Posts from the Reporting Category
Next Steps in Direct Shipping: Refining State Laws
February 15th, 2010
As readers of this blog know, direct-to-consumer shipping has been a watchword among wineries for more than a decade. The result of all of this attention is a national shipping market that allows consumers in 37 states representing 82% of the U.S. population to receive wine purchased off-site legally. Persistent lobbying efforts and the collapse of counterfactual objections have built momentum for state acceptance of winery direct-to-consumer shipping. It is now only a matter of time before the few last holdout states allow winery shipping. But the system is far from perfect.
Many winery shipping laws passed in the last ten years were the best that could be achieved at the time, the result of crucial last minute horse trading and political calculation. Since it was critical to ensure the channel existed, administrative cost and effectiveness often became secondary considerations. While this was practical and necessary, implementation has revealed a system that is often creaky and unwieldy.
While the wine business is lucky to have organizations like ShipCompliant that reduce the hassle of direct shipping, for many wineries the expense and complexity of state regulation make shipping a daunting prospect. The system needs to be simplified and refined to make direct shipping more efficient, cost effective, and reflective of market needs. Not that any of this is going to be easy.
Broadly speaking, we need to accomplish at least three things:
How many pages is this thing? Licensing needs to be less costly and more efficient for both wineries and regulators. Qualifying for a shipper’s license shouldn’t be so burdensome that it discourages small businesses from making use of a tool whose principal object is to help them.
I need to send a 25¢ check? Recordkeeping and reporting requirements need to be made more transparent and practical. Wineries shouldn’t be forced to write a check that costs more to process than its worth, and regulators shouldn’t be asked to sift and retype mountains of paper each month. States could easily follow the Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau model of filing electronic reports on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis depending on the prior year’s shipments.
But market support makes shipping work better. States should facilitate use of efficient and practical tools—such as marketing websites and pick-and-pack warehouses—that have developed around direct shipping. Recently, these tools have come under fire with investigations in both California and Virginia. But wineries aren’t trying to do anything unreasonable here. Virtually every industry is allowed to use market aggregators that make the consumer experience for finding niche products better. The wine industry’s goal isn’t to make wine deliveries less secure or accountable, it’s to unlock demand and facilitate fulfillment.
Most states now recognize that shipping can be safely regulated. With new and simpler regulatory models wineries can demonstrate that smarter laws mean better enforcement. States always look to each other for guidance, and nothing relieves administrative concern like a system that functions.
For this reason, state regulators could be real partners in this process. They are as familiar with the problems of winery shipping as wineries themselves and would likely welcome legal refinements that could shift scarce agency resources to ensuring their shipping laws are followed. By working with state ABCs to streamline and reduce the cost of administrative oversight, wineries can build momentum for modifying state shipping laws. We could also ensure that the models that are established work both for regulators and the regulated industry.
Most critically, wineries need to stay involved in the policymaking process and understand the arguments for supporting refinement. To get their voices heard, wineries must speak with the strength of their grassroots, a clear voice, and irrefutable logic. As any winery that has been through the last decade knows, this is the only way to ensure that winery policy works better.
by Cary M. Greene, Esq.
Virginia ABC Offers Interim Solutions for Wineries Shipping Through Third Party Service Providers
December 4th, 2009
On November 19, Terri Beirne, Wine Institute’s Eastern Counsel, met with the Virginia ABC Board, their Director, and representatives of Wine America and the Virginia wineries to continue discussions about the July Circular Letter 09-05 prohibiting direct shippers from using any third party service providers. Despite earlier indications, the Board has no plans to issue additional circulars on this issue. They suggested that a statutory change is essential to reinstate use of pick and pack/fulfillment warehouse and other third party service providers by Virginia licensees. They also offered to work with industry to craft legislation for the 2010 Virginia General Assembly Session which starts on 1/13/10 and concludes on 3/13/10.
However, the VA ABC offered two interim solutions for Wine Institute members until the law can be changed. Nothing in Virginia law currently prevents direct shipper licensees from obtaining two (2) direct shipper licenses with two different addresses, even though a second location is not owned or controlled by the licensee. Therefore, if a winery sends wine from BOTH their tasting room and a fulfillment warehouse, it can keep a current direct shipper license intact and secure a second one with the address of their fulfillment facility, from where wine can also be shipped. The Virginia direct shipper license application fee is $65 and the annual license fee is $65. Separate tax payments and reports associated with each licenses would have to be filed.
