Sec. 203.
(1) Except as provided in this section and section 301, a person shall not sell, deliver, or import alcoholic liquor, including alcoholic liquor for personal use, in this state unless the sale, delivery, or importation is made by the commission, the commission's authorized agent or distributor, an authorized distribution agent approved by order of the commission, a person licensed by the commission, or by prior written order of the commission.
(2) Notwithstanding R 436.1011(7)(b) and R 436.1527 of the Michigan administrative code and except as provided in subsection (11), a retailer shall not deliver alcoholic liquor to a consumer in this state at the home or business of the consumer or at any location away from the licensed premises of the retailer. The purpose of this subsection is to exercise the state of Michigan's authority under section 2 of amendment XXI of the constitution of the United States, to maintain the inherent police powers to regulate the transportation and delivery of alcoholic liquor, and to promote a transparent system for the transportation and delivery of alcoholic liquor. The regulation described in this subsection is considered necessary for both of the following reasons:
(a) To promote the public health, safety, and welfare.
(b) To maintain strong, stable, and effective regulation by having beer and wine sold by retailers to consumers in this state by passing through the 3-tier distribution system established under this act.
(3) For purposes of subsection (1), a direct shipper may sell, deliver, or import wine, to consumers in this state by means of any mail order, internet, telephone, computer, device, or other electronic means, or sell directly to a consumer on the winery premises. A direct shipper that sells, delivers, or imports wine to a consumer under this subsection shall comply with all of the following:
(a) Hold a direct shipper license.
(b) Pay any applicable taxes to the commission and pay any applicable taxes to the department of treasury as directed by the department of treasury. Upon the request of the department of treasury, a direct shipper shall furnish an affidavit to verify payment.
(c) Comply with all prohibitions of the laws of this state, including, but not limited to, sales to minors.
(d) Verify the age of the individual placing the order by obtaining from him or her a copy of a photo identification issued by this state, another state, or the federal government or by utilizing an identification verification service. The person receiving and accepting the order on behalf of the direct shipper shall record the name, address, date of birth, and telephone number of the individual placing the order on the order form or other verifiable record of a type and generated in a manner approved by the commission and provide a duplicate to the commission.
(e) Upon request of the commission, make available to the commission any document used to verify the age of the individual ordering or receiving the wine from the direct shipper.
(f) Stamp, print, or label on the outside of the shipping container that the package "Contains Alcohol. Must be delivered to a person 21 years of age or older." The recipient at the time of the delivery shall provide photo identification verifying his or her age along with a signature.
(g) Place a label on the top panel of the shipping container containing the direct shipper license number, the order number, the name and address of the individual placing the order, and the name of the designated recipient if different from the name of the individual placing the order.
(h) Direct ship not more than 1,500 9-liter cases, or 13,500 liters in total, of wine in a calendar year to consumers in this state. If a direct shipper, whether located in this state or outside this state, owns, in whole or in part, or commonly manages 1 or more direct shippers, it shall not in combination ship to consumers in this state more than 13,500 liters of wine in the aggregate.
(i) Pay wine taxes quarterly and report to the commission quarterly the total amount of wine, by type, brand, and price, shipped to consumers in this state during the preceding calendar quarter, and the order numbers.
(j) Authorize and allow the commission and the department of treasury to conduct an audit of the direct shipper's records.
(k) Consent and submit to the jurisdiction of the commission, the department of treasury, and the courts of this state concerning enforcement of this section and any related laws, rules, and regulations.
(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3), in the case of a sale, delivery, or importation of alcoholic liquor occurring by any means described in subsection (3), a person taking the order on behalf of the direct shipper shall comply with subsection (3)(c) through (g).
(5) A person that delivers the wine for a direct shipper under this section shall verify that the individual accepting delivery is 21 years of age or older and is the individual who placed the order or the designated recipient, is an individual 21 years of age or older currently occupying or present at the address, or is an individual otherwise authorized through a rule promulgated under this act by the commission to receive alcoholic liquor under this section. If the delivery person, after a diligent inquiry, determines that the purchaser or designated recipient is not 21 years age or older, the delivery person shall return the wine to the direct shipper. A delivery person who returns wine to the direct shipper because the purchaser or designated recipient is not 21 years of age or older is not liable for any damages suffered by the purchaser or direct shipper.
(6) All spirits for sale, use, storage, or distribution in this state, shall originally be purchased by and imported into the state by the commission, or by prior written authority of the commission.
(7) This section does not apply to alcoholic liquor brought into this state for personal or household use in an amount permitted by federal law by an individual 21 years of age or older at the time of reentry into this state from without the territorial limits of the United States if the individual has been outside the territorial limits of the United States for more than 48 hours and has not brought alcoholic liquor into the United States during the preceding 30 days.
(8) An individual 21 years of age or older may do either of the following in relation to alcoholic liquor that contains less than 21% alcohol by volume:
(a) Personally transport from another state, once in a 24-hour period, not more than 312 ounces of alcoholic liquor for that individual's personal use, notwithstanding subsection (1).
(b) Ship or import from another state alcoholic liquor for that individual's personal use if that personal importation is done in compliance with subsection (1).
(9) A direct shipper shall not sell, deliver, or import wine to a consumer unless it applies for and is granted a direct shipper license from the commission. This subsection does not prohibit wine tasting or the selling at retail by a wine maker of wines he or she produced and bottled or wine manufactured for that wine maker by another wine maker, if done in compliance with this act. Only the following persons qualify for the issuance of a direct shipper license:
(a) A wine maker.
