North Carolina § 18B-903 - Duration of permit; renewal and transfer.

§ 18B-903. Duration of permit; renewal and transfer.

Duration. - Once issued, ABC permits shall be valid for the following periods, unless earlier surrendered, suspended or revoked: On-premises and off-premises malt beverage, unfortified wine, and fortified wine permits; culinary permits; and all permits listed in G.S. 18B-1100 shall remain valid indefinitely; Limited special occasion permits shall be valid for 48 hours before and after the occasion for which the permit was issued; Special one-time permits issued under G.S. 18B-1002 shall be valid for the period stated on the permit; Temporary permits issued under G.S. 18B-905 shall be valid for 90 days; and All other ABC permits shall be valid for one year, from May 1 to April 30. Renewal. - Application for renewal of an ABC permit shall be on a form provided by the Commission. An application for renewal shall be accompanied by an application fee. The application fee shall be the same amount as the initial fee set in G.S. 18B-902, except that the renewal application fee for each wine shop permit shall be five hundred dollars ($500.00), and the renewal application fee for each mixed beverages permit and each guest room cabinet permit shall be one thousand dollars ($1,000). A renewal fee shall not be refundable. Registration. - Each person holding a malt beverage, fortified wine, or unfortified wine permit issued pursuant to G.S. 18B-902(d)(1) through G.S. 18B-902(d)(6) shall register by May 1 of each year on a form provided by the Commission, in order to provide information needed by the State in enforcing this Chapter and to support the costs of that enforcement. The registration required by this subsection shall be accompanied by an annual registration and inspection fee of four hundred dollars ($400.00) for each permit held. The fee shall be paid by May 1 of each year. A registration fee shall not be refundable. Failure to pay the annual registration and inspection fee shall result in revocation of the permit. Recycling Plan Required. - Each person holding an on-premises malt beverage permit, on-premises unfortified wine permit, on-premises fortified wine permit, or a mixed beverages permit shall submit, along with the annual registration or renewal application, either a current plan for the collection and recycling of all recyclable beverage containers of all beverages sold at retail on the premises, or an application for a waiver pursuant to G.S. 18B-902(h). Change in Ownership. - All permits for an establishment shall automatically expire and shall be surrendered to the Commission if: Ownership of the establishment changes; or There is a change in the membership of the firm, association or partnership owning the establishment, involving the acquisition of a twenty-five percent (25%) or greater share in the firm, association or partnership by someone who did not previously own a twenty-five percent (25%) or greater share; or Twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the stock of the corporate permittee owning the establishment is acquired by someone who did not previously own twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the stock. Construction of Change in Ownership. - Nothing in subsection (c) of this section shall be construed to limit alternating brewery proprietorships in which the holder of a brewery permit leases or otherwise makes available its facility to another holder of a brewery permit. In this arrangement, the tenant brewery shall maintain title to the malt beverages at all states of the brewing process and shall be responsible for all aspects associated with manufacturing the product, including maintaining appropriate records, obtaining label approval in its own name, and remitting the appropriate taxes. Alternating brewery proprietorships are authorized between affiliated breweries, but shall not be used as a means to allocate production quantities between affiliated breweries to obtain a malt beverage wholesaler permit pursuant to G.S. 18B-1104(a)(8) where either brewery would not otherwise qualify for a permit, and the Commission shall have no authority to grant an exemption to this requirement pursuant to G.S. 18B-1116(b). Change in Management. - A corporation holding a permit for an establishment for which the manager is required to qualify as an applicant