Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 138, § 25A (2026)

Discrimination in prices and discounts prohibited

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 25A. No licensee authorized under this chapter to sell alcoholic beverages to wholesalers or retailers shall—

(a) Discriminate, directly or indirectly, in price, in discounts for time of payment or in discounts on quantity of merchandise sold, between one wholesaler and another wholesaler, or between one retailer and another retailer purchasing alcoholic beverages bearing the same brand or trade name and of like age and quality;

[There is no clause (b).]

All price lists or price quotations made to a licensee by a wholesaler shall remain in effect for at least thirty days after the establishment of such price list or quotation. Any sale by a wholesaler of any alcoholic beverages at prices lower than the price reflected in such price list or quotation within such thirty day period shall constitute price discrimination under this section.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 10 cases, 1976–2019 · leading case: Craft Beer Guild, LLC v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Comm'n, 117 N.E.3d 676 (Mass. 2019).

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Craft Beer Guild, LLC v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Comm'n, 117 N.E.3d 676 (Mass. 2019). · cites it 10× “After an investigation and evidentiary hearings, the commission determined that Craft had paid monetary rebates in differing amounts on craft beer purchases to certain licensed retailers in violation of G. L. c. 138, § 25A ( a ), which prohibits licensed wholesalers from…”

Canterbury Liquors & Pantry v. Sullivan, 999 F. Supp. 144 (D. Mass. 1998). · cites it 9× “Plaintiffs have sought a declaratory judgment that the portion of M.G.L. c. 138, § 25A, requiring that wholesale prices for liquor be established and maintained for 30 days, and the ABCC’s regulations implementing the challenged statutory provisions, 204 C.”

Whitehall Co. v. Merrimack Valley Distrib. Co., 780 N.E.2d 479 (Mass. App. Ct. 2002). · cites it 4× “93A, § 11, allows the plaintiff, a liquor wholesaler, to recover damages from a competing wholesaler who allegedly violated the price discrimination provisions of G. L. c. 138, § 25A, and from a retailer who allegedly sought and benefited from the discrimination.”

Sea Shore Corp. v. MA Wholesalers, 158 F.3d 51 (1st Cir. 1998). · cites it 3× “Plaintiffs sought: (1) a declaration that certain provisions of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 138, § 25A and related regulations, Mass.”

Canterbury Liquors & Pantry v. Sullivan, 16 F. Supp. 2d 41 (D. Mass. 1998). · cites it 4× “Count I seeks a declaration that M.G.L. c. 138, § 25A, which relates to the pricing of wholesale liquor, violates § 1 of the Sherman Act both on its face and as applied, and that it is not shielded from invalidation by the immunity doctrine enunciáted in Parker v.”

Whitehall Co. v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Comm'n, 389 N.E.2d 419 (Mass. App. Ct. 1979). · cites it 4× “(Whitehall Company), seeks reversal of a ruling by the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (commission) that a proposed discount to be offered by the company’s Whitehall-Cape Cod Division (Whitehall-Cape Cod), but not by its other two divisions, is discriminatory and in…”

J. & J. Enter., Inc. v. Martignetti, 341 N.E.2d 645 (Mass. 1976). “138, § 25; (d) has lent money to members of the group in further violation of § 25; and (e) has coerced wholesalers to give discounts in violation of G. L. c. 138, § 25A. The defendants’ advertising deceives the public as to the true ownership of their stores; their stores have…”

Miller Brewing Co. v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Comm'n, 780 N.E.2d 80 (Mass. App. Ct. 2002). · cites it 3× “The commission’s order followed its determination that, in violation of G. L. c. 138, § 25A, Miller had discriminated in the price of alcoholic beverages it sold to Massachusetts wholesalers, and, in violation of G.”

Mass. Fine Wines & Spirits, LLC v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Comm'n, 126 N.E.3d 970 (Mass. 2019). “In addition, G. L. c. 138, § 25A, forbids any licensee authorized to sell alcoholic beverages to wholesalers or retailers to "[d]iscriminate, directly or indirectly, in price, in discounts for time of payment or in discounts on quantity of merchandise sold, between one…”

Pastens Wine & Spirits Co. v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Comm'n, 518 N.E.2d 841 (Mass. 1988). “See G. L. c. 138, § 25A (“Any sale . . . within such thirty day period”); G.”

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