TTB Newsletter

The TTB's mission is to collect alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and ammunition excise taxes; to ensure that these products are labeled, advertised, and marketed in accordance with the law; and to administer the laws and regulations in a manner that protects the consumer and the revenue, and promotes voluntary compliance. Who They Are

TTB is the newest bureau under the Department of the Treasury. They employ some 600 people across the country, including our Headquarters Offices in Washington, D.C., and the National Revenue Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. there staff are highly educated and technically trained; more than half are analysts, chemists, investigators and auditors. In addition, a large number of employees serve as financial, legal, information management, and computer specialists. There Responsibilities

There main responsibilities are protecting the public and collecting the revenue. They carry out these responsibilities by developing regulations, conducting product analysis, ensuring tax and trade compliance with the Federal Alcohol Administration Act and the Internal Revenue Code. Importing Alcohol Beverages into the U.S.

Importers seeking to import alcohol beverages into the U.S. must consider the following requirements: The importer must obtain the appropriate TTB-issued permit to import products. In order to obtain an Importer’s Basic Permit, you must complete TTB Form 5100.24, Application for Basic Permit under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act. This can be found on TTB’s Forms page on our website at http://www.ttb.gov/forms/f510024.pdf, or may be obtained by requesting an application packet with instructions from TTB’s National Revenue Center in Cincinnati, OH at 1-877-882-3277. If you plan on becoming a wholesaler (i.e. selling to anyone else that also sells) you must also apply for a Wholesaler’s Basic Permit in addition to the Importer’s Basic Permit by checking the applicable boxes on the form. Possessing only an Importer’s Basic Permit does NOT allow you to conduct business as a wholesaler. Please note that importers must maintain and staff a business office in the United States. If you are ineligible to become an U.S. importer, you must contract with an existing licensed importer in the United States. Making a commercial arrangement with an existing licensed importer eliminates the need to obtain an importer’s permit. Completed forms should be mailed to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, National Revenue Center, 550 Main Street, Suite 8002, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. For more information, visit the National Revenue Center’s website at http://www.ttb.gov/nrc/index.shtml.

The importer must have a TTB-issued certificate of label approval (COLA). To obtain a COLA, you must file an Application for and Certification/Exemption of Label/Bottle Approval, Form 5100.31, (available online: http://www.ttb.gov/forms/f510031.pdf) with TTB’s Advertising, Labeling and Formulation Division (ALFD). For more information on COLAs, visit TTB’s website at: http://www.ttb.gov/labeling/index.shtml. As part of the COLA process, the importer may have to obtain pre-COLA product approval. For information on pre-COLA product approval, see Industry Circular 2002-2 (http://www.ttb.gov/industry_circulars/ic2002_02.htm and http://www.ttb.gov/ssd/faqs.shtml#pr)

The importer of a natural wine produced after December 31, 2005, must comply with certification requirements set forth under the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004 to ensure that the practices and procedures used to produce the imported wine constitute proper cellar treatment.

NOTE: For some grape wines imported from countries with which the U.S. has an enological practices agreement, no certification is required. A list of these countries and description of excepted wines is available at: http://www.ttb.gov/wine/itd_doc.shtml.

Certification may consist of: a statement from the producing country’s government or government-approved entity having oversight or control of enological practices. This form of certification includes the results of a laboratory analysis of the wine performed by either a government laboratory or a laboratory certified by the government of the producing country. OR a statement from the importer, that is, a “self-certification”. See Q&A #12 at: http://www.ttb.gov/wine/qa.shtml for more information on this certification method and who may self-certify.

For additional information regarding the certification requirements for imported natural wine visit TTB’s website at: http://www.ttb.gov/wine/wine_certs.shtml. The importer must meet all State and local requirements. State and local jurisdictions may have their own importation requirements in addition to Federal requirements. Please contact your State and/or local authorities for more information. A list of such authorities can be found on our website at: http://www.ttb.gov/spirits/control_board.shtml. The importer must ensure that the producer of the alcohol beverage is registered with the FDA and provide FDA with advance notification of an importation. FDA administers these requirements which are part of the 2002 Bioterrorism Act. Visit http://www.ttb.gov/regulations_laws/107_188.shtml for more information. The importer is responsible for all applicable Federal excise taxes and duties. For more information on excise taxes, please visit our website: http://www.ttb.gov/tax_audit/atftaxes.shtml. For information on duties, visit the Customs website: http://www.customs.gov.

For additional information, please visit: http://www.ttb.gov/itd/impreq.shtml.