Sec. 1. 28-A MRSA §708, as amended by PL 1997, c. 501, §1, is further amended to read:

§708. Prohibited discounts, rebates and brand sales

1. Certificate of approval holders. A certificate of approval holder may not offer to wholesale licensees any special discounts, volume discounts or other reduced prices or discounts, except bona fide price reductions under section 1408 offered to all wholesale licensees. A certificate of approval holder may offer depletion allowances to wholesale licensees if the depletion allowance is posted in accordance with section 1408. A certificate of approval holder may not offer any free merchandise, rebate or gift to the purchaser of an alcoholic beverage.

A certificate of approval holder may not offer to wholesale licensees any brand or label that would by nature be handled by a single licensee or a restricted group of licensees.__All such brands approved for sale must be available to all retail licensees for resale to consumers.__When the affected wholesaler has a brand on allocation, all retail licensees must be allowed, on a percentage basis, to purchase the allocated brand.

2. Wholesale licensees. A wholesale licensee may not offer to retail licensees any special discounts, volume discounts, depletion allowances, other reduced prices or discounts, or refunds except bona fide price reductions under section 1408 offered to all retail licensees. A wholesale licensee may not offer any free merchandise, rebate, refund or gift to the purchaser of an alcoholic beverage.

3. Retail licensees. A retail licensee may not offer any free merchandise, rebate or gift to the purchaser of any alcoholic beverage.

5. Combination packages. Notwithstanding subsection 3, agency liquor store licensees may offer for sale any package or combination of packages of spirits that the commission has approved for sale in state liquor stores.

This section does not prohibit a certificate of approval holder from including a mail-in offer, a certificate or merchandise in a package of beer, wine or low-alcohol spirits for sale by an off-premise retailer. The package containing the mail-in offer, certificate or merchandise must be packaged by the certificate of approval holders at the brewery or winery.