As most of our members are aware by now, Act 166 of 2016 implemented a new reporting requirement for beer distributors. Section 455 of the Liquor Code now requires any person selling malt or brewed beverages at wholesale, and any person selling at retail malt or brewed beverages that were not sold at wholesale, to report to the PLCB the volume of the malt or brewed beverages sold. The monthly report, in the form and manner determined by the PLCB, must be made no later than 60 days after the end of each calendar month and must show product volumes broken down by brewer. If a D licensee sells multiple brands of malt or brewed beverages produced by the same manufacturer (e.g., MillerCoors, Boston Beer Company) the distributor is only required to report one number relative to all malt or brewed beverages made by that manufacturer, as opposed to reporting separate numbers for each of the brands. If the manufacturer of a particular brand is not known by the distributor, this information can be found by using the “Search for Registered Brands” tool available through the PLCB’s online regulatory system, PLCB+. All volumes must be reported in 31-gallon barrel equivalents (which may be rounded), regardless of the package size. The PLCB has interpreted sales of malt or brewed beverages made at “wholesale” under this new code section to mean sales to any other licensees or permittees. Therefore, any sales by distributors to licensees or permittees of the PLCB would be considered sales made at wholesale and must be reported. Please be advised that distributor licensees are not required to report retail sales (i.e., direct sales to non-licensed consumers) of malt and brewed beverages because such products were previously sold at wholesale in Pennsylvania.
You are, however, required to submit a monthly report even if you have no specific sales at “wholesale” to report for that month. All reports must be filed using the online regulatory system PLCB+ at https://plcbplus.pa.gov/pub/Login.aspx. If you have trouble navigating the PLCB+ system, you can call 1-844-717-5475 for assistance. Within 14 days of receiving the reports, the PLCB must post them on the internet for public view for a period of two years. These reports are accessible on the PLCB’s website, www.lcb.pa.gov, by placing your cursor over the “About” menu tab, selecting the link for “News and Reports,” and then selecting “Malt & Brewed Beverage Monthly Report.” The monthly reports are broken down by individual licensees. Additional information on these reporting requirements is attached.