Section 67-1-41 - Department of Revenue as a wholesale distributor and seller of alcoholic beverages; exception to department's exclusive right to sell at wholesale; shipment of wine purchased from winery by individual resident to in-state package retailer; payment of associated taxes, fees, surcharges; procedure(1) The department is hereby created a wholesale distributor and seller of alcoholic beverages, not including malt liquors, within the State of Mississippi. It is granted the right to import and sell alcoholic beverages at wholesale within the state, and no person who is granted the right to sell, distribute or receive alcoholic beverages at retail shall purchase any alcoholic beverages from any source other than the department, except as authorized in subsections (4), (9) and (12) of this section. The department may establish warehouses, and the department may purchase alcoholic beverages in such quantities and from such sources as it may deem desirable and sell the alcoholic beverages to authorized permittees within the state including, at the discretion of the department, any retail distributors operating within any military post or qualified resort areas within the boundaries of the state, keeping a correct and accurate record of all such transactions and exercising such control over the distribution of alcoholic beverages as seem right and proper in keeping with the provisions or purposes of this article.(2) No person for the purpose of sale shall manufacture, distill, brew, sell, possess, export, transport, distribute, warehouse, store, solicit, take orders for, bottle, rectify, blend, treat, mix or process any alcoholic beverage except in accordance with authority granted under this article, or as otherwise provided by law for native wines or native spirits.(3) No alcoholic beverage intended for sale or resale shall be imported, shipped or brought into this state for delivery to any person other than as provided in this article, or as otherwise provided by law for native wines or native spirits.(4) The department may promulgate rules and regulations which authorize on-premises retailers to purchase limited amounts of alcoholic beverages from package retailers and for package retailers to purchase limited amounts of alcoholic beverages from other package retailers. The department shall develop and provide forms to be completed by the on-premises retailers and the package retailers verifying the transaction. The completed forms shall be forwarded to the department within a period of time prescribed by the department.(5) The department may promulgate rules which authorize the holder of a package retailer's permit to permit individual retail purchasers of packages of alcoholic beverages to return, for exchange, credit or refund, limited amounts of original sealed and unopened packages of alcoholic beverages purchased by the individual from the package retailer.(6) The department shall maintain all forms to be completed by applicants necessary for licensure by the department at all district offices of the department.(7) The department may promulgate rules which authorize the manufacturer of an alcoholic beverage or wine to import, transport and furnish or give a sample of alcoholic beverages or wines to the holders of package retailer's permits, on-premises retailer's permits, native wine or native spirit retailer's permits and temporary retailer's permits who have not previously purchased the brand of that manufacturer from the department. For each holder of the designated permits, the manufacturer may furnish not more than five hundred (500) milliliters of any brand of alcoholic beverage and not more than three (3) liters of any brand of wine.(8) The department may promulgate rules disallowing open product sampling of alcoholic beverages or wines by the holders of package retailer's permits and permitting open product sampling of alcoholic beverages by the holders of on-premises retailer's permits. Permitted sample products shall be plainly identified "sample" and the actual sampling must occur in the presence of the manufacturer's representatives during the legal operating hours of on-premises retailers.(9) The department may promulgate rules and regulations that authorize the holder of a research permit to import and purchase limited amounts of alcoholic beverages from importers, wineries and distillers of alcoholic beverages or from the department. The department shall develop and provide forms to be completed by the research permittee verifying each transaction. The completed forms shall be forwarded to the department within a period of time prescribed by the department. The records and inventory of alcoholic beverages shall be open to inspection at any time by the Director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division or any duly authorized agent.(10) The department may promulgate rules facilitating a retailer's on-site pickup of alcoholic beverages sold by the department or as authorized by the department, including, but not limited to, native wines and native spirits, so that those alcoholic beverages may be delivered to the retailer at the manufacturer's location instead of via shipment from the department's warehouse.(11)[Through June 30, 2026] This section shall not apply to alcoholic beverages authorized to be sold by the holder of a distillery retailer's permit or a festival wine permit.(11)[From and after July 1, 2026] This section shall not apply to alcoholic beverages authorized to be sold by the holder of a distillery retailer's permit.