Additionally, if the winery sends ALL wine shipments into Virginia from a pick and pack warehouse with NO shipments originating in their tasting room, the winery’s Virginia direct shippers license could be changed to list the address of the warehouse from which ALL wine will be shipped. Wineries may make such an amendment to a current license by sending a letter on winery letterhead explaining the reason for the change and including the old and new addresses to Dallas “Burnie” Gaskill, VA ABC Licensing Technician at P.O. Box 1597, Spotsylvania, VA 22553-1597. Burnie can be reached by phone at (540) 538-7838 or e-mail at dallas.gaskill@abc.virginia.gov with questions. Such letter MUST include a copy of the state license issued to the warehouse making shipments on the winery’s behalf. The letter must also contain an e-mail address for the winery, where the amended license will be sent in an electronic format.
Members can contact Annie Bones at abones@wineinstitute.org or at (415) 356-7530 with additional questions. Terri would also be pleased to talk more about this situation and can be reached at (804) 301-5505 or tbeirne@wineinstitute.org.
-Terri Cofer Beirne, Eastern Counsel, Wine Institute
Wisconsin County and Stadium Local Taxes
November 2nd, 2009
All businesses registered with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue received a notice (see below) that county and stadium taxes must be remitted beginning October 1st, 2009. Wineries shipping into Wisconsin are subject to this change. For all orders that were taken after October 1st and shipped to Wisconsin residents, wine shippers must remit the appropriate county and stadium taxes.
When filing the Wisconsin sales and use tax return, form ST-12, Schedule CT should be used to report these additional local taxes. The first sales and use tax return with local taxes is due for monthly filers in November for the month of October. For quarterly and annual filers, the first report with local taxes will come due on January 31st, 2010. Because this new rule became effective on October 1st, annual filers need only to pay the 5% state sales tax rate for the first nine months of the year, but should pay state tax and local tax for the final three months.
All Registered Retailers Must Collect Sales and Use Taxes for All Wisconsin Counties and Stadium Districts
Effective October 1, 2009, all retailers that are registered in Wisconsin to collect and remit the 5% Wisconsin state sales and use tax are also required to collect and remit the applicable county and stadium sales and use taxes for any sales that are sourced to a county or stadium district that has adopted the applicable county or stadium sales or use tax. This provision applies regardless of whether the retailer is “engaged in business” in the county or stadium district to which the sale is sourced.(Section 77.73 (3), Wis. Stats., as created by 2009 Wisconsin Act 2 and amended by 2009 Wisconsin Act 28)
Excise Taxes Rise in Two Direct Shipping States
August 14th, 2009
On September 1, 2009, excise tax rates for wine will increase in Illinois and North Carolina.
Governor Pat Quinn approved Illinois House Bill 255 on July 13, 2009. The bill increases Illinois’ excise tax on wines from $0.73 to $1.39 per gallon of wine under 20% ABV. An updated tax form for Direct Wine Shippers to report sales made on or after September 1, 2009, is already available on Illinois’ website.
Excise tax increases on alcohol were included in North Carolina’s budget bill this August. Starting September 1, North Carolina’s excise tax rates on wine will increase from $0.21 to $0.2634 per liter for wines 16% ABV and under; and from $0.24 to $0.2934 per liter for wines 16% and 24% ABV. The B-C-786 is used by licensed wine shippers use to report sales of wine and report taxes. Thie new report is not yet available online, but check North Carolina’s website on September 16 for the updated form.
As part of both states’ tax legislation, malt beverages and distilled spirits taxes will also increase next month.
Annual Filing Option Now Available for Direct Shippers in New York
July 16th, 2009
New York has recently amended its alcohol beverage tax regulations to allow certain wine distributors to file Form MT-40 (Wine Tax Return) on an annual basis rather than a monthly basis. Out-of-State wineries must be licensed by the New York State Liquor Authority as a direct shipper and submit the “Application for Annual Tax Return Filing Status for Certain Beer and Wine Manufacturers” (Form MT-38) in order to receive annual filing status. Form MT-40 should be submitted on a monthly basis until the Tax Department confirms that the request for annual filing status has been approved. Additional information can be found in the notice entitled, “Annual Filing Option Available for Certain Wine Distributors,” published by the Department of Taxation and Finance on June 24, 2009.
