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Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012

Sale and supply of alcohol generally - Licensing generally, requirements on licensees, and conditions - Restrictions on issue of off-licences

33: Determining whether premises are grocery store

You could also call this:

“How to tell if a shop is a grocery store”

To decide if a shop is a grocery store, you need to know what a food product is. A food product does not include alcohol, sweets, or food that is already prepared and ready to eat. It also does not include drinks, except for milk, that come in containers of one litre or less.

When you think of a grocery store, you think of a shop that sells a range of food and household items. The main business of the shop must be selling food products. You can look at the size and layout of the shop, what items are for sale, and how much money the shop makes to help you decide.

The people in charge of licensing can look at these things and decide if a shop is a grocery store or not. They can also think about other things that might be relevant to their decision. They might decide a shop is not a grocery store if it is missing some characteristics that most grocery stores have, or if it has characteristics that most grocery stores do not have.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3858100.

Topics:
Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection Business > Industry rules
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Part 2 Sale and supply of alcohol generally
Licensing generally, requirements on licensees, and conditions: Restrictions on issue of off-licences

33Determining whether premises are grocery store

  1. In this section,—

    food product—

    1. does not include—
      1. alcohol, confectionery, ready-to-eat prepared food, or snack food; or
        1. a drink (other than milk) sold in a container with a capacity of 1 litre or less; but
        2. includes delicatessen items that are not ready-to-eat prepared food or snack food

          grocery store means a shop that—

          1. has the characteristics normally associated with shops of the kind commonly thought of as grocery shops; and
            1. comprises premises where—
              1. a range of food products and other household items is sold; but
                1. the principal business carried on is or will be the sale of food products

                ready-to-eat prepared food—

                1. includes food for the time being declared by regulations under this Act to be ready-to-eat prepared food; and
                  1. does not include food for the time being declared by regulations under this Act not to be ready-to-eat prepared food

                    snack food—

                    1. includes food for the time being declared by regulations under this Act to be snack food; and
                      1. does not include food for the time being declared by regulations under this Act not to be snack food.

                      2. In forming for the purposes of this Act an opinion on whether any premises are a grocery store, the licensing authority or a licensing committee—

                      3. must have regard to—
                        1. the size, layout, and appearance of the premises; and
                          1. a statement of the annual sales revenues (or projected annual sales revenues) of the premises, produced in accordance with any regulations in force under this Act prescribing what information such statements must contain and how it must be set out; and
                            1. the number, range, and kinds of items on sale (or expected to be on sale) on the premises; and
                            2. may have regard to any other matters it thinks relevant; and
                              1. may determine that the premises do not have the characteristics normally associated with a shop of the kind commonly thought of as a grocery shop by virtue of characteristics that the premises and the items on sale there lack or will lack, characteristics that the premises and the items on sale there have or will have, or a combination of both.

                                1. Paragraph (a) of the definition in subsection (1) of food product is for the avoidance of doubt only, and does not extend the generality of the term.