The new bond exemption is for wineries that expect to have not more than $50,000 in excise taxes imposed in calendar year 2017. Additionally, to qualify for the exemption wineries must have been liable or no more than $50,000 in federal excise taxes in 2016. Because eligibility for the bond exemption depends in part on a taxpayer’s expected tax liability, taxpayers who are eligible for the bond exemption and who want to operate without a bond must notify TTB and obtain TTB approval. New applicants must notify TTB that they are eligible for the bond exemption during the initial application process. Existing taxpayers who wish to apply for the bond exemption must do so by amending their permit.

TTB amended its application forms (including the online equivalents submitted using TTB’s Permits Online system) to allow taxpayers to notify TTB that they are eligible for the bond exemption and request TTB approval to operate without a bond. For more efficient processing, TTB recommends that taxpayers who have previously applied using Permits Online, as well as all new applicants, use Permits Online to submit applications and amendments. Existing taxpayers who are not yet users of Permits Online should file this amendment by paper application. TTB cannot begin processing an existing taxpayer’s bond termination request until it receives the taxpayer’s final tax payments covering any remaining excise taxes incurred in 2016.

For more information or if you have specific questions please contact Michael Kaiser at mkaiser@nullwineamerica.org or 202-223-5172

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WineAmerica is the national voice the American wine industry. Based in Washington, D.C., WineAmerica represents wineries in 43 states and leads a coalition of state and regional wine and grape associations. As an industry leader, WineAmerica encourages the dynamic growth and development of American wineries and winegrowing through the advancement and advocacy of sound public policy.

10.11.16

If you submit your TTB COLA approvals through the TTB online portal (and we highly suggest that you do) you will notice some changes in the system. COLA’s Online has recently been updated. The goal of the changes is to prevent labels from being returned for correction. The TTB is always looking to improve and streamline the approval process, and to that end, these changes were implemented. This, along with the extra funding WineAmerica worked to secure, will help reduce the turnaround time for label reviews. Currently wine labels are taking twelve calendar days for review, it is the goal of TTB to have that number down to ten calendar days by 2018. The notable changes to the wine label submission process are:

• Four fields have been removed from the COLAs online form: alcohol content, net contents, wine vintage date and fax number fields have been removed. Those portions of the wine label will continue to be reviewed and must still be in compliance with the labeling rules.
• For domestic wine there is a new tool to ensure the correct appellation of origin is used.

For more information about COLAs Online and other TTB online tools, please visit their online portal.

For more information please contact Michael Kaiser, Director of Public Affairs, mkaiser@nullwineamerica.org

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WineAmerica is the national voice the American wine industry. Based in Washington, D.C., WineAmerica represents wineries in 43 states and leads a coalition of state and regional wine and grape associations. As an industry leader, WineAmerica encourages the dynamic growth and development of American wineries and winegrowing through the advancement and advocacy of sound public policy.

by Michael Kaiser

The TTB has issued a set of frequently asked questions in response to their ruling on federal tied house violations (see our analysis here). The ruling was issued last month and was in response to Kroger’s proposal to allow a large distributor to control shelving in their stores.

The TTB has made it clear that industry members may provide retailers a plan for shelving, but nothing further. An industry member may not provide and “inducement” or a “thing of value” to the retailer. While not mentioning Kroger by name, the TTB notes that any category management arrangement between an industry member and a retailer may not result in the exclusion of a competitor’s products.  Any such practice would be considered a violation of the Federal Alcohol Administration Act.

When the ruling was published, it was not clear if there were to be an exceptions to what is considered a “thing of value”. The TTB has clarified a few exceptions to what is and is not allowed. They are as follows:

• Product displays not to exceed $300 per brand
• Advertising items such as posters, coasters, paper napkins, foam scrapers, calendars, ash trays, cork crews, shirts and caps
• Consumer coupons and contests
• Consumer tastings and samplings

To read the full FAQ as published visit the TTB’s website.

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Questions? Contact Michael Kaiser, Director of Public Affairs, mkaiser@nullwineamerica.org.