Form MT-38 Annual Filing Status Application
Form MT-40 (Monthly filing)
-Annie Bones, State Relations – Wine Institute
Kansas permit applications available, Tennessee coming soon…
June 26th, 2009
Late yesterday the Kansas ABC posted their applications for direct shipping on their website. Wine producers across the country can now apply for permission to direct ship wine to Kansas consumers effective July 1, 2009.
Kansas SB 212 was signed into law by Governor Kathleen Sebelius on April 10. Wineries interested in avoiding the hassle of the application process can purchase the license at www.easywinelicensing.com.
Licensed wineries will be able to ship up to 12 cases of wine per year to Kansas residents. To obtain a Kansas direct shipping license, wineries must pay a $50 license fee, a $50 registration fee, and post a $750 bond.
Tennessee will also open for direct shipping on July 1, although the paperwork has not yet been finalized. Tennessee’s license is available for pre-order pending the state’s posting.
Excise Taxes Updates, New York Up and North Dakota Down
April 23rd, 2009
The wine excise tax rate in New York will increase on May 1, 2009 from $0.1893 per gallon to $0.30 per gallon. Wine Institute was part of a coalition of industry members that actively opposed the NY Governor’s proposal for a wine excise tax and demonstrated the detrimental effects an excise tax increase would have on the economy. These efforts resulted in the original proposal for a $0.32 increase being reduced to only $0.1107 per gallon.
In other news North Dakota will no longer have a separate tax category for sparkling wine. Beginning July 1, 2009 sparkling wine will be taxed at $0.50 per gallon, the same rate as table wine. This is a significant decrease from the current excise tax of $1.00 per gallon of sparkling wine.
-Annie Bones, State Relations – Wine Institute
Tips for Making End of Year Reporting Easier
December 23rd, 2008
Scrooge asks: Do you have tracking numbers for all 2008 Missouri shipments? Are you ready with your TTB IDs for the products you shipped into New York? Are you aware of Wisconsin’s new electronic filing requirement? If so, will you go with the manual Free File of the XML file submission? Did all of your holiday orders ship in 2008, or will some get pushed to January?
Each year, January is a perfect storm of reporting with up to 79 different submissions for monthly, quarterly and annual tax and shipping reports, 50% more than a more typical monthly load of 53. This January brings up to 21 new (or significantly more complex) reports over last January, depending on the number of states (and cities) to which you ship. Some of these reports require extensive information that is not typically stored on an individual order basis and must be collected and tied to each shipment.
We put together a page full of tips and tricks for completing your end of year reporting as painlessly as possible. Click here to read our 5 Tips for Making End-of-Year Direct Shipping Reporting Easier.
Wisconsin Liquor Reporting: Reciprocal (9 months) + Electronic Filing (3 months)
November 21st, 2008
Effective October 1st, 2008, Wisconsin requires electronic filing for reporting shipments of wine into Wisconsin. According to Wisconsin, filing and paying taxes online is more accurate, more certain, and means better business. And, as we’ve discussed previously, it’s also green and convenient. Direct shippers must file their first excise tax report as a permitted Wine Direct Shipper electronically, and are required to file the “Wisconsin Distilled Spirits, Cider, and Wine Tax Return” (AB-130) and the “Wisconsin Winery and Direct Shipper Schedule” (AB-135). The first quarterly return includes shipments made from October 1st, 2008 through December 31st, 2008, and is due before January 15th, 2009. Also, wineries that ship to Wisconsin wholesalers must file the “Wisconsin Distilled Spirits, Cider, and Wine Tax Return” (AB-130) and the “Wisconsin Liquor Tax Multiple Schedule” (AB-131). Shipments to Wisconsin wholesalers must be filed monthly (also due by the 15th of the month), again, beginning October 1st, 2008.
There are two methods for filing the Wine Tax Return and all related schedules, electronically:
1) The Free-File filing application is available to anyone who has a Wisconsin Liquor Tax Permit Number, and you don’t have to set up a special account to start using it. Free-file will save all your data, so you can work on it as you ship orders, save it, and come back to it later. Entering the schedule information (e.g. the name of the recipient, how much wine they received) will automatically calculate the tax form. You can watch a detailed training video for more complete information on how to report using the Free File format. It’s about a half of an hour in length, and is very thorough. I had the best luck viewing the video in internet explorer. Payment options for Free-file include Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), or a payment voucher, which you can print out and then mail in with your payment to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. If you decide to pay your taxes via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), it takes about a week to process your registration, so don’t wait until the last minute. For more information about EFT payments, you can visit the Wisconsin EFT web page, or call (608) 264-9918.
