Title 28

No manufacturer and no officer or director of any manufacturer shall, at the same time, be a wine wholesaler or retailer, or an officer, director or stockholder or creditor of any wine wholesaler or retailer, nor except as hereinafter provided, be the owner, proprietor or lessor …

No sign of any kind advertising table wine shall be displayed outside any retail place of business. Radio, television, newspaper, magazine, billboard and commercial vehicles used for transportation of table wine may be used to advertise table wine in accordance with rules and reg…

All laws or parts of laws which conflict or are inconsistent with this chapter are hereby repealed. The taxes imposed by Sections 28-3-200, 28-3-201, 28-3-202, 28-3-203 and 28-3-204 do not apply to the sale of table wine; provided, that, nothing herein contained shall be construe…

Table wine may be sold in any county in Alabama which is now wet or may hereafter be designated a wet county pursuant to law, as follows: (1) A licensed wine manufacturer may sell table wine to any wine wholesaler or importer licensed to sell wine or to the board; (2) A licensed …

The board shall have full and final authority, with the approval of the county or municipal governing body, to issue and renew licenses of wine retailers, wholesalers, importers and manufacturers to sell and handle table wine in this state. Licenses issued under this chapter to w…

Every applicant for a wine retailer’s or wholesaler’s license shall file a written application with the board in such form as the board may prescribe, which shall be accompanied by the appropriate license fee as prescribed in this chapter and, in the case of an original applicati…

Upon receipt of the application, the proper fees, the bond, if required, and upon being satisfied of the truth of the statements in the application and the applicant is a person of good repute the board shall grant and issue to the applicant a wine retailer’s or wine wholesaler’s…

Upon applicant’s compliance with Section 28-7-6, the board shall issue a wine retailer’s license for any retail outlet kept or operated by a wine retailer for the retail sale of table wines for off-premises consumption. (Acts 1980, No. 80-382, p. 505, §8.)

Upon applicant’s compliance with Section 28-7-6, the board shall issue to applicant a wine wholesaler’s license which will authorize the licensee to import and receive shipments of table wine from outside the state from licensed wine manufacturers, to purchase table wine from lic…

For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) BOARD. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. (2) LOCAL GOVERNING BODY. Any county or municipal commission, council or other governing body or any official of any county or municipality tha…

Any local governing body may, prior to October 1, 1988 or at any time thereafter, elect to authorize the board to audit and collect any and all taxes levied pursuant to Sections 28-3-190 and 28-7-16, upon the sale of any beer or table wine. Any local governing body may elect to r…

The taxes on beer or table wine levied pursuant to Sections 28-3-190 and 28-7-16, to be collected by any local governing body, except as provided in Section 28-7A-2, shall be paid when due in accordance with the applicable law to the board for the use and benefit of such local go…

Any provisions of this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding, the probate judge or any official or agent of any local governing body or any other person who, by statute applicable on October 1, 1988, receives a fee as a percentage of the tax for collecting such tax on beer or t…

The board shall prepare and distribute such reports, forms and other information as may be necessary for the collection and distribution of the said taxes. The board is authorized to promulgate all reasonable rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this cha…

The board shall have the authority to inspect, examine and audit the books and records of any wholesaler licensee who sells, stores or receives for the purpose of distribution, any alcoholic beverages, to verify the proper filing and to determine the accuracy of any state or loca…

Pursuant to the authority of this state under the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution, the policy and intent of the Legislature in the enactment of this chapter are to further regulate and control alcoholic beverage transactions in Alabama under the control a…

Each manufacturer or importer of alcholic beverages licensed by the board authorizing such licensee to sell its alcoholic beverages within the State of Alabama, whose alcoholic beverages are sold through wholesale licensees of the board to retail licensees of the board, shall des…

No provision of any territorial agreement shall, expressly or by implication, or in its operation, establish or maintain the resale price of any brand or brands of alcoholic beverages by the wholesaler. (Acts 1984, No. 84-374, p. 876, §3.)

No modification of either the designated sales territory or any territorial agreement shall be effective (i) until written notice thereof shall have been given by the manufacturer or importer to the wholesaler; (ii) until written notice thereof, together with the affidavit of the…

The wholesaler licensee designated as the exclusive wholesaler for a brand or brands within a designated territory must service retail licensees within that territory without discrimination, and shall service for the purpose of quality control all of the alcoholic beverages sold …

The board shall have the authority to inspect, examine and audit the books and records of any wholesaler licensee who sells, stores or receives for the purpose of distribution, any alcoholic beverages, to verify the proper filing and to determine the accuracy of any state or loca…

The words and phrases used in this chapter shall have the meanings ascribed to them in Section 28-3-1, and any acts amendatory thereof, supplementary thereto or substituted therefor. (Acts 1984, No. 84-374, p. 876, §7.)

