Section 13.51. General prohibition

(a) Except as provided herein and in § 13.52 (relating to advertising novelties), no in-State or out-of-State manufacturer, licensee or group of licensees, their servants, agents or employees, may directly or indirectly, in person, individually or through a trade organization, contribute to or accept from another licensee or group of licensees of a different class, their servants, agents or employees or a trade organization of licensees of a different class, anything of value by means of advertisements, contributions, purchase, sale of tickets, donations or by any device, for any purpose.

(b) Manufacturers of alcoholic beverages and their servants, agents, employees or representatives are not prohibited from participating in the activities of conventions of State or National organizations of retail liquor licensees, or distributor or importing distributor malt beverage licensees. The participation shall be limited to the payment of registration fees entitling the registrant to admission to the convention, to the insertion of advertising in the convention program of the State or National convention and to the furnishing of food, beverages and entertainment to persons who are bona fide registrants at the conventions.

(c) This section does not prohibit an in-State or out-of-State manufacturer, licensee or trade organization from providing another in-State or out-of-State manufacturer, licensee or trade organization routine business entertainment as defined in § 13.1 (relating to definitions). The routine business entertainment shall be subject to the following conditions:

(1) Routine business entertainment shall be provided without a corresponding obligation on the part of the recipient to purchase alcoholic beverages or to provide any other benefit to the donor or to exclude or restrict from sale the products of any other licensee or in-State or out-of-State manufacturer.

(2) The donor, its servants, agents or employees shall accompany the recipient during routine business entertainment. When items such as tickets are donated by manufacturers to importing distributors for the ultimate use of retailers, the donor is considered to be the importing distributor and it is the importing distributor, or its servants, agents or employees, who shall accompany the retailer.

(3) Routine business entertainment that requires or includes an overnight stay is prohibited.

(4) No more than $800 may be spent in a calendar year on any recipient licensee.

(5) Included under the $800 yearly entertainment cap for a recipient licensee are the licensee, a spouse, employees and guests.

(6) Licensees, in-State manufacturers and out-of-State manufacturers shall keep complete and accurate records of all expenses incurred and all routine business entertainment received for 2 years. These records must contain the name of the recipient and donor of the entertainment, the type of routine business entertainment, the date and, in the case of a donor, the amount of expenditure for each occasion.

(d) After prior written agreement, manufacturers may reimburse importing distributors or distributors for the cost of affixing the manufacturers’ beer brand logos to importing distributors’ or distributors’ delivery vehicles.

(e) The sponsorship of a tasting upon a licensed premises will not be considered giving or accepting a thing of value.

The provisions of this § 13.51 adopted June 26, 1952; amended through April 24, 1970; amended October 2, 1998, effective October 3, 1998, 28 Pa.B. 4920; amended November 12, 2004, effective November 13, 2004, 34 Pa.B. 6139; amended March 5, 2010, effective March 6, 2010, 40 Pa.B. 1149. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (325016) to (325017).

Notation

Authority

The provisions of this § 13.51 amended under section 207(i) of the Liquor Code (47 P. S. § 2-207(i)).