under G.S. 18B-900(c) shall, within 30 days after employing a new manager, submit to the Commission an application for substitution of a manager. The application shall be signed by the new manager, shall be on a form provided by the Commission, and shall be accompanied by a fee of ten dollars ($10.00). The fee shall not be refundable. Transfer. - An ABC permit may not be transferred from one person to another or from one location to another. Lost Permits. - The Commission may issue duplicate ABC permits for an establishment when the existing valid permits have been lost or damaged. The request for duplicate permits shall be on a form provided by the Commission, certified by the permittee and the Alcohol Law Enforcement Division, and accompanied by a fee of ten dollars ($10.00). Name Change. - The Commission may issue new permits to a permittee upon application and payment of a fee of ten dollars ($10.00) for each location when the permittee's name or name of the business is changed. History (1971, c. 872, s. 1; 1975, c. 330, s. 1; c. 411, s. 4; 1981, c. 412, s. 2; c. 747, s. 57; 1983, c. 713, s. 106; 1989, c. 800, s. 8; 1991, c. 565, ss. 3, 7; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 920, s. 6; 1998-95, s. 30; 2002-126, s. 29A.13; 2004-203, s. 25(b); 2005-350, s. 2(c); 2007-402, s. 2(c); 2008-187, s. 7; 2009-105, s. 2; 2011-145, s. 19.1(n); 2014-100, ss. 16B.2(a), 17.1(xxx); 2015-98, s. 6; 2017-87, s. 16(c); 2019-203, s. 9(a).) Editor's Note. - For a prior provision similar to G.S. 18B-902(h), see S.L. 2007-402, s. 2(d). Session Laws 2017-87, s. 19(a), (b), provides: "(a) Except as otherwise provided, the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Commission shall adopt temporary rules to implement the provisions of this act. Temporary rules adopted in accordance with this section shall remain in effect until permanent rules that replace the temporary rules become effective. "(b) Any rule or policy adopted by the ABC Commission that does not comply with the provisions of this act shall be null, void, and without effect." Session Laws 2020-94, ss. 1, 2, as amended by Session Laws 2021-2, ss. 1, 2, and as amended by Session Laws 2021-105, s. 2, provide: "SECTION 1. Notwithstanding G.S. 18B-903, payment of the fee for renewal or registration of an ABC permit held by an ABC permittee that was subject to an order of closure pursuant to Section 8 of Executive Order No. 141, Easing Restrictions on Travel, Business Operations, and Mass Gatherings, during the 2020-2021 permit year shall not be required until October 1, 2021. "SECTION 2. Repealed by Session Laws 2021-2, s. 2, effective February 25, 2021." Session Laws 2021-2, s. 3, as amended by Session Laws 2021-105, s. 3, provides: "Any ABC permittee that (i) was subject to an order of closure pursuant to Section 8 of Executive Order No. 141, Easing Restrictions on Travel, Business Operations, and Mass Gatherings, (ii) is subject to any executive order limiting the full operation of the permittee in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and (iii) has paid a fee for renewal or registration of an ABC permit for the 2020-2021 permit year may request a refund of the fee from the ABC Commission. The request shall be made to the ABC Commission in writing, including by email or other electronic means. The refund shall be granted regardless of whether the permittee is operating at limited capacity pursuant to an executive order responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Notwithstanding G.S. 18B-903, any permit held by a permittee who receives a refund shall remain active. A permittee that receives a refund from the Commission pursuant to this section shall repay the fee on October 1, 2021, or within 10 business days thereafter. Any person who (i) held an ABC permit in the 2020-2021 permit year for a business that was subject to an order of closure pursuant to Section 8 of Executive Order No. 141, (ii) who paid the fee for renewal or registration of the permit, and (iii) surrendered the permit due to closure of the person's business may also request a refund and shall not be required to repay the fee." Session Laws 2021-2, s. 4, provides: "The ABC Commission shall reinstate or reactivate any ABC permits it cancelled or moved to inactive status as a result of its interpretation of Section 1 of S.L. 2020-94 as it existed prior to being