(b) A wine producer and bottler located inside this country but outside of this state holding both a federal basic permit issued by the alcohol and tobacco tax and trade bureau and a license to manufacture wine in its state of domicile.
(10) An applicant for a direct shipper license shall submit an application to the commission in a written or electronic format provided by the commission and accompanied by an application and initial license fee of $100.00. The application shall be accompanied by a copy or other evidence of the existing federal basic permit or license, or both, held by the applicant. The direct shipper may renew its license annually by submission of a license renewal fee of $100.00 and a completed renewal application. The commission shall use the fees collected under this section to conduct investigations and audits of direct shippers. The failure to renew, or the revocation or suspension of, the applicant's existing Michigan license, federal basic permit, or license to manufacture wine in its state of domicile is grounds for revocation or denial of the direct shipper license. If a direct shipper is found guilty of violating this act or a rule promulgated by the commission, the commission shall notify both the alcoholic liquor control agency in the direct shipper's state of domicile and the alcohol and tobacco tax and trade bureau of the United States department of treasury of the violation.
(11) Except as otherwise provided under subsection (12), a retailer that holds a specially designated merchant license in this state; an out-of-state retailer that holds its state's substantial equivalent license; or a brewpub, micro brewer, or an out-of-state entity that is the substantial equivalent of a brewpub or micro brewer may deliver beer and wine to the home or other designated location of a consumer in this state if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) The beer or wine, or both, is delivered by the retailer's, brewpub's, or micro brewer's employee and not by an agent or by a third party delivery service.
(b) The retailer, brewpub, or micro brewer or its employee who delivers the beer or wine, or both, verifies that the individual accepting delivery is at least 21 years of age.
(c) If the retailer, brewpub, or micro brewer or its employee intends to provide service to consumers, the retailer, brewpub, or micro brewer or its employee providing the service has received alcohol server training through a server training program approved by the commission.
(12) A retailer that holds a specially designated merchant license in this state or an out-of-state retailer that holds its state's substantial equivalent license may utilize a third party that provides delivery service to municipalities in this state that are surrounded by water and inaccessible by motor vehicle to deliver beer and wine to the home or other designated location of that consumer if the delivery service is approved by the commission and agrees to verify that the individual accepting delivery of the beer and wine is at least 21 years of age.
(13) For purposes of subsection (1), a qualified micro brewer or an out-of-state entity that is the substantial equivalent of a qualified micro brewer may sell and deliver beer to a retailer in this state if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) The retailer is not located in a sales territory for which the qualified micro brewer has granted exclusive sales rights to a wholesaler pursuant to sections 401 and 403 for the sale of any brand or brands of beer produced by that micro brewer.
(b) The beer is sold and delivered by an employee of the qualified micro brewer, not an agent, and is transported and delivered utilizing a vehicle owned by the qualified micro brewer, not by a third party delivery service.
(c) The qualified micro brewer is in compliance with applicable state and federal law and applicable regulatory provisions of this act and rules adopted by the commission under this act including, but not limited to, those requirements related to each of the following:
(i) Employees that sell and deliver beer to retailers.
(ii) Vehicles used to deliver beer to retailers.
(iii) Price schedules and temporary price reductions.
(14) As used in this section:
(a) "Computer" means any connected, directly interoperable or interactive device, equipment, or facility that uses a computer program or other instructions to perform specific operations including logical, arithmetic, or memory functions with or on computer data or a computer program and that can store, retrieve, alter, or communicate the results of the operations to a person, computer program, computer, computer system, or computer network.
(b) "Computer network" means the interconnection of hardwire or wireless communication lines with a computer through remote terminals, or a complex consisting of 2 or more interconnected computers.
(c) "Computer program" means a series of internal or external instructions communicated in a form acceptable to a computer that directs the functioning of a computer, computer system, or computer network in a manner designed to provide or produce products or results from the computer, computer system, or computer network.
(d) "Computer system" means a set of related, connected or unconnected, computer equipment, devices, software, or hardware.
(e) "Consumer" means an individual who purchases wine for personal consumption and not for resale.
(f) "Device" includes, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, electrochemical, biochemical, hydraulic, optical, or organic object that performs input, output, or storage functions by the manipulation of electronic, magnetic, or other impulses.
(g) "Diligent inquiry" means a diligent good faith effort to determine the age of an individual, that includes at least an examination of an official Michigan operator's or chauffeur's license, an official Michigan personal identification card, or any other bona fide picture identification that establishes the identity and age of the individual.
(h) "Direct shipper" means a person who sells, delivers, or imports wine, to consumers in this state, that he or she produces and bottles or wine that is manufactured by a wine maker for another wine maker and that is transacted or caused to be transacted through the use of any mail order, internet, telephone, computer, device, or other electronic means, or sells directly to consumers on the winery premises.
(i) "Identification verification service" means any internet-based service approved by the commission specializing in age and identity verification.
(j) "Qualified micro brewer" means a micro brewer that produces in total less than 1,000 barrels of beer per year. In determining the 1,000-barrel threshold, all brands and labels of a micro brewer, whether brewed in this state or outside this state, shall be combined.
History: 1998, Act 58, Imd. Eff. Apr. 14, 1998 ;-- Am. 2000, Act 289, Imd. Eff. July 10, 2000 ;-- Am. 2005, Act 268, Imd. Eff. Dec. 16, 2005 ;-- Am. 2008, Act 474, Eff. Mar. 31, 2009 ;-- Am. 2014, Act 50, Imd. Eff. Mar. 25, 2014
Last modified: October 10, 2016