Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0100-03-.13 - CONDUCT OF BUSINESS - WHOLESALER AND RETAILER

(1) All Licensees Must Keep Records Available Three (3) Years. Each licensee shall keep, for at least three (3) years, all purchase orders, invoices, and all other records of all purchases and sales of alcoholic beverages made by such licensee. All such orders, invoices, and all other books and records pertaining to the licensee's operation shall be open for inspection to any authorized representative of the Alcoholic Beverage Commission or Department of Revenue during business hours and failure to make such available shall be deemed cause for revocation of his license. For the purposes of this paragraph, electronic records are sufficient if they are readily available and easily accessible.

(2) Business Management Restricted. Every licensed wholesale or retail business shall be managed by the holder of the license, if an individual, or by a partner or corporate officer, in the event that the business is operated by a partnership or corporation. In every case where alcoholic beverages at wholesale or retail are sold by a partnership or corporation, the managing partner or corporation officer in active control and management of the business shall be designated to the Commission.

(3) Hours Licensees May Remain Open. Wholesalers and Retailers may remain open for business between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. by the time zone and system in effect in the city where the store is located.

(4) Storage Limited to Ground Floor of Licensed Premises. No wholesaler or retailer shall store alcoholic beverages at any place other than the ground floor constituting his licensed premises without written permission of the Commission.

(5) No Wholesaler May Store for Retailer. No wholesaler shall store alcoholic beverages for a retail dealer without written approval of the Commission.

(6) No Retailer May Store for Another Retailer. No retailer shall store alcoholic beverages belonging to another retail licensee.

(7) A retailer shall not sell alcoholic beverages to an individual whom the retailer should reasonably believe is reselling such alcoholic beverages not permitted by law.

(8) Contests Involving Alcoholic Beverages Prohibited. No manufacturer, wholesaler, nonresident seller, non-manufacturer non-resident seller, retailer, or representative or employee thereof may:

(a) Sponsor or conduct a contest in which alcoholic beverages are offered as prizes, premiums, or rewards;

(b) Offer as a prize, premium, or reward any alcoholic beverages; or

(c) Directly or indirectly aid or assist in the promotion of a contest involving alcoholic beverages which is conducted or sponsored by any person not a licensee.

(d) Notwithstanding the foregoing, a manufacturer, wholesaler, non-resident seller, non-manufacturer non-resident seller, or retailer may sponsor or conduct a contest in which alcoholic beverages are offered as prizes, premiums, or rewards for their own employees.

(9) Gift Certificates. Tennessee-licensed retailers may sell gift certificates or gift cards to consumers. No gift card shall be honored, accepted, or sold to anyone visibly intoxicated. No gift card shall be honored or accepted from anyone under the age of twenty-one (21) for the purchase of alcoholic beverages or beer. Such practices will be deemed to be a violation.

(10) Refusal of Cooperation. Any licensee who refuses to open or disclose records to, or furnish information to, or who furnishes false and/or misleading information to an agent of the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission upon any matter relating to or arising out of the conduct of the licensed premises shall subject the license to revocation or suspension.

(11) Open Access to Licensed Premises Without Warrant. Immediate access, without a warrant, to all parts of a licensed premise shall at all times be accorded agents or representatives of the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

(12) Licensee Responsible for Law and Order on Licensed Premises. Each licensee will maintain the licensed establishment in a decent, orderly, and respectable manner and in full compliance with federal statutes, Tennessee laws, Commission rules and regulations, and local ordinances and laws in the municipality and/or county where licensed premises are located. Licensees remain responsible for complying with this rule if the licensed owner or operator rents, leases, or otherwise permits another to occupy the licensed premises.

(13) Not withstanding any provisions herein, a retailer may accept a tentative order for alcoholic beverages from consumers by telephone, e-mail, facsimile transmission, or other electronic means, provided, however, the retailer maintains a record, written or electronic, of the items tentatively ordered for a period of thirty (30) days following the actual purchase of the items.

(14) A retail package store may sell or deliver alcoholic beverages or supply, deliver, and install products authorized to be sold by the retailer pursuant to T.C.A. § 57-3-406(j).

(15) Any government-issued document that has expired shall not be deemed to be "valid" for purposes of T.C.A. § 57-3-406(d), and as such, a retailer may not sell alcoholic beverages to a person who has not provided an unexpired government-issued document that meets the requirements of T.C.A. § 57-3-406(d).

(16) A retailer, whose primary purpose for existing is to sell alcoholic beverages, is restricted from operating on Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter.

Notes

Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0100-03-.13

Original paragraphs (1) and (3) certified by the Alcoholic Beverage Commission June 7, 1974. Original paragraph (2) certified by the Department of Revenue June 7, 1974. Original paragraph (4) filed October 22, 1975; effective January 14, 1976. Amendment by Public Chapter 261; effective July 1, 1983. Repeal and new rules filed March 10, 2010; effective June 8, 2010. Amendment filed December 18, 2015; effective March 17, 2016. Repeal and new rules filed January 25, 2019; to have become effective April 25, 2019. However, the Government Operations Committee filed a 60-day stay of the effective date of the rules; new effective date June 24, 2019. Amendments filed February 9, 2024; effective 5/9/2024.

Authority: T.C.A. §§ 57-1-201, 57-1-209, 57-3-104, 57-3-202, 57-3-203, 57-3-404, 57-3-406, and 57-4-108.