42.11.405    PRODUCT AVAILABILITY

(1) Liquor products will be made available for sale in the following classifications:

(a) Regular products will be designated in the department's quarterly price book and have sufficient supply maintained in the state liquor warehouse in accordance with ARM 42.11.421. An agent shall give an all-beverage licensee a reduction of eight percent off the posted price for purchasing regular products in unbroken case lots.

(b) Special order products that have sold at least one case in the prior 12 months will be published in the department's quarterly price book. An agent may not give an all-beverage licensee an eight percent discount for purchasing special order products in unbroken case lots.

(i) Inventories will be maintained in the state liquor warehouse in accordance with ARM 42.11.421 on the highest-selling 350 special order products based on case sales in the 12-month period prior to the department's quarterly review.

(ii) Inventories will not be maintained in the state liquor warehouse for all other special order products. These products will be available on an order-by-order basis and, depending on vendor requirements and availability, the order may take six weeks or more to be filled.

(A) A vendor with a vendor permit and at least one registered vendor representative may ship these products to the state liquor warehouse on a promotional contract. To seek approval for the shipment, the vendor must submit the request on a form prescribed by the department. The department shall notify the vendor upon approval. The promotional contract should state:

(I) that the product will be maintained in the state liquor warehouse;

(II) the test market locations proposed for the product and the expected initial order amount;

(III) the promotional strategy that the vendor and the vendor's registered representative will undertake during the six-month promotion period; and

(IV) a return address for excess product at the end of the promotional period.

(B) No additional vendor promotions will be allowed until excess product is removed from the state liquor warehouse. If arrangements have not been made to ship excess product back within 30 days of notification, product will be destroyed at the vendor's expense.

(c) Seasonal products are not published in the department's quarterly price book. The department will notify agency liquor stores when seasonal products become available. An agent may not give an all-beverage licensee an eight percent discount for purchasing seasonal products in unbroken case lots.

(d) Discontinued products are not published in the department's quarterly price book. Discontinued products are available until all inventories have been depleted. An agent is not required to give an all-beverage licensee an eight percent discount for purchasing discontinued products in unbroken case lots. An agent may sell discontinued products to licensees at or below the last price on file with the department and may sell discontinued products at any price to the general public.

History: 16-1-103, 16-1-303, MCA; IMP, 16-1-103, 16-1-302, 16-2-201, MCA; NEW, 1988 MAR p. 87, Eff. 1/15/88; AMD, 1990 MAR p. 1839, Eff. 9/28/90; AMD, 2001 MAR p. 348, Eff. 2/23/01; AMD, 2003 MAR p. 2899, Eff. 12/25/03; AMD, 2007 MAR p. 478, Eff. 4/13/07; AMD, 2011 MAR p. 451, Eff. 3/25/11; AMD, 2015 MAR p. 2093, Eff. 11/26/15; AMD, 2020 MAR p. 1745, Eff. 9/26/20.