Title 25, Alcoholic Beverages. [Enacted title]

(a) Only a licensee under a manufacturer’s, wholesaler’s, or common carrier’s license, or retailer’s license under a validly issued import permit shall transport, import, bring, or ship or cause to be transported, imported, brought, or shipped into the District from outside the D…

(a) As required by subsection (b) of this section, each holder of a retailer’s license shall maintain upon the licensed premises, either physically or electronically, records of canceled importation permits and of invoices and delivery slips that, as determined by ABCA, fully sho…

(a) The sale or delivery of alcoholic beverages to the following persons is prohibited: (1) A person under 21 years of age, either for the person’s own use or for the use of any other person, except as provided in § 25-784(b); or (2) An intoxicated person, or any person who appea…

(a)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the licensee under an off-premises retailer’s license, class A, shall not permit a person under 18 years of age to enter the licensed establishment between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on any day in which the public…

(a) A licensee shall refuse to sell, serve, or deliver an alcoholic beverage to any person who, upon request of the licensee, fails to produce a valid identification document. (b) A licensee or his agent or employee shall take steps reasonably necessary to ascertain whether any p…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a licensee shall not allow any person under 21 years of age to sell, give, furnish, or distribute an alcoholic beverage. (b) A licensee may allow an employee who is 18 years of age or older to sell, serve, deliver, or pour…

(a) A person who is not a licensee shall not, within the District, purchase an alcoholic beverage for the purpose of delivering the alcoholic beverage to a person who is under 21 years of age. (b) A person who is a licensee shall not, within the District, offer, give, provide, or…

(a) A licensee with a game of skill machine endorsement shall: (1) Not allow or permit a person under 18 years of age to play a game of skill machine and shall designate an employee to regularly monitor the designated area where game of skill machines are played to ensure that no…

(a)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, no licensee shall be civilly liable to an injured person or the person's estate for any injury to the individual or damage to any property because of the intoxication of a person due to the sale, service, or delivery …

(a)(1) If a licensee closes the licensed premises or ceases to operate at the licensed premises for 21 or more calendar days, the licensee shall immediately notify the Board in writing of the closure or cessation of operation and surrender the license for safekeeping. The license…

(a) The holder of an on-premises retailer's license or a manufacturer's license, class A, B, or C, possessing an on-site sales and consumption permit may rent out or provide the licensed establishment for use by a third party or promoter for a specific event; provided, that the l…

(a) For the purposes of this section, the term: (1) Agreement means a written contract, including provisions for the staffing requirement of the reimbursable details in accordance with subsection (c) of this section, and compensation of the MPD by the licensee when reimbursable d…

(a) The Board shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this title with respect to licensees and with respect to any person not holding a license and selling alcohol in violation of the provisions of this title. (b) Subject to subsection (c) of this section, ABCA inve…

(a) An applicant for a license, and each licensee, shall allow any member of the Board, any ABCA investigator, or any member of the Metropolitan Police Department full opportunity to examine, at any time during business hours: (1) The premises where an alcoholic beverage is manuf…

If a search warrant is issued by any judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia or by a United States Magistrate for the District of Columbia for premises where any alcoholic beverages are manufactured for sale, kept for sale, sold, or consumed in violation of this t…

(a) In accordance with procedures that the Mayor shall establish, the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, the Office of Tax and Revenue, and the Fire and Emergency Medical Services shall promptly notify the Board if a licensed establishment is the subject of a citati…

(a) Any building, ground, or premises where an alcoholic beverage is manufactured, sold, kept for sale, or permitted to be consumed in violation of this title shall be a nuisance. (b) An action to enjoin any nuisance defined in subsection (a) of this section may be brought in the…

(a) Except as provided in § 25-826, the Board shall not revoke or suspend a license until the licensee has been given an opportunity to be heard in his or her defense. (b) If a license is revoked or suspended, no part of the license fee shall be returned. (c) If the Board revokes…

(a) The Board shall revoke the license of a licensee as a result of any of the following events during the period for which the license was issued: (1) The licensee has been convicted of multiple violations of the terms of this title or the regulations issued under this title and…

(a) The Board may fine, as set forth in the schedule of civil penalties established under § 25-830, and suspend, or revoke the license of any licensee during the license period if: (1) The licensee violates any of the provisions of this title, the regulations promulgated under th…

(a) If a manufacturer of alcoholic beverages, whether licensed by this title or not, shall have such a substantial interest, whether direct or indirect, in the business of a wholesale or retail licensee or in the premises on which the licensee’s business is conducted as, in the j…

If a wholesaler of alcoholic beverages, whether licensed under this title or not, shall have such a substantial interest, whether direct or indirect, in the business of any retail licensee or in the premises on which the licensee’s business is conducted as may tend to influence t…

(a) If the Board, after an investigation, but before a hearing, has cause to believe that a licensee has been evicted from the premises or has otherwise vacated the premises and an application for safekeeping or transfer to a new location or person has not been submitted, the Boa…

