Effective Tuesday, the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission adopted a new review process designed to speed the transfer of liquor licenses between buyers and sellers.
In the past, before taking possession of a liquor license – whether on-premise (a bar), off-premise (a liquor store) or special (a one-day license for an event) – a buyer or applicant needed an actual tax release.
Starting now, applicants can obtain a Certificate of Good Standing via the state Department of Revenue’s website.
Tax releases sometimes took up to six months, according to Atlantic License Brokers, which reported the change Wednesday.
Here’s the language from an ABCC release:
Effective May 28, 2013, applicants for an alcoholic beverages license will simply submit a DOR Certificate of Good Standing (COGS) with their application to the local licensing authorities. The COGS should then be included in the application forms forwarded to the ABCC by the local licensing authorities. Any applicant can obtain a COGS using the DOR website www.mass.gov/dor by following the links to the DOR’s online Certificate of Good Standing. The COGS will serve as the DOR release.