WineAmerica is the national voice the American wine industry. Based in Washington, D.C., WineAmerica represents wineries in 43 states and leads a coalition of state and regional wine and grape associations.  As an industry leader, WineAmerica encourages the dynamic growth and development of American wineries and winegrowing through the advancement and advocacy of sound public policy

The TTB has also established the Lamorinda American Viticultural Area in Northern California. The Lamorinda Wine Growers Association petitioned the TTB for the AVA, and it was approved on March 3. The Lamorinda AVA is located in Contra Costa County, California, and contains the cities of Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda. The  viticultural area lies in the northeast portion of the established San Francisco Bay AVA and also within the larger, multicounty Central Coast AVA.

The TTB also  established the approximately 12,897-square mile ‘‘Loess Hills District’’ viticultural area in western Iowa and northwestern Missouri. This new viticultural area is not located within any other viticultural area.

The three new American Viticultural Areas can be used on wine labels starting on April 4, 2017.

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Questions? Contact Michael Kaiser, Director of Public Affairs, mkaiser@nullwineamerica.org

WineAmerica is the national voice of the American wine industry. Based in Washington, D.C., WineAmerica represents wineries in 43 states and leads a coalition of state and regional wine and grape associations. As an industry leader, WineAmerica encourages the dynamic growth and development of American wineries and winegrowing through the advancement and advocacy of sound public policy.

Happy Holidays from all of us at WineAmerica. We had a very productive and successful year and we look forward to 2016. We will be back in the new year with a full slate of work on such issues as music licensing requirements and federal excise tax reform.

Congress wrapped up their work for the year today with the passage of the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, sending it to the President’s desk for final signature. The bill fully funds the federal government until September 30, 2016. The bi-partisan agreement features several provisions relevant to the American wine industry.

• TTB Funding: The bill features $106,439,000 in appropriations funding for TTB. This is $5,000,000 more than last fiscal year, with that money dedicated to label and formula approval.
• COOL Repeal: The bill repeals the mandatory country of origin labeling requirements for certain cuts of beef and pork. The repeal of the COOL rule will protect the American wine industry from costly tariffs placed on wine exported into Canada and Mexico.
• Tax Filing Requirements: Alcohol producers liable for not more than $50,000 per year in federal excise taxes to file and pay such taxes on a quarterly basis, rather than by month. Additionally, those producers liable for not more than $1,000 per year may pay taxes annually, rather than quarterly. The provision also exempts such producers from IRS bonding requirements.
• Definition of Hard Cider: The provision defines hard cider for purposes of alcohol excise taxes as a wine with an alcohol content of between 0.5 percent and 8.5 percent alcohol by volume, with a carbonation level that does not exceed 6.4 grams per liter, which is derived primarily from apples, apple juice concentrate, pears, or pear juice concentrate, in combination with water. The previous alcohol content limit for hard cider was 0.5 percent to 7 percent.
• Market Access Funding: The bill fully funds the USDA Market Access Program (MAP) at $200 million.  MAP funds are key for states expanding their wine sales into foreign markets.

If you have any questions about these provisions or any other part of the bill, please contact Michael Kaiser, Director of Public Affairs at mkaiser@nullwineamerica.org.

This morning the beverage alcohol industry sent a joint industry letter to the House and Senate requesting a funding increase for the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) for FY2016. The letter was signed by twelve leading associations representing wine, beer, and spirits producers and wholesalers.

Last month, the President’s administration has requested $101 million for all TTB operations. Full funding is vital to the TTB and the industries the agency regulates. The letter asks that the Administration’s request be viewed as a minimum starting point for TTB funding and that TTB’s direct appropriation be increased above the Administration’s request by $5 million in a direct appropriation line item for enforcement of the Federal Alcohol Administration (FAA) Act.