(12)(a) An individual resident of this state who is at least twenty-one (21) years of age may purchase wine from a winery and have the purchase shipped into this state so long as it is shipped to a package retailer permittee in Mississippi; however, the permittee shall pay to the department all taxes, fees and surcharges on the wine that are imposed upon the sale of wine shipped by the department or its warehouse operator. No credit shall be provided to the permittee for any taxes paid to another state as a result of the transaction. Package retailers may charge a service fee for receiving and handling shipments from wineries on behalf of the purchasers. The department shall develop and provide forms to be completed by the package retailer permittees verifying the transaction. The completed forms shall be forwarded to the department within a period of time prescribed by the department.(b) The purchaser of wine that is to be shipped to a package retailer's store shall be required to get the prior approval of the package retailer before any wine is shipped to the package retailer. A purchaser is limited to no more than ten (10) cases of wine per year to be shipped to a package retailer. A package retailer shall notify a purchaser of wine within two (2) days after receiving the shipment of wine. If the purchaser of the wine does not pick up or take the wine from the package retailer within thirty (30) days after being notified by the package retailer, the package retailer may sell the wine as part of his inventory.(c) Shipments of wine into this state under this section shall be made by a duly licensed carrier. It shall be the duty of every common or contract carrier, and of every firm or corporation that shall bring, carry or transport wine from outside the state for delivery inside the state to package retailer permittees on behalf of consumers, to prepare and file with the department, on a schedule as determined by the department, of known wine shipments containing the name of the common or contract carrier, firm or corporation making the report, the period of time covered by said report, the name and permit number of the winery, the name and permit number of the package retailer permittee receiving such wine, the weight of the package delivered to each package retailer permittee, a unique tracking number, and the date of delivery. Reports received by the department shall be made available by the department to the public via the Mississippi Public Records Act process in the same manner as other state alcohol filings. Upon the department's request, any records supporting the report shall be made available to the department within a reasonable time after the department makes a written request for such records. Any records containing information relating to such reports shall be kept and preserved for a period of two (2) years, unless their destruction sooner is authorized, in writing, by the department, and shall be open and available to inspection by the department upon the department's written request. Reports shall also be made available to any law enforcement or regulatory body in the state in which the railroad company, express company, common or contract carrier making the report resides or does business.
Any common or contract carrier that willfully fails to make reports, as provided by this section or any of the rules and regulations of the department for the administration and enforcement of this section, is subject to a notification of violation. In the case of a continuing failure to make reports, the common or contract carrier is subject to possible license suspension and revocation at the department's discretion.
(d) A winery that ships wine under this section shall be deemed to have consented to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state, of the department, of any other state agency regarding the enforcement of this section, and of any related law, rules or regulations.(e) Any person who makes, participates in, transports, imports or receives a shipment in violation of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or both. Each shipment shall constitute a separate offense.(13) If any provision of this article, or its application to any person or circumstance, is determined by a court to be invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions shall be construed in accordance with the intent of the Legislature to further limit rather than expand commerce in alcoholic beverages to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the state's residents, and to enhance strict regulatory control over taxation, distribution and sale of alcoholic beverages through the three-tier regulatory system imposed by this article upon all alcoholic beverages to curb relationships and practices calculated to stimulate sales and impair the state's policy favoring trade stability and the promotion of temperance.Codes, 1942, § 10265-18; Laws, 1966, ch. 540, § 18; Laws, 1976, ch. 467, § 15; Laws, 1988, ch. 397, § 1; Laws, 1990, ch. 479, § 1; Laws, 1992, ch. 574, § 1; Laws, 1994, ch. 538, § 2; Laws, 1998, ch. 413, § 1; Laws, 1999, ch. 408, § 1; Laws, 2006, ch. 352, § 3; Laws, 2006, ch. 529, § 4, eff. 4/3/2006.Amended by Laws, 2023, ch. 533, HB 252,§ 2, eff. 7/1/2023.Amended by Laws, 2022, ch. 483, SB 2844,§ 15, eff. 7/1/2022.Amended by Laws, 2021, ch. 454, SB 2435,§ 2, eff. 7/1/2021.Amended by Laws, 2021, ch. 388, SB 2606,§ 11, eff. 7/1/2021.Amended by Laws, 2020, ch. 422, HB 1088,§ 1, eff. 1/1/2021.Amended by Laws, 2018, ch. 453, HB 995,§ 4, eff. 7/1/2018.