2) The Liquor Tax File Transmission filing method is a quick and painless way to submit your tax return. You won’t have to hand-enter all of your data, which can save you a lot time. And just the same as Free-file, you don’t have to set up a special account, so you can begin using it immediately. This filing method does need some initial development, as it requires the creation of an XML file. If you are computer savvy, you can create this file yourself, or, if not, you could have someone that is computer savvy create it for you (ShipCompliant will provide this service to its clients, in case you were wondering). After you have saved the XML file to your computer, just upload the file using Wisconsin’s file transfer application, and wait for an immediate confirmation of receipt. The Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payment option is available for this filing method.
Last but not least, for those direct shippers that shipped wine to Wisconsin consumers under the old reciprocity statutes (California wineries only), don’t forget that the “Annual Reciprocal Wine Shipment Report” must be filed for shipments made from January 1, 2008 through September 30th, 2008 (and don’t forget the required dates of birth for both purchaser and recipient). This form can be submitted in paper format. Because the “Annual Reciprocal Wine Shipment Report” only includes shipments through September, it can be submitted now, or anytime before January 31st, 2009.
The WSLCB Announces Online Tax Reporting and Payment System
November 3rd, 2008
Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) just made filing monthly summary tax reports and paying taxes a little easier by providing an online tax filing option for wineries shipping to consumers and retailers in Washington. The WSLCB encourages wineries to use their Online Tax Reporting and Payment System which saves time and simplifies the tax reporting and payment process. Users can access the system 24 hours a day, view previously filed reports online and confirm tax payments have been made.
Eligible users should contact the WSLCB Beer and Wine Tax Unit at beerwinetaxes@liq.wa.gov or (360) 664-1721 for account information. The system can be accessed by visiting the WSLCB website at www.liq.wa.gov.
Annie Bones, State Relations – Wine Institute
The Lone Star State: To File Monthly or Quarterly, that is the Question
August 22nd, 2008
As was reported earlier this week, the Texas C-240 Direct Shipper’s Report will change from a monthly to a quarterly return for orders shipped after September 1st. However, we’ve received a number of questions about how to report shipments for the month of August.
August is the last month that will require a monthly return, which will report shipments to Texas consumers only for the month of August. This report is due September 15th, and should include tracking numbers for each shipment. The newly updated quarterly frequency will commence on September 1, 2008, including orders shipped from September through November, and is due December 15th. Also, please note that the new quarterly frequency is based on Texas’ fiscal year (beginning September 1st), not on the familiar calendar year (beginning January 1st), therefore the quarterly reports will be due on the following schedule: December 15th, 2008; March 15th, 2009; June 15th, 2009; etc.
Good News from Texas
August 20th, 2008
On September 1, 2008 Texas will begin requiring direct shipping reports to be submitted on a quarterly basis. Reports will be due within 15 days of the completion of every 3 month quarter. Currently, direct shippers must file a report and pay taxes every month. The new report will no longer require direct shippers to report the common carrier tracking number for each shipment, the name of the common carrier will be sufficient.
All permit holders have been mailed a copy of the Quarterly Direct Shipper’s Report by the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission and the form will soon be available on the TABC and Wine Institute website. The last monthly reporting period is August 2008. Shipments sent on or after September 1, 2008 should be included in the quarterly report.
Annie Bones, State Relations – Wine Institute
Another Paper Return Bites the Dust: Required Electronic Filing in New York (Due July 15th)
July 10th, 2008
On July 1st, 2008, New York announced that their semi-annual “New York Wine Manufacturer’s Report of All Wine Directly Sold and Shipped” is required to be filed online. Shipments made from January 1, 2008 to June 30, 2008 must be reported to the New York Liquor Authority by July 15th, 2008. Online submission of the report consists of emailing data files, in a .csv or .xls format to Direct.Shipment@abc.state.ny.us.
