The suspension was for just one day, but it was a warning shot from Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau, which said the action “clearly demonstrates TTB’s determination to put an end to anti-competitive practices that hurt law-abiding businesses and prevent consumers from enjoying a wide selection of products.”
TTB said that over the course of almost two years, Modus Operandi Cellars, LLC, engaged in consignment sales of wine to wholesalers who were not obligated to pay for the wine until after it had been sold to retailers.
Consignment sales arrangements, like other unlawful trade practices, are used to gain an unfair advantage over law-abiding industry members and ultimately limit consumer choice.
The Modus Operandi Cellars, LLC, investigation was part of the joint operation that TTB conducted with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control in March 2018.