Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board Imposes Bailment Fee

At a regular monthly board meeting on July 16, 2025, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) voted unanimously to impose a $1/case bailment fee on product received in distribution centers after January 1, 2026. The first notice of this new fee was in the meeting agenda issued July 14. Wine Institute, the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S., American Distilled Spirits Alliance, Diageo and the Pennsylvania Wine & Spirits Association testified in strong opposition to the proposal.

According to PLCB, the new fee will not change the conditions on those products already in bailment and will apply to the 43 vendors of record (brokers and suppliers) currently participating in the bailment program. The existing bailment system, consisting of a penalty structure for overstocking and understocking will remain in place, as will existing handling fees commonly known as the LTMF. Revised bailment agreements reflecting the new fee will be sent to venders of record in August to be signed and returned to PLCB by Oct. 17. Cost/retail price change requests resulting from new bailment fees must be submitted by suppliers to PLCB between July 19 and August 3, 2025. Price changes after that should be submitted on established timelines. Please review this LCB summary with current details of the program that was released July 17. We will monitor the rollout of these new fees and share answers to other questions as we obtain them.