Even though the new reporting format was forced upon direct shippers rather abruptly, for many, filing the Wine Manufacturer’s Report electronically is a much more reasonable request than the old paper format. Because the old paper format contained only twelve rows per page on which to report detailed order information (one product per row, per shipment), the report was sometimes more than 500 pages long! That’s some serious paper waste.
Information that is reported in the new electronic format is very similar to the information reported in the old paper format. Among details to be reported via the data file: product name, COLA numbers for each product shipped, quantity shipped, price paid by the purchaser, the name and address of the purchaser, and the name and address of the common carrier.
You can view further information on the new requirement and New York’s instructions for submission on the New York State Liquor Authority’s website. Remember, the use of paper forms to submit the required information is no longer permitted. All reports containing the required information must be submitted by way of a computer data file.
Illinois Offers a Bit of Green for Direct Wine Shippers
July 2nd, 2008
For those of you that have started shipping to Illinois under their new permit system, your first round of reporting will come due this month. Fortunately, Illinois makes it easy to report your shipments and pay taxes. Electronic filing and payment is available for the Liquor Direct Wine Shipper Return (RL-26-W), and the Sales and Use Tax Return (ST-1). As we discussed in an earlier post, electronic filing is better for the environment, and it saves you printing and mailing costs; that’s two shades of green!
Before you begin the process for Illinois electronic filing, you will need your Illinois Business Tax number (IBT), your PIN, your payment information, and you will of course need to know how much tax you owe. You should have received your PIN when you registered with the Illinois Department of Revenue. If you have not received your PIN, or do not know what it is, you can contact the Department of Revenue at 217-782-6045, and they will provide you with your PIN.
To start electronic filing for the ST-1, click here, and then click “start filing.” To begin electronic filing for the RL-26-W, click here, then click, “Start Using Webfile.” You can save progress and view submitted reports up to a year after submission.
Washington: Making Change, Streamlined Style
June 13th, 2008
On July 1st, 2008, when Substitute Senate Bill 5089 takes effect, Washington will join twenty-one other states that have conformed to the “Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement”. The bill will change the way retail sales tax is collected for some Washington businesses. Beginning July 1st, 2008, any business with nexus in Washington must pay sales tax based on the destination of the shipped order. Previously, Washington businesses that shipped orders to Washington residents could pay sales tax based on where the order was originating from, making local taxes fairly easy to calculate.
The new taxing regulation requires Washington wineries to pay local taxes to every destination to which they ship (via a single sales/use tax return). This could be a bit of a jolt for Washington wineries. With over 300 different tax rates and location codes, based on special districts that cannot be defined solely by city and county designations, filling out the periodic tax return could become significantly more difficult.
Out-of state wineries will see no changes in their tax payments. Destination-based sales tax in Washington should be nothing new for them; out-of-state wineries have had to pay destination-based sales tax since July 1st, 2006, when the Wine Shipper’s License first became available.
If you are a Washington business that ships or delivers goods, be sure to check the Washington DOR’s website for useful information about the change. On this page, you can use a number of different tax lookup tools as well as watch online tutorials.
It’s Not Easy Being Green…But Electronic Filing Makes It Easier
June 9th, 2008
Image, “Office Paper, 2007″ by Chris Jordan.
June 5th was World Environment Day. And in honor of the wonderful planet on which we live, here’s a look at how some states are doing their part to make it easy for direct-to-consumer wine shippers to be eco-friendly.
Generally speaking, businesses are looking to become greener; it can be cost effective, it’s good marketing, and it is better for the environment. There are several practices wineries can utilize when making the decision to become green – recycling, conservation, green farming, renewable energy, and alternative packaging – but one thing that can’t be controlled is paper consumption for licensing and reporting. Direct wine shipping is undoubtedly paper-filled; there are permit applications, licenses, monthly reports, and tax returns – just to name a few – that must be printed and mailed. There’s no doubt that the paper used in the filing of these forms contributes to the enormous rate of paper consumption in the United States. In 2007, 96.7 million tons of paper and paperboard were consumed in the United States and 54.3 million tons were recovered through recycling*. However, despite the fact that over half of the consumed paper was recovered, recovery is not the be all and end all of environmental protection. Prevention is the best and most efficient way to protect the environment from paper waste**. Electronic filing is an effective means of said prevention for wineries who can be required to submit over 500 forms per year, with an average of four pages a form. That’s 2000 sheets of paper just for reporting wine shipments!