(a) If the Board determines, after investigation, that the operations of a licensee present an imminent danger to the health and safety of the public or that the licensee or its agent has assaulted an ABCA investigator or a member of the Metropolitan Police Department during the …

(a) The Chief of Police may request the suspension or revocation of a license if the Chief of Police determines that there is a correlation between increased incidents of crime within 1,000 feet of the establishment and the operation of the establishment. The determination shall …

(a) If the Board orders the suspension or revocation of a license, the Board shall post 2 notices in conspicuous places at or near the main street entrance of the outside of the establishment. (b) The posted notice shall state that the license has been suspended, the period of th…

(a) If the Board or the Mayor, after investigation but before a hearing, has cause to believe that a person is violating any provision of this title and the violation has caused, or may cause, immediate and irreparable harm to the public, the Board or the Mayor may issue an order…

(a) Within 90 days after May 3, 2001, the Board shall submit proposed regulations setting forth a schedule of civil penalties (“schedule”) for violations of this title to the Council for a 90-day period of review, including Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, and periods of Council rec…

(a) A person who violates any of the provisions of this title, or regulations under this title, for which no specific penalty is provided shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than the amount set forth in [§ 22-3571.01], or…

(a) ABCA shall provide a licensee with either an investigative report or a public police incident report that may result in a show cause hearing as set forth in § 25-447 within 90 days of the date upon which the incident occurred. (b) The requirement in subsection (a) of this sec…

(a) A licensee or the licensee's employees shall not knowingly: (1) Misrepresent the brand of any alcoholic beverage sold or offered for sale; (2) Keep any alcoholic beverage other than in the bottle or container in which it was purchased; (3) Refill or partly refill any bottle o…

(a) It shall be unlawful for a person to sell or offer to sell powdered alcohol. (b) A licensee under either an on-premises or off-premises retailer's license shall not offer for sale powdered alcohol to a customer. (c) A person who violates this section shall be fined an amount …

(a) It shall be unlawful for a person to willfully or knowingly alter, forge, counterfeit, or endorse a document, or make use of any false or misleading document, reasonably calculated to deceive the public as being a genuine document or license issued by ABCA. (b) It shall be un…

(a) The following license holders shall be required to file and maintain a written and compliant security plan with the Board: (1) Nightclubs; and (2) Any other license holder that the Board, in its discretion, requires that the license holder submit a written security plan. (b) …

There shall be levied, collected, and paid on all of the following alcoholic beverages (1) manufactured by the licensee under a manufacturer’s license, (2) imported or brought into the District by a licensee under a wholesaler’s license, except alcoholic beverages as may be sold …

(a) There shall be levied, collected, and paid a tax of $2.79 on every barrel of beer containing not more than 31 gallons, and at the same rate for any other quantity or for the fractional parts thereof, on all beer that is: (1) Sold by the licensee under a manufacturer’s or whol…

(a) Taxes on alcoholic beverages shall be collected by, and paid to, the Deputy Chief Financial Officer for Tax and Revenue of the Office of Tax and Revenue, or any successor (“OTR Director”) and shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Distric…

The Board shall not issue an importation permit until the taxes imposed by this chapter have been paid for the alcoholic beverages for which the permit is requested.

(a) In the case of a passenger-carrying marine vessel operating in and beyond the District or a club car or a dining car on a railroad operating in and beyond the District for which a retailer’s license has been issued under this title, the tax as specified in § 25-901 shall be p…

No tax shall be levied and collected on any alcoholic beverage exempt from tax under the laws of the United States, or on any alcohol sold for nonbeverage purposes by the licensee under a manufacturer’s or wholesaler’s license in accordance with the regulations promulgated by the…

(a) The Mayor shall determine, redetermine, assess, or reassess any tax imposed under this chapter, as follows: (1) In the case of a fraudulent return or a failure to file a return, whether in good faith or otherwise, the tax may be assessed at any time. (2) If the tax is determi…

(a) The taxes imposed by this chapter and penalties and interest thereon shall be collected by the OTR Director in the manner provided by law for the collection of taxes due to the District on personal property in force at the time of such collection. The liens for the taxes impo…

(a) If any tax has been erroneously or illegally collected by the District, the tax shall be refunded if application under oath is filed with the OTR Director for such refund within 3 years from the payment of the tax. (b) The application shall be made by the person upon whom the…

A person aggrieved by a final determination of tax or by a denial of a claim for refund (other than a refund of tax finally determined in § 25-909) may, within 6 months from the date of assessment of the deficiency or from the date of the denial of a claim for refund, appeal to t…

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 25-803, if the taxes levied and imposed on alcoholic beverages by this chapter which have not been paid as required by this chapter, such alcoholic beverages shall be declared contraband goods and shall be forfeited to the District in accor…

(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, no person in the District shall drink an alcoholic beverage or possess in an open container an alcoholic beverage in or upon any of the following places: (1) A street, alley, park, sidewalk, or parking area; (2) A…