drink cocktail permit holder for off-premises consumption shall be considered a "purchase at retail" under section 201(f) of the "Tax Reform Code of 1971," a "sale at retail" under section 201(k) of the "Tax Reform Code of 1971" or a "use" under section 201(o) of the "Tax Reform Code of 1971."(3) A ready-to-drink cocktail permit holder may, when filing its required returns under Article II of the "Tax Reform Code of 1971," request a refund of any taxes paid in accordance with paragraph (1) for ready-to-drink cocktails sold for off-premises consumption and for which taxes were remitted to the department under paragraph (2). The request for a refund shall include the original receipt from a Pennsylvania Liquor Store showing the amount of taxes paid under paragraph (1) for which the taxpayer is requesting a refund.(4) The department shall refund the amount of taxes paid to a Pennsylvania Liquor Store by a ready-to-drink cocktail permit holder under paragraph (1) for which the taxpayer remitted taxes imposed under paragraph (2). The department may promulgate rules or regulations and prescribe forms as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this subsection.(f) A ready-to-drink cocktail permit holder may not sell ready-to-drink cocktail for off-premises consumption at a price less than the licensee's purchase price .(g) A ready-to-drink cocktail permit holder may not sell a private label product.(h) Holders of a ready-to-drink cocktail permit may also purchase ready-to-drink cocktails directly from a licensed Pennsylvania manufacturer for the purpose of reselling the ready-to-drink cocktail for off-premises consumption. (i) As used in this section, the term "licensed Pennsylvania manufacturer" shall mean an entity that holds an active limited distillery license or held an active limited distillery license prior to July 1, 2024, and subsequently acquired a distillery license.Added by P.L. (number not assigned at time of publication) 2024 No. 86,§ 4, eff. 9/16/2024.