18B-1115. Commercial transportation.

(a) Permit Required. - Unless a person holds a permit which otherwise allows him to transport more than 80 liters of malt beverages other than draft malt beverages in kegs, 50 liters of unfortified wine, or eight liters of fortified wine or spirituous liquor, or is a retailer authorized to transport alcoholic beverages under G.S. 18B-405, each person transporting alcoholic beverages in excess of those quantities shall have the permit described in this section.

(b) When Transportation Legal. - No person may obtain a permit under this section to transport spirituous liquor unless the transportation is for delivery to a federal reservation over which North Carolina has ceded jurisdiction to the United States, for delivery to an ABC store, or for transport through this State to another state.

(c) Common Carriers. - Railroad companies and other common carriers having regularly established schedules of service in this State may transport alcoholic beverages into, out of, and between points in this State without a permit. Those companies shall keep accurate records of the character, volume and number of containers transported and shall allow the Commission and alcohol law-enforcement agents to inspect those records at any time. The Commission may require common carriers to make reports of shipments.

(d) Motor Vehicle Carriers. - Alcoholic beverages may be transported over the public highways of this State by motor vehicle carriers under the following conditions:

(1) The carrier shall notify the Commission of the character of the alcoholic beverages it will transport and of its authorization from the appropriate regulatory authority.

(2) The carrier shall obtain, at no charge, a fleet permit from the Commission authorizing the transportation.

(3) The driver or person in charge of each vehicle transporting alcoholic beverages shall possess a copy of the carrier's fleet permit certified by the carrier to be an exact copy of the original.

(4) The driver or person in charge of each vehicle transporting alcoholic beverages shall possess a bill of lading, invoice or other memorandum of shipment showing the name and address of the person from whom the alcoholic beverages were received, the character and contents of the shipment, the quantity and volume of the shipment, and the name and address of the person to whom the alcoholic beverages are being shipped.

(5) The driver or person in charge of each vehicle transporting the alcoholic beverages shall display all documents required by this section upon request of any law-enforcement officer. Failure to produce these documents or failure of the documents to disclose clearly and accurately the information required by this section shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section.

(6) Each carrier shall keep accurate records of character, volume and number of containers transported and shall allow the Commission and alcohol law-enforcement agents to inspect those records at any time. The Commission may require carriers to make reports of shipments.

(e) Transportation of Spirituous Liquor. - In addition to the requirements of subsection (d), motor vehicle carriers engaged in transporting spirituous liquor shall:

(1) Deposit with the Commission a surety bond for one thousand dollars ($1,000) conditioned that the carrier will not unlawfully transport spirituous liquor into or through this State. The bond, which shall be approved by the Commission, shall be payable to the State of North Carolina. If the bonded carrier is convicted of a violation covered by the bond, the proceeds of the forfeited bond shall be paid to the school fund of the county in which the liquor was seized.

(2) Include in its bill of lading, invoice or other memorandum of shipment the North Carolina code numbers of the spirituous liquor being transported.

(3) Include in its bill of lading, invoice or other memorandum of shipment the route which the vehicle will follow, and the vehicle shall not vary substantially from that stated route.

(f) Malt Beverages and Wine Transported by Boats. - The owner or operator of any boat may transport malt beverages, unfortified wine and fortified wine over the waters of this State if he satisfies all requirements of subsection (d).

(g) State Warehouse Carrier. - The Commission may exempt a carrier for the State or a local board warehouse from any of the requirements of this section provided that it determines that the requirements of this section are otherwise satisfied.