The letters were signed by:

WineAmerica
American Beverage Licensees
American Distilling Institute
Brewers Association
Beer Institute
Distilled Spirits Council of the United States
National Association of Beverage Importers
National Beer Wholesalers Association
The Presidents’ Forum of the Distilled Spirits Industry
Wine Institute
Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America
Washington Wine Institute

Washington, D.C.—An unusual proposal from the Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB) would allow wines to be labeled with the grapes’ AVA of origin, if “fully finished” in an adjacent state. TTB notice 147 was, the bureau stated, “in response to comments TTB received during the comment period for notice No. 142, Proposed Establishment of The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater District Viticultural Area, which is located near the Oregon-Washington state line in northeastern Oregon.” The proposal has engendered some confusion among wine industry organizations nationwide, although none has yet contributed to the dialogue on the bureau’s website. Michael Kaiser, director of public affairs at WineAmerica, sent his summary of the proposal to Wines & Vines.

Read more at: http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=news&content=148030
Copyright © Wines & Vines

The TTB has issued new guidance on excise tax and operations report filing for wineries.

The TTB will now allow certain wineries to file their excise tax returns annually, rather than semi-monthly or quarterly. The requirements are: The proprietor has not given a bond for deferred payment of wine excise tax, and the proprietor:

• Paid wine excise taxes in an amount less than $1,000 during the previous calendar year.

• Is the proprietor of a newly established bonded wine premises and expects to pay less than $1,000 in wine excise taxes before the end of the calendar year.

“Not given bond for deferred payment” means you do not have an amount listed in the “deferral” space on the bond. The wine bond conditions allow up to $1,000 of the operations coverage on a wine bond of $2,000 or more to be used for deferral, so for an annual filer no additional deferral coverage would be needed. A bond of at least $1,000 and up to $1,999.99 provides $500 in automatic deferral coverage. If you show a deferral amount on the bond or would owe over $1,000 for the year, you do not qualify for annual filing.

Wineries that meet this requirement may file within 30 days of the end of the calendar year.

Proprietors of bonded wine premises operations must file the Report of Wine Premises Operations either monthly, quarterly, or annually. To qualify to file annually, a proprietor must:

• File an Excise Tax Return annually.

• Not expect the total of all bulk and bottled wine to exceed 20,000 gallons for any one month during the calendar year.

If you are not eligible to file an annual Excise Tax Return it means you are not eligible to file an annual Report of Wine Premises Operations. You also need to make sure you do not have more than 20,000 gallons of wine in any month. If you are eligible to file an annual Report of Wine Premises Operations, it is due January 15th of the year following the report year.

Questions? Contact Michael Kaiser at mkaiser@nullwineamerica.org or 202-223-5172.

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The TTB has issued a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would change how American Viticultural Areas (AVA) can be used on a wine label.

The TTB is proposing that wineries in adjacent states be allowed to use the single-state AVA from the bordering state. To use the “Finger Lakes” as an example, a Pennsylvania winery would be able to purchase grapes from the Finger Lakes AVA and use the Finger Lakes AVA on the label, if the wine is fully finished in Pennsylvania. The regulations currently state that a Pennsylvania winery can purchase Finger Lakes grapes and use a “New York” state appellation of origin.

The current rules for AVA use on domestic wine label are:

1. The labeled area is an American viticultural area approved under U.S. regulations
2. Not less than 85% of the volume of the wine is derived from grapes grown in the labeled viticultural area
3. The wine is fully finished (except for cellar treatment and/or blending which does not alter the class and type of the wine) in the state or one of the states where the viticultural area is located

To use the example “Finger Lakes” AVA again, it is currently allowed on a wine label if 85% of the grapes are grown in the Finger Lakes and if it is a New York winery, however the winery does not need to be located within the AVA, it simply needs to be within the state the AVA is located in.

Currently, in the case of a multi-state appellation, like the Columbia Valley, the winery producing the wine must be located within one of the states located in the AVA. So an Oregon winery located in the Columbia Valley can use grapes from a Washington vineyard in the Columbia Valley and use the Columbia Valley AVA on the label. The new proposed rulemaking does not change this.

The TTB would like to hear from the public on this proposal and is accepting public comments until April 10. To submit comments and to read the full Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, please go here: Use of American Viticultural Area Names as Appellations of Origin on Wine Labels

Questions? Contact Michael Kaiser at mkaiser@nullwineamerica.org or 202-223-5172.

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