(a) Unlawful acts and offenses. It shall be unlawful: (1) For any manufacturer or importer licensed by the board to sell its brand or brands of alcoholic beverages in the State of Alabama to any person, except through the board in the case of spirituous liquor and wine, other tha…

(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that this chapter is enacted pursuant to the authority granted to the state under the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution, the powers reserved to the state under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constituti…

(a) A wholesaler may not waive any of the rights granted in this chapter and the provisions of any agreement which would have such an effect shall be void. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to limit or prohibit good faith dispute settlements voluntarily entered into by t…

(a) If a supplier engages in conduct prohibited under this chapter, a wholesaler with which the supplier has an agreement may maintain a civil action against the supplier to recover actual damages reasonably incurred as the result of the prohibited conduct. If a wholesaler engage…

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) AGREEMENT. Any agreement between a wholesaler and a supplier, whether oral or written, whereby a wholesaler is granted the right to purchase and sell a brand or brands of wine sold by a supplier. …

(a) This chapter does not apply to regulation of beer franchises. (b) Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to repeal or amend wine franchise laws existing on August 1, 2021. This article is intended to provide wine franchise regulation for counties in which regulation does not…

Each supplier of wine licensed by the board to sell its wine within the State of Alabama shall sell its wine through wholesaler licensees of the board and shall grant in writing to each of its wholesalers an exclusive sales territory in accordance with Chapter 8. (Act 2021-419, §…

A supplier shall not do any of the following: (1) Fail to provide each wholesaler of the supplier’s brand or brands with a written agreement which contains in total the supplier’s agreement with each wholesaler, and designates a specific exclusive sales territory. Any agreement t…

A wholesaler shall not do any of the following: (1) Fail to devote reasonable efforts and resources, within its supplier-designated sales territory, to the sale and distribution of all the supplier’s brands of wine which the wholesaler has been granted the right to sell or distri…

(a) Notwithstanding any agreement and except as otherwise provided for in this chapter, a supplier shall not amend or modify an agreement; cause a wholesaler to resign from an agreement; or cancel, terminate, fail to renew, or refuse to continue under an agreement, unless, in any…

(a) Upon written notice of intent to transfer the wholesaler’s business, any individual owning or deceased individual who owned an interest in a wholesaler may transfer the wholesaler’s business to a designated member, or any other person who meets the nondiscriminatory, material…

(a) Except as provided for in this chapter, a supplier that has amended, modified, cancelled, terminated, or refused to renew any agreement; or has caused a wholesaler to resign from any agreement; or has interfered with, prevented, or unreasonably delayed, or where required by t…

The legislative intent and purpose of this chapter is to provide a structure for the business relations between a wholesaler and a supplier of beer. Regulation in this area is considered necessary for the following reasons: (1) To maintain stability and healthy competition in the…

(a) This chapter shall apply to agreements in existence on March 3, 1988, as well as agreements entered into or renewed after March 3, 1988. (b) A transferee of a wholesaler that continues in business as a wholesaler shall have the benefit of and be bound by all terms and conditi…

(a) If a supplier engages in conduct prohibited under this chapter, a wholesaler with which the supplier has an agreement may maintain a civil action against the supplier to recover actual damages reasonably incurred as the result of the prohibited conduct. If a wholesaler engage…

(a) The following words or phrases, or the plural thereof, whenever they appear in this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section: (1) AGREEMENT. Any agreement between a wholesaler and a supplier, whether oral…

Each supplier of beer licensed by the board authorizing such licensee to sell its beer within the State of Alabama shall sell its beer through wholesaler licensees of the board, and shall grant in writing to each of its wholesalers an exclusive sales territory in accordance with …

A supplier is prohibited from doing the following: (1) Fail to provide each wholesaler of the supplier’s brand or brands with a written agreement which contains in total the supplier’s agreement with each wholesaler, and designates a specific exclusive sales territory. Any agreem…

A wholesaler is prohibited from doing the following: (1) Fail to devote reasonable efforts and resources, within supplier’s designated sales territory, to the sale and distribution of all the supplier’s brands of beer which the wholesaler has been granted the right to sell or dis…

(a) Notwithstanding any agreement and except as otherwise provided for in this chapter, a supplier shall not: amend or modify an agreement; cause a wholesaler to resign from an agreement; or cancel, terminate, fail to renew, or refuse to continue under an agreement, unless the su…

(a) Upon written notice of intent to transfer the wholesaler’s business, any individual owning or deceased individual who owned an interest in a wholesaler may transfer the wholesaler’s business to a designated member, or to any other person who meets the nondiscriminatory, mater…

(a) Except as provided for in this chapter, a supplier that has amended, modified, canceled, terminated, or refused to renew any agreement; or has caused a wholesaler to resign from an agreement; or has interfered with, prevented or unreasonably delayed, or where required by this…

A wholesaler may not waive any of the rights granted in any provision of this chapter and the provisions of any agreement which would have such an effect shall be null and void. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to limit or prohibit good faith dispute settlements volunta…

This chapter may be cited as the “Alabama Responsible Vendor Act.” (Acts 1990, No. 90-525, p. 767, §1.)