Currently, about half the states offer some sort of electronic filing, the bulk of which consists of sales and use tax returns. Excise tax reports and copies of invoices are rarely available for electronic submission. However, North Dakota is on the forefront, offering an electronic filing option for their Direct Shipper’s Liquor Tax Report. Also, Hawaii allows direct shippers to submit copies of invoices via email. States should follow North Dakota and Hawaii’s lead, transitioning from a paper-based system to one that makes additional forms available for e-filing. Ultimately, the goal would be mandatory electronic filing for all forms in all states, if they made it easy. Such a transformation in the process will significantly reduce the amount of paper consumed and help decrease the country’s overall consumption rate, which, coupled with a continuing increase in recovery/recycling rates, will result in a near elimination of all paper waste in the not-so-distant future. Apart from environmental concerns, electronic filing could also increase administrative efficiency, reducing labor and material costs for both the state alcohol commission and for the those submitting the forms. Electronic filing is not only green, but convenient!
World Environment Day may have come and gone, but everyday should be an “Earth Day”.
Georgia is a “Go”: Residents Can Now Join Wine Clubs and Buy Wine Online from All Wineries
May 14th, 2008
Good news, wineries – shipping to Georgia just got a whole lot easier!
As we mentioned in a previous post, House Bill 1061 had passed in the House and has since passed in the Senate. It made its way onto the Governor’s table on April 15th, and Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed it into law yesterday. The long-awaited bill amends Code Sections 3-6-31 and 3-6-20, a source of problems for many wineries. Before the bill passed, Georgia’s direct shipping laws were very restrictive, only allowing direct shipment by wineries without a distributor relationship in Georgia and by all wineries for onsite purchases. Onsite shipments were limited to five cases per consumer or per household.
However, the passage of the bill effected many favorable changes to Georgia’s direct shipment law. The statutory amendments eliminate the problematic provision which prohibited wineries from shipping offsite orders to Georgia residents if the wineries were represented by a distributor in Georgia. This significantly opens up the state to both in- and out-of-state wineries that were not previously permitted to ship offsite sales directly to consumers.
Furthermore, the amendments added a definition of “winery” to the statute, defining it as “any maker or producer of wine whether in this state or in any other state, who holds a valid federal basic wine manufacturing permit.” (Section 3-6-31(a)).
Another noteworthy change is the addition of the age verification requirement found in Section 3-6-20(d)(4):
“Before accepting an order from a consumer in this state, the holder of a special order shipping license shall require that the person placing the order state affirmatively that he or she is of the age required by Code Section 3-3-23 and shall verify the age of such person placing the order either by the physical examination of an approved government issued form of identification or by utilizing an Internet based age and identification service;”
The new age verification requirement strengthens the affirmative statement of age provision (as was required prior to the amendments), working to assuage the fears of those who believe direct shipping creates an unreasonable risk of online ordering by underage individuals.
The bill also introduces a few minor changes. A winery no longer has to post a bond, designate sales territories, or name a wholesaler in each territory (thereby taking a conflicting law off the books). Wineries are also prohibited from shipping to licensed premises and are required pay excise taxes and state and local sales taxes from every sale shipped to a consumer in Georgia. In addition, of-age individuals can now purchase up to 12 cases of wine from each licensee per year (up from 5 cases per household pre-HB 1061).
Overall, although wineries must still obtain a special order shipping license and brands must still be registered in order to ship into the state, HB 1061 is going to live up to expectations and prove itself a valuable step for proponents of direct shipping. More wineries can now direct ship to Georgia and reach more consumers, benefiting both Georgians and non-Georgians alike.
The bill takes effect July 1st, 2008. Stay tuned for more details and permit requirements.
Update Your Address Books: New Hampshire Has a Revised Direct Shipping Monthly Report
April 25th, 2008
New Hampshire has updated their Monthly Direct Shipping Report Form. According to the NH Bureau of Enforcement, many wineries have been sending this report to the wrong address; the new form has been issued in part to remedy the incorrect send-to address. The new form is in an Excel format for easier use, and will automatically calculate the total due, based off of the invoice totals that you enter. The new form is available on the NH Liquor Commission Website. You can also view the new form by clicking here.
