Virginia Code 4.1-324: Illegal sale or keeping of alcoholic beverages by licensees; penalty
A. No licensee or any agent or employee of such licensee shall:
Attorney's Note
Under the Virginia Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 misdemeanor | up to 12 months | up to $2,500 |
Terms Used In Virginia Code 4.1-324
- Alcohol: means the product known as ethyl or grain alcohol obtained by distillation of any fermented liquor, rectified either once or more often, whatever the origin, and shall include synthetic ethyl alcohol, but shall not include methyl alcohol and alcohol completely denatured in accordance with formulas approved by the government of the United States. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Alcohol vaporizing device: means any device, machine, or process that mixes any alcoholic beverages with pure oxygen or other gas to produce a vaporized product for the purpose of consumption by inhalation. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Alcoholic beverages: includes alcohol, spirits, wine, and beer, and any one or more of such varieties containing one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume, including mixed alcoholic beverages, and every liquid or solid, powder or crystal, patented or not, containing alcohol, spirits, wine, or beer and capable of being consumed by a human being. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Beer: means any alcoholic beverage obtained by the fermentation of an infusion or decoction of barley, malt, and hops or of any similar products in drinkable water and containing one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Board: means the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Bottle: means any vessel intended to contain liquids and having a capacity of not more than 43 ounces. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Container: means any barrel, bottle, carton, keg, vessel, or other receptacle used for holding alcoholic beverages. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Farm winery: means (i) an establishment or cooperative located in the Commonwealth on land zoned agricultural that has (a) a vineyard, orchard, or similar growing area that produces fruits or other agricultural products used to manufacture the wine of such farm winery, subject to the requirements set forth in § 4. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Licensee: means any person to whom a license has been granted by the Authority. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- Residence: means any building or part of a building or structure where a person resides, but does not include any part of a building that is not actually and exclusively used as a private residence, nor any part of a hotel or club other than a private guest room thereof. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Restaurant: means , for a wine and beer license or a limited mixed beverage restaurant license, any establishment provided with special space and accommodation, where, in consideration of payment, meals or other foods prepared on the premises are regularly sold. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Sangria: means a drink consisting of red or white wine mixed with some combination of sweeteners, fruit, fruit juice, soda, or soda water that may also be mixed with brandy, triple sec, or other similar spirits. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- sell: includes soliciting or receiving an order for; keeping, offering or exposing for sale; peddling, exchanging or bartering; or delivering otherwise than gratuitously, by any means, alcoholic beverages. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Spirits: means any beverage that contains alcohol obtained by distillation mixed with drinkable water and other substances, in solution, and includes, among other things, brandy, rum, whiskey, and gin, or any one or more of the last four named ingredients, but shall not include any such liquors completely denatured in accordance with formulas approved by the United States government. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Wine: includes any wine to which wine spirits have been added, as provided in the Internal Revenue Code, to make products commonly known as "fortified wine" which do not exceed an alcohol content of 21 percent by volume. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
1. Sell any alcoholic beverages of a kind other than that which such license or this subtitle authorizes him to sell;
2. Sell beer to which wine, spirits or alcohol has been added, except that a mixed beverage licensee may combine wine or spirits, or both, with beer pursuant to a patron’s order;
3. Sell wine to which spirits or alcohol, or both, have been added, otherwise than as required in the manufacture thereof under Board regulations, except that a mixed beverage licensee may (i) make sangria that contains brandy, triple sec, or other similar spirits and (ii) combine beer or spirits, or both, with wine pursuant to a patron’s order;
4. Sell alcoholic beverages of a kind which such license or this subtitle authorizes him to sell, but to any person other than to those to whom such license or this subtitle authorizes him to sell;
5. Sell alcoholic beverages which such license or this subtitle authorizes him to sell, but in any place or in any manner other than such license or this subtitle authorizes him to sell;
6. Sell any alcoholic beverages when forbidden by this subtitle;
7. Keep or allow to be kept, other than in his residence and for his personal use, any alcoholic beverages other than that which he is authorized to sell by such license or by this subtitle;
8. Sell any beer to a retail licensee, except for cash, if the seller holds a brewery, bottler’s or wholesale beer license;
9. Sell any beer on draft and fail to display to customers the brand of beer sold or misrepresent the brand of any beer sold;
10. Sell any wine for delivery within the Commonwealth to a retail licensee, except for cash, if the seller holds a wholesale wine or farm winery license;
11. Keep or allow to be kept or sell any vaporized form of an alcoholic beverage produced by an alcohol vaporizing device;
12. Keep any alcoholic beverage other than in the bottle or container in which it was purchased by him except: (i) for a frozen alcoholic beverage; and (ii) in the case of wine, in containers of a type approved by the Board pending automatic dispensing and sale of such wine; or
13. Establish any normal or customary pricing of its alcoholic beverages that is intended as a shift or device to evade any “happy hour” regulations adopted by the Board; however, a licensee may increase the volume of an alcoholic beverage sold to a customer if there is a commensurate increase in the normal or customary price charged for the same alcoholic beverage.
B. Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
C. Neither this section nor any Board regulation shall prohibit an on-premises restaurant licensee from using alcoholic beverages that the licensee otherwise is authorized to purchase and possess for the purposes of preparing and selling for on-premises consumption food products with a final alcohol content of more than one-half of one percent by volume, as long as such food products are sold to and consumed by persons who are 21 years of age or older.
Code 1950, § 4-60; 1970, c. 360; 1974, c. 460; 1984, c. 603; 1993, c. 866; 1998, c. 238; 2006, c. 714; 2008, cc. 513, 629, 875.