Curbside Alcohol Delivery

New Online grocery pickup regulations ease restrictions for georgia's alcohol purchases
Thank you to our new Commissioner of Revenue, David Curry, for responding to the concerns of retailers wishing to offer beer and wine to their customers using an online grocery pickup (OGP) program. Penalties and procedures now mimic purchases made in the store. 
​To assist businesses throughout the state with their efforts to better meet customer demands, the Georgia Department of Revenue has repealed and replaced the curbside alcohol pickup regulations. Under the prior regulations, violations carried more severe penalties than other alcohol violations. The new regulations align the penalties of violations of curbside pickup with the penalties of other alcohol violations. 

In addition, businesses now have more flexibility in where they stage their pickup area in their parking lots to better meet their business needs. The updated regulations also allow package stores to provide their customers with curbside pickup services. 

Under the previous version of the regulation, the person who placed the order also had to pick it up.  The updated regulations now allow other people who are twenty-one and older to pick up on behalf of the person who places the order.

“This is one of the steps the Department of Revenue is taking to assist businesses with their customer service efforts throughout the state,” said Revenue Commissioner David Curry. “We want to ensure that we are working with businesses to help them accomplish their goals and better serve their customers.” 

Background
After the GFIA attended a series of meetings with the Georgia Department of Revenue and interested stakeholders over the last few years, the Department granted our request to allow curbside pick-up; however, complicated rules and very harsh penalties for violations prevented retailers from offering the service. The newest regulations will allow our retailers who offer a curbside program to better service their customers. 

The Department made it very clear that the new regulations do not include the delivery of alcoholic beverages. Also, the regulations say that a retailer may not knowingly transfer alcoholic beverages as part of an “online curbside pickup” service to an individual or business providing delivery for hire services.
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Major Changes
Any employee delivering alcoholic beverages to a vehicle for “online curbside pickup” must confirm that the individual receiving the alcoholic beverages is at least 21 years of age. This allows an employee to handle an online curbside pickup transaction using the same procedure as a transaction inside the store.
 
The former regulation required that the name of the purchaser registered on the account match the name on the driver’s license or other proper identification of the individual accepting delivery. The former regulation also required an employee to electronically record the age of the person accepting delivery.


The new regulations align the penalties of violations of curbside pickup with the penalties of other alcohol violations.  
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The former regulation called for the first violation of the grocery pick-up regulation to result in a license suspension for a period of one month.  A second violation of the grocery pick-up regulation within one year from the date of citation for a previous violation would have resulted in a license suspension for a period of one year. 
 
The new regulations take out these onerous penalties.

other Highlights
  • Except when prohibited by local ordinance, retailers may offer online “curbside pickup” of alcoholic beverages. Purchased goods must be delivered to the customer’s vehicle which must be located within a clearly designated pickup area located within a paved parking area adjacent to the Place of Business.

  • Alcoholic beverages sold as part of “curbside pickup” must be pulled from the inventory located at the licensed location of the Retailer providing the “online curbside pickup” and may not be pulled from the inventory of another Retailer or licensed location.
 
  • Purchasers of Malt Beverage and Wine pursuant to this regulation must be registered with the Retailer prior to ordering alcoholic beverages online for “curbside pickup.” 
We are available to answer any questions -
​contact GFIA President Kathy Kuzava at (770) 438-7744 or kkuzava@GFIA.org.