Make sure your records are up to date with the current contact info for the NH Bureau of Enforcement:
Mailing Address (send your returns to this address):
Bureau of Enforcement
Direct Shipping
PO Box 1795
Concord, NH 03302-1795
Physical Address:
Bureau of Enforcement
Direct Shipping
10 Commercial St
Concord, NH 03301
Tel: (603) 271-8543
Fax: (603) 271-3758
Though the updated form is in an electronic format, New Hampshire does not allow you to submit copies of invoices or payment electronically. You can only send in an electronic version of the Direct Shipping Monthly Report if you have zero orders to report; you can send zero order reports to directshippers@liquor.state.nh.us.
Wisconsin Direct Shipping Bill Receives Governor’s Signature
March 14th, 2008
Senate Bill 485 was passed into law yesterday, making Wisconsin the newest addition to the list of permit states. Wisconsin was one of the three remaining states that had yet to change their direct shipping laws since the Granholm ruling. Direct shipping law did not authorize intra-state shipments of wine to consumers, and the reciprocity agreement defined by Wisconsin only allowed California wineries to ship directly to the state’s residents. Now, a winery in any state may ship wine directly to a Wisconsin resident once the winery has received a direct wine shipper permit from Wisconsin.
The new direct wine shippers permit allows licensees (licensed wineries that are located in- and/or out-of-state) to ship wine directly to an of-age and non-intoxicated individual in Wisconsin. The individual may receive no more than 108 liters of wine annually from any combination of licensees. The individual is responsible for compliance with this annual limit. The fee for this permit is no more than $100/year. Sales tax, excise tax and reporting are required quarterly.
This is good news for direct to consumer sales – no capacity caps, no touchy age-validation restrictions… but there’s a catch concerning self-distribution: all sales to retailers must go through a wholesaler.
Legislative Intent… Without the 3-tier system, the effective statewide regulation and collection of state taxes on alcohol beverages sales would be seriously jeopardized. It is further the intent of the legislature that without a specific statutory exception, all sales of alcohol beverages shall occur through the 3-tier system, from manufacturers to licensed wholesalers to retailers to consumers. Face-to-face retail sales at licensed premises directly advance the state’s interest in preventing alcohol sales to underage or intoxicated persons and the state’s interest in efficient and effective collection of tax.
Luckily, there are a couple safeguards for small manufacturers.
“All wholesalers must work diligently to ensure that distribution channels are available for the sale of intoxicating liquor products through wholesalers to retailers in this state.”
The legislation isn’t clear about methods or consequences for wholesalers if they fail to adhere to this clause.
The other safeguard: small wineries (producing under 25,000 gallons of wine in a year) may group together to form a “Cooperative Wholesaler”; this Cooperative must become licensed to act as a regularly-licensed-wholesaler in order to sell to retailers or other regularly-licensed-wholesalers. The maximum number of Cooperatives allowed is six, and they must be created between October 1, 2008 and December 31st, 2008. The Cooperative must have a single location within the state of Wisconsin (a winery can only belong to one Cooperative). If the Cooperative’s members consist of both in- and out-of-state wineries, then the board of directors must also include both in- and out-of-state members. Members may not be employees of the Cooperative, but may volunteer.
The bill passed through the Senate and the House in late February and was approved by Governor Doyle on March 13th. Last year, a similar bill was passed by the House and Senate, but was vetoed by Governor Doyle partly because the bill would have banned self-distribution altogether, and did not “adequately address the needs of small entrepreneurial wineries.” This year’s bill seems to address the aforementioned needs and received backing by the Wisconsin Wine and Spirit Institute. The new law goes into effect on October 1, 2008.
Seeing Double: Ship Your West Virginia Report Twice
February 7th, 2008
We’ve received many questions about what West Virginia requires as far as reporting is concerned, so we contacted the ABCA to clear all confusion of the matter. On the West Virginia Direct Shipper’s Report it says, “Prepare this report in duplicate, mail the original and payment of taxes to the WV State Tax Department… and a copy to Alcohol Beverage Control Administration…” We found that, statutorily, the Direct Shipper also needs to submit invoices along with the report to both West Virginia entities, even though it is not explicitly stated on the report. Additionally, the copy that needs to be sent to the ABCA should include A) a copy of the return B) a copy of the invoices; and C) a copy of payment to the Tax Department (to submit a copy of payment, just photocopy the check that you send to the Tax Department before you send it out). These requirements can be time consuming and require a lot of paper, but are necessary to comply with the ABCA’s regulations.