amended by Section 1 of this act. In implementing this section, the Commission shall not require affected ABC permittees to submit an application or pay any fees required under G.S. 18B-902. Any permittee whose permit was cancelled or moved to inactive status in this manner and who paid the permit fee to have the permit reinstated or reactivated may request a refund pursuant to Section 3 of this act." Session Laws 2021-105, s. 1, provides: "Notwithstanding G.S. 18B-903, the ABC Commission shall defer payment of fees for the renewal or registration of an ABC permit for the period from May 1, 2021, through April 30, 2022, until October 1, 2021, and the ABC Commission, upon a permittee's submission to the ABC Commission of a current recycling plan pursuant to G.S. 18B-903(b2), shall renew or register without payment all of the following ABC permits that are active as of April 30, 2021: "(1) On-premises malt beverage permits issued pursuant to G.S. 18B-1001(1). "(2) On-premises unfortified wine permits issued pursuant to G.S. 18B-1001(3). "(3) On-premises fortified wine permits issued pursuant to G.S. 18B-1001(5). "(4) Mixed beverages permits issued pursuant to G.S. 18B-1001(10). "(5) Culinary permits issued pursuant to G.S. 18B-1001(11). "(6) Mixed beverages catering permits issued pursuant to G.S. 18B-1001(12). "(7) Guest room cabinet permits issued pursuant to G.S. 18B-1001(13). "(8) Wine-tasting permits issued pursuant to G.S. 18B-1001(15). "(9) Wine shop permits issued pursuant to G.S. 18B-1001(16). "(10) Malt beverage tasting permits issued pursuant to G.S. 18B-1001(18). "(11) Spirituous liquor tasting permits issued pursuant to G.S. 18B-1001(19). "(12) Antique spirituous liquor permits issued pursuant to G.S. 18B-1001(20). "(13) Common area entertainment permits issued pursuant to G.S. 18B-1001(21).” Session Laws 2021-105, s. 4, provides: "Any permittee who has paid a fee that was deferred pursuant to Section 1 of S.L. 2020-94, as amended by Section 1 of S.L. 2021-2, or Section 3 of S.L. 2021-2 may request a refund for the total amount of the fee. No later than 30 days from the date it receives a request authorized under this section, the ABC Commission, in collaboration with the Department of Public Safety, shall refund the total amount of the fee to the ABC permittee.” Session Laws 2021-105, s. 5, provides: "Any permittee requesting renewal or registration of a permit for which payment is not deferred by Section 1 of this act shall pay the fee required for that permit no later than April 30, 2022. The ABC Commission shall not cancel or move to inactive status any permit under this section unless payment is not received by April 30, 2022.” Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2004-203, s. 25(b), effective August 17, 2004, added the last two sentences in subsection (b1). Session Laws 2005-350, s. 2(c), effective September 7, 2005, inserted "the renewal application fee for each wine shop permit shall be five hundred dollars ($500.00), and" near the middle of the second sentence of subsection (b). Session Laws 2007-402, s. 2(c), effective August 21, 2007, added subsection (b2). Session Laws 2008-187, s. 7 amended subsection (b2) to add the subsection catchline, which was not included in Session Laws 2007-402, s. 2(c). Session Laws 2011-145, s. 19.1(n), effective January 1, 2012, substituted "Alcohol Law Enforcement Section" for "Alcohol Law Enforcement Division" in subsection (f). Session Laws 2014-100, s. 16B.2(a), effective July 1, 2014, in subsection (b), rewrote the second sentence as two sentences, and substituted "the same amount as the initial fee" for "twenty-five percent (25%) of the original application fee" and "one thousand dollars ($1,000)" for "seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00)"; and substituted "four hundred dollars ($400.00)" for "two hundred dollars ($200.00)" in the second sentence of subsection (b1). See Editor's note for applicability. Session Laws 2014-100, s. 17.1(xxx), effective July 1, 2014, substituted "Branch" for "Section" in subsection (f). Session Laws 2015-98, s. 6, effective June 19, 2015, added subsection (c1). Session Laws 2017-87, s. 16(c), effective June 30, 2017, substituted "G.S. 18B-1104(a)(8)" for "G.S. 18B-1104(8)" in subsection (c1). Session Laws 2019-203, s. 9(a), effective October 1, 2019, substituted "Division" for "Branch" in subsection (f).