16 Tex. Admin. Code § 45.131 - Cash Law
(a) Purpose. This
rule implements §
102.31 of the
Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code (Code).
(b) Definitions. For purposes of this
section, the following terms have the meaning given in this subsection.
Cash equivalent--A financial transaction or instrument that is not
conditione(1)d on the availability of funds upon
presentment, including money order, cashier's check, certified check or
completed electronic funds transfer.
(2) Cash payment--United States currency and
coins, or a cash equivalent financial transaction or instrument.
(3) Event--A financial transaction or
instrument that fails to provide payment to a Retailer and results in one or
more incidents to one or more Sellers.
(4) Incident--One financial transaction or
instrument made by a Retailer that fails to provide payment in full for malt
beverages delivered by a Seller to the Retailer. Failure to submit payment also
constitutes an incident.
(5) Malt
beverages--A fermented beverage of any name or description containing one-half
of one percent or more of alcohol by volume, brewed or produced from malt, in
whole or in part, or from any malt substitute.
(6) Retailer--A license or permit holder and
their agents, servants and employees, authorized to sell malt beverages for on-
or off-premise consumption to an ultimate consumer.
(7) Seller--As used in this section means:
(A) the holder of a local distributor's
permit when selling malt beverages to a mixed beverage permittee or nonprofit
entity temporary event permittee, or an agent, servant, or employee of a local
distributor's permit holder when selling malt beverages to such
permittees;
(B) the holder of a
brewpub license when selling malt beverages to Retailers;
(C) the holder of a general or branch
distributor's license;
(D) the
holder of a brewer's self- distribution license under Chapter 62A of the Code;
and
(E) the agents, servants, and
employees of a license or permit holder identified in subparagraphs (A) - (D)
of this paragraph when selling malt beverages to a Retailer.
(c) Invoices. A
delivery of malt beverages by a Seller, to a Retailer, must be accompanied by
an invoice of sale showing the name and permit number of the Seller and the
Retailer, a full description of the malt beverages, the price, the place and
date of delivery.
(1) The Seller's copy of the
invoice must be signed by the Retailer to verify receipt of malt beverages and
accuracy of invoice and by the Seller to acknowledge payment was received on or
before the delivery.
(2) The Seller
and Retailer must retain invoices for four years from the date of
delivery.
(3) Invoices may be
created, signed and retained in an electronic or web-based inventory system,
and may be retained on or off the licensed premise, as long as the records can
be accessed from the licensed premise and made available to the commission
during normal business hours.
(d) Cash Payment Violation. A Retailer who
fails to make a cash payment to a Seller for the delivery of malt beverages
violates this section unless an exception applies.
(1) A Retailer who violates this section must
pay the amount due, and a Seller may accept payment, only in cash or cash
equivalent.
(2) For purposes of
this section, the Retailer includes all persons who are or were owners,
officers, directors, managers or shareholders of the Retailer at the time a
cash payment violation occurs.
(e) Reporting Violation and Payment; Failure
to Report.
(1) A report of a violation must be
submitted electronically on the forms provided on the commission's web-based
reporting system at https://www.tabc.texas.gov.
(2) A Seller who cannot access the
commission's web-based reporting system must either:
(A) submit a request for exception to submit
reports by paper; or
(B) contract
with another Seller or service provider to make electronic reports on behalf of
the Seller.
(3) All
reports of violations under this subsection must be made to the commission
within two business days from the date the violation is discovered by the
Seller.
(4) A Seller who fails to
report a violation as required by this subsection is in violation of this
section.
(f) Exception.
(1) A Retailer who wishes to dispute a
violation of this section, based on a good faith dispute between the Retailer
and the Seller, may submit supporting documents and a detailed written
statement to the commission with a copy to the Seller explaining the basis of
the dispute.
(2) The written
statement must be submitted with documents and/or other records tending to
support the Retailer's dispute, which may include:
(A) a copy of the front and back of the
cancelled check of Retailer showing endorsement and deposit by
Seller;
(B) bank statement or
records of bank showing funds were available in the account of Retailer on the
date the check was delivered to Seller; and
(C) bank statement or records showing:
(i) bank error or circumstances beyond the
control of Retailer caused the check to be returned to Seller unpaid;
or
(ii) the check cleared
Retailer's account and funds were withdrawn from Retailer's account in the
amount of the check.
(3) The Retailer must immediately submit a
notice of resolution of a dispute to the commission under this
subsection.
(g) Penalty
for Violation. An action to cancel or suspend a permit or license may be
initiated under the Code for one or more violations of this section. The
commission may consider whether a violation is the result of an event or
incident when initiating an action under this subsection.
(h) Calculation of Time. Sundays and legal
holidays are not counted in determining time periods under this
section.
Notes
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