Florida alcoholic beverage license defense
Florida ABT Audit Defense Attorney
An ABT audit may begin with a request for records. The greater concern is what the Division may conclude from them—and what that conclusion could mean for your alcohol license.
Kafrouni Law represents Florida restaurants, bars, and alcoholic beverage licensees facing audit findings, disputed sales percentages, alcohol purchasing allegations, and potential regulatory enforcement. We evaluate the law, contest findings when warranted, and pursue available resolutions designed to protect your legal interests and business operations.
When the audit gets complicated
You know what records you have. What happens next is the legal question.
Many ABT audits are routine. A restaurant can often gather and submit an ordinary records request with help from its bookkeeper or accountant. An attorney becomes particularly important when the audit raises the possibility of a violation, an inaccurate finding, an unexpected licensing consequence, or disciplinary action.
Missing distributor invoices, purchases from retail stores, sales figures below an applicable SRX threshold, and missing records from a prior owner are not all the same legal issue. Each has different elements, defenses, and potential consequences.
Our role is not to recreate your accounting. It is to determine what the law requires, what the available evidence proves, what ABT may lawfully conclude, and which legal actions are available in response.
Our legal work
What Kafrouni Law Can Actually Do During an ABT Audit
Representation is tailored to the license type, records, findings, and stage of the matter. These are the legal interventions that may be available when an audit raises regulatory concerns.
Challenge an Unsupported Audit Conclusion
We examine the agency's legal basis, supporting records, applicable period, and alleged violation. When the evidence or law does not support a finding, we develop and present a reasoned challenge rather than simply accepting the auditor's conclusion.
Address Alleged 51% Revenue Violations
For restaurants subject to the statutory SRX requirement, we assess the relevant reporting period, legal classification of sales, and resulting license exposure. We challenge demonstrable errors and evaluate available licensing options when a shortfall is established.
Defend Recordkeeping and Alcohol Purchasing Allegations
Missing invoices and alcohol purchased from unauthorized sources can present separate issues. We identify which legal obligations apply, distinguish missing evidence from proven misconduct, evaluate asserted violations, and address supported corrective measures.
Examine Prior Ownership and License Responsibility
Where an audit covers time before a business sale, we examine the legal licensee, transaction structure, historical records, ownership filings, and the proper attribution of responsibility. A change in ownership does not automatically eliminate the licensed entity's obligations.
Prepare Mitigation and Seek Authorized Settlements
When discipline is legally at issue and settlement authority exists, we assess applicable penalty guidelines, present documented corrections and mitigation, and negotiate available terms. Not every violation is negotiable, and certain statutory consequences are mandatory.
Defend Administrative Complaints and License Actions
If an audit develops into formal enforcement, we evaluate the allegations, applicable deadlines and procedural rights, disciplinary exposure, hearing options, and settlement proposals, and provide representation in the applicable administrative process.
A realistic legal strategy
Not Every Deficiency Can Be Cured. Not Every Allegation Is Proven.
An attorney cannot turn inaccurate financial records into accurate ones, make an unlawful purchase lawful after the fact, or negotiate away a mandatory statutory consequence. But an audit finding still must rest on the correct law and sufficient evidence. Where the law allows discretion, well supported mitigation and a carefully structured resolution may matter.
We tell clients which issues can be contested, which facts require correction, and which outcomes may remain outside anyone's control.
From notice to resolution
How ABT Audit Representation Works
An audit notice, preliminary concern, and Administrative Complaint are different stages. We define the scope of representation around the stage and actual legal exposure—not an automatic promise of full litigation.
Identify the Actual Legal Exposure
Review the notice, confirm the license classification and relevant deadlines, identify the legal authority for material requests, and distinguish accounting issues from possible Beverage Law violations.
Engage With the Division Where Appropriate
Communicate with ABT as authorized counsel, clarify disputed requests or findings, address missing records accurately, and present supported legal positions. Ordinary financial reconstruction remains with the appropriate accounting professional.
Respond to Findings or Enforcement
Challenge unsupported allegations, evaluate mitigation, pursue an authorized negotiated resolution where available, and defend the licensee if ABT advances formal charges.
Answers for Florida licensees
Florida ABT Audit Questions
These questions arise frequently when a restaurant or bar receives an ABT audit notice, particularly where purchase records or SRX sales percentages may be disputed.
Do I need an attorney for a routine ABT audit?
Not necessarily. Many routine records requests can be handled by the licensee with a bookkeeper or accountant. Legal counsel is especially relevant where the Division alleges a violation, disputes license eligibility, seeks potentially consequential information, or initiates disciplinary action.
What happens if my restaurant does not meet the SRX 51% requirement?
For a restaurant license governed by section 561.20(2)(a)4., Florida Statutes, an established failure to meet the applicable qualifying revenue percentage during the covered operating period has mandatory licensing consequences. Counsel can examine whether that provision governs your license, whether ABT used the correct period and legally proper calculations, and whether any lawful alternatives are available. Special or local license provisions may differ.
What if I cannot find alcohol purchase invoices?
Determine which documents are actually missing and whether authentic copies can be obtained from distributors, former management, or other legitimate sources. Florida has recordkeeping requirements for beverage vendors. Missing records may create separate exposure, but the legal implications depend on the precise obligation and evidence. Do not backdate or fabricate records.
Can a restaurant buy alcohol at a retail store for resale?
Florida generally restricts vendor to vendor alcohol purchases, subject to a narrow statutory pool buying exception. Retail purchases for resale can therefore raise a regulatory problem even where receipts exist. The precise transactions and applicable law must be evaluated before responding to ABT.
What if the audit includes months before I purchased the restaurant?
The answer depends on whether the transaction involved an asset purchase, stock purchase, license transfer, or other change, as well as the identity of the licensed entity and relevant parties. Buying a business does not necessarily extinguish that entity's preexisting regulatory responsibilities.
Can an ABT attorney negotiate a penalty or settlement?
In an appropriate disciplinary matter, ABT's penalty guideline rule recognizes authorized settlement processes and mitigation. Availability depends on the alleged violation, the case stage, the applicable law, and agency authority. Some statutory licensing consequences cannot be resolved through discretionary penalty negotiations.
Does an ABT audit automatically mean my license is being revoked?
No. The Division performs routine compliance audits. An audit is not itself a finding of a violation or an order revoking a license. The risk depends on the license type, records, specific findings, and any ensuing regulatory action.
Applicable Florida law
ABT Audit and Disciplinary Authority
Relevant provisions may include section 561.20 (certain restaurant special licenses), section 561.55 (beverage records), section 561.14(3) (vendor classifications and alcohol acquisitions), section 561.29 (disciplinary and investigative authority), and Florida Administrative Code Rule 61A-2.022 (penalty guidelines).
Florida Statutes § 561.20 — Special restaurant license eligibility
Florida Statutes § 561.55 — Beverage recordkeeping
Florida Statutes § 561.14 — Vendor classifications and purchases
Florida Statutes § 561.29 — Regulatory proceedings and authority
Rule 61A-2.022, Florida Administrative Code — ABT penalty guidelines
The applicable law may vary with the license series, governing special or local acts, audit period, and facts of the particular matter.
KAFROUNI LAW PLLC · JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
Received an ABT Audit Notice—or a Finding You Disagree With?
Explain the notice, the license involved, the audit period, and any regulatory concerns already identified. Kafrouni Law can assess whether the matter calls for legal intervention and discuss an appropriate scope of representation.
Attorney Zeyna Kafrouni · Former Florida DBPR Senior Prosecutor· Florida Statewide Representation