(A) Levied. The city hereby imposes an inspection fee in the maximum amount allowed by T.C.A. § 57-3-501 on all licensed retailers of alcoholic beverages located within the corporate limits of the city.
(B) Invoices.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any wholesaler to supply, ship or otherwise deliver any alcoholic beverage to a licensee, and it shall be unlawful for any licensee to receive any alcoholic beverage, unless there shall be issued and delivered to the licensee by the wholesaler, currently with each shipment or delivery, an invoice showing:
(a) The date of the transaction;
(b) The name and address of the wholesaler and of the licensee;
(c) The brand name and quantity of alcoholic beverage covered by the invoice; and
(d) The unit wholesale price and the gross wholesale price for each item listed thereon.
(2) The wholesaler's invoice shall be issued and delivered to the licensee as hereinabove provided without regard to the terms of payment of the invoice so as to include all transactions whether for cash or on credit or partly for cash and partly on credit.
(C) Form for reports; rules and regulations. The City Clerk shall prepare and make available to each wholesaler or other source vending alcoholic beverages to licensees sufficient forms for the monthly report of inspection fees payable by each licensee making purchases from the wholesaler or other source; and the City Clerk is authorized to promulgate reasonable rules and regulations to facilitate the reporting and collection of inspection fees and to specify the records of the sales and fees to be kept by each wholesaler or other vending source.
(D) Collection. Collection of the inspection fee levied herein shall be made by the wholesaler or other source, vending to the licensee at the time the sale is made to the licensee, and in such case payment of the inspection fee by the collecting wholesaler or other source shall be made to the City Clerk on or before the fifteenth day of each calendar month. Nothing herein shall relieve the licensee of the obligation of the payment of the inspection fee, and it shall be the licensee's duty to see that the payment of the inspection fee is made to the City Clerk on or before the fifteenth day of each calendar month.
(E) Effect of failure to report and pay. The failure to pay the inspection fee and to make the required reports accurately and within the time prescribed in this chapter shall be reported by the Mayor to the State Alcoholic Beverage Commission as a violation of this chapter.
(F) Use of funds. All funds derived from the inspection fees imposed herein shall be paid into the General Fund of the city. The city shall defray all expenses in connection with the enforcement of this chapter, including particularly the payment of the compensation of officers, employees or other representatives of the city in investigating and inspecting licensees and applicants and in seeing that all provisions of this chapter are observed; the Board finds and declares that the amount of those inspection fees is reasonable and that the funds expected to be derived from these inspection fees will be reasonably required for those purposes.
(G) Supplemental nature. The inspection fee levied herein shall be in addition to any general gross receipts, sales or other general taxes applicable to the sale of alcoholic beverages and shall not be a substitute for the taxes.
(H) Inspections. The City Manager, City Clerk or the authorized representative of either of them are authorized to examine the books, papers and records of any licensee at any and all reasonable times for the purpose of determining whether the provisions of this chapter are being observed. The City Manager, the City Clerk, the Finance Director, the Chief of Police and any other police officer of the city is authorized to enter and inspect the premises of a liquor store at any time the liquor store is open for business. Any refusal to permit the examination of the books, papers and records of a licensee, or the inspection and examination of the premises of a liquor store shall be unlawful. The Mayor shall forthwith report the violation to the State Alcoholic Beverage Commission with the request that appropriate action be taken to revoke the license of the offending licensee.
(Ord. 1205, passed 11-17-2008)
Statutory reference:
Related provisions, see T.C.A. §§ 57-3-210(f), 57-3-210(h), 57-3-210(i)