TTB's Requirements for Monthly Reports of Operations and Excise Tax Returns

By Dave Bateman, Distilled Spirits Industry Analyst, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.

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Monthly Reports.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) requires every proprietor of a distilled spirits plant to submit monthly reports covering operations conducted at the proprietor’s distilled spirits plant each month. The reports are due on the 15th day of the month following the close of the reporting period. For example, the reports for May 2006 would be due on June 15, 2006.

The monthly reports a proprietor may be required to submit include the following forms:
TTB F 5110.40, Monthly Report of Production Operations
TTB F 5110.11, Monthly Report of Storage Operations

TTB F 5110.28, Monthly Report of Processing Operations
TTB F 5110.43, Monthly Report of Processing (Denaturing) Operations

Many new industry members are not sure which report forms they are required to submit. Basically, the number and type of reports you are required to submit depends upon the different types of operations you conduct at your plant.

Production. If you produce alcohol or have production listed on your Federal Basic Permit, you must file a TTB F 5110.40, Monthly Report of Production Operations. Even if you do not have any production activities during the reporting period, you must either file a report and show no activity, or you must submit a notification letter of seasonal shutdown and identify a shutdown of operations for a specific period of time.

Storage. If you store bulk distilled spirits prior to bottling or selling the spirits, you are conducting storage operations; consequently, you must file a TTB F 5110.11, Monthly Report of Storage Operations. Your Federal Basic Permit should list storage operations on your permit as a "warehouseman." Storage operations typically involve storing alcohol in a storage tank or barrel for future use.

Processing. If you blend alcohol, add approved ingredients, make distilled spirits products according to an approved formula, reduce distilled spirits to label proof, or bottle distilled spirits, you are conducting a processing operation. You must report these activities on a TTB F 5110.28, Monthly Report of Processing Operations.

Denaturing. If you denature alcohol or manufacture articles containing denatured alcohol, you are required to submit a report covering these operations on TTB F 5110.43, Monthly Report of Processing (Denaturing) Operations.

Submitting Reports. If you perform a combination of activities, for example, production, storage, and processing, you must submit a report for each activity. You can either mail hard copies of these reports to TTB’s National Revenue Center (NRC), or you can sign up to file online reports directly to the NRC through our Pay.Gov program.
If you do not currently file your reports online, please consider the Pay.Gov option available for submitting these forms. TTB’s implementation of Pay.Gov has proven to be highly successful (see Industry Circular 2004-2, dated August 4, 2004). Filing online eliminates the need for submitting a hard copy; allows industry members to submit more accurate, timely, and cost-effective reports of operations and excise tax returns; and enables TTB to process data more quickly.
Pay.Gov is on the TTB home page TTB
Excise Tax Returns.

Besides filing monthly reports, you must also file excise tax returns on TTB F 5000.24, Excise Tax Return, and pay the excise tax on the spirits you remove from bond.

Most plants pay their excise taxes on a deferred basis, normally for two return periods each month: the 1st through the 15th and the 16th through the end of the month. In effect, you pay excise tax liabilities by filing an Excise Tax Return by the 14th day after the end of each semimonthly return period. For example, you would pay the excise tax for the return period Mar. 1 to 15, 2006, by Mar. 29, 2006. Slightly different rules apply for the month of September. (1) If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the return is due on the immediately preceding day which is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday.

If you qualify, you may also pay the excise tax on a quarterly basis, starting January 1, 2006. In effect, you have until April 14, 2006, to pay excise tax liabilities you incurred for removals from your bonded premises from January 1, 2006, to March 31, 2006. Generally, you qualify to file quarterly if you had excise tax liabilities of $50,000 or less in the previous calendar year and reasonably expect to have excise tax liabilities of not more than $50,000 in the current year. If you choose to pay excise tax quarterly, you must have bond coverage for the entire 3-month period plus the 14 days after the end of the quarter. For further information on filing quarterly returns, and to see if you qualify, see TTB Treasury Decision 41, published in the Federal Register on Feb. 2, 2006.

If you need further information regarding any of the above information, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am on the TTB Web site TTB under Industry Analysts. You can also e-mail or phone me at: Dave.bateman@ttb.gov
Dave Bateman
Distilled Spirits Industry Analyst
202–302–3859
816–623–9405

You can also contact TTB at ttbquestions@ttb.gov,
or write or call us at:

National Revenue Center
550 Main Street, Suite 8002
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Toll Free 1–877–TTB–FAQS (1–877–882–3277)

(1) There are three required filings in September: September 1 – 15, September 16 – 25, and September 26 – 30. If you are required to file your returns via electronic fund transfer, the three required filings are: September 1-15, September 16-26 and September 27-30.
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Hobe Sound Firm Distills Profits From Pototes. Article link to Palm Beach Post.
Distilled_Resources

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An Excel spread sheet listing USA distilleries is now available to memeber of the Distilling Institute. Look under resources at www.distilling.com

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Distillery Workshop 101

Bavarian Hostein Partners will be sponsoring its next workshop April 20th and 21st, 2005 in Flagstaff, AZ
potstill.com or call 310-391-1091
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Christain Carl/b&d technologies also hold workshops.
brewing-distilling.com or call 215-242-6806 for more information.
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POT STILL For Sale
Used cognac alambic pot still.
Pot, condenser, pre-heater, burner, etc.
Capacity 650 gallons, very good condition.
$40,000.
Call Hubert at 707-485-0670
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Special Projects International in Louisville, KY. has five stills for sale, four copper and one stainless steel.
Phone Michale Loring 502-778-3883 ex 22
Check out specialprojects.com look for columns. e-mail mloring@specialprojects.com
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Need a fermentation tank or mash tun?

North American Brewing Services is pleased to announce a more convenient way to reach our office! Our Toll-Free number 866-917-2337 is now be available. Don't spend another long distance cent! Call North American Brewing Services toll-free today!
60 BBL New Uni-Tank Fermenter
$13,500 F.O.B.
West Coast.
Please call 1-250-717-7759 for further details
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The Benefits of Glass

You have a great product. What to put it in? How about something that’s been around for over 2,000 years, has stood the test time and sings, “premium product inside.”

For great distilled spirits, a glass bottle is a great choice. Why? Topping the list are consumer perception, freshness, flexible design, environmental friendliness and product integrity.

Independent studies have shown that glass has strong consumer appeal. Consumers perceive a glass bottle as a container delivers that quality, freshness and coldness. When a consumer picks up a glass container, he is picking up something that feels strong and sturdy, that conveys quality and says, “there is something really good in here.” A glass bottle shows that the producer cares enough about his product to put it in the best vessel available.

And a glass bottle is undoubtedly the best way to showcase your product, whether you want to let consumers see your spirit through a transparent bottle or convey a message through the myriad decorating possibilities. And since glass has been around for over 2,000 years, it’s not a “fad package” that won’t be around next year.

Glass bottles are environmentally friendly because they are 100% recyclable. Recycled glass (cullet) extends the furnace life of glass companies, reduces the energy to make a new bottle, saves natural resources and lessens the need for landfill dumps.

No container is more tamper-evident. Glass bottles are impermeable and nonporous, which prevents moisture and oxygen penetration. That adds to shelf-life and product integrity. Glass bottles do not need any internal protective coating. So your product is protected inside (no coating) and outside (nonporous).

Beyond the consumer perception, environmental benefits and tamper-evidency, there are other great benefits to glass.

The biggest advantage is the customization and the decorating possibilities. If a distiller wants to make his bottle unique, he can invest in a set of private molds. With private molds, you can design the exact bottle and look you want. Beyond the shape, you can also add decoration that can emboss or deboss your company or brand name, a logo or special feature (think Smirnoff Twist). A private mold also gives you the option of designing a closure system to give you the look you want, which allows you another avenue to get your message or company name on the package just the way you want. The choices range from the basic plastic tamper evident to bartop cork to stellcap.

The other option to give your product a unique look without investing in molds is to take a stock bottle and “jazz” it up.

There are many decorating possibilities available nowadays. They include acid etching, tinting, shrink sleeving, pressure sensitive labeling (PSL), applied ceramic labeling, heat transfer labeling, spray frost, and powder coating. You can combine the processes also. For example, Grey Goose is acid etching (with a mask to create a window) and then ACL printed on the front and back of the bottle. Absolute Vodka is acid etched with ACL on top. Arbor Mist Wine is an acid etched bottle with PSL labeling.

If you want to make your product stand out on the shelf, feel substantial and leave a strong impression on the consumer, glass is the way to go.

Scott Morris is the President of Four Star Packaging. Scott be reached at scott@fourstarpackaging.com or (610) 788-2740
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact Person: Michael Kanbar
Company Name: Strong Spirits, Inc.
Voice Phone Number: 859-422-4981
FAX Number: 859-422-4981
Email Address: info@80strong.com
Website URL: www.80strong.com

Bourbon Re-Worked

Bardstown, Kentucky 2 February 2006 – It was bound to happen and now it has; Bourbon just got re-worked. Make room in the liquor cabinet for the arousing new look of the newest member in the bourbon lineup, 80 Strong. Instead of the usual and even expected imagery on the label; the old-timers with beards, the rustic barrels with rusty nails, turkeys, buffalos, and dripping wax, 80 Strong went with an edgy and sexy design. It’s a new label for a new bourbon drinker – retro sexy – reviving the classic pin-up girl updated to contemporary standards of style and even an armband tattoo. Along with 50’s style lettering you could imagine the whole image painted on the front of a B-52 Bomber or tattooed on someone’s arm.

In Bardstown, Kentucky you feel like at any moment pure, sweet bourbon might just bubble up from a hole in the ground. If oil is the “black gold” of Texas then Bourbon is the “amber gold” of Kentucky, and Bardstown is the mother lode. Here in Bardstown the air has a trace odor of that sweet, sticky smell of fermenting mash. Almost anyone you meet has worked or does work in the business; the whiskey business that is. The finest bourbon in the history of man bubbles up from the fermenting vats of Bardstown.

She’s more than just another