BC adds new 'provisional sales' rules letting bars and restaurants buy liquor directly from retail licensees

Plain-language summary · AI-assisted · not legal advice

A new division in the Liquor Control and Licensing Regulation creates a framework for 'provisional' liquor sales between two groups of licensees. Retail store licensees (including licensee retail stores, wine stores, special wine stores, and rural licensee retail stores) may now sell liquor in unopened containers directly to licensed venues such as bars, restaurants, caterers, and manufacturers with lounge endorsements, without those buyers needing any extra authorization. The selling licensee must collect the buyer's licence number before completing a sale, create a record of the transaction, and give the buyer a record showing the seller's licence number. These provisional purchases and sales are excluded from the calculations used to determine annual licence renewal fees for both buyers and sellers. Purchases made through a delivery service are not permitted under this program. The entire provisional sales framework is scheduled to be automatically repealed on a future date set roughly three years out.

Who this affects: liquor primary licensees · food primary licensees · catering licensees · manufacturer licensees with lounge endorsements · licensee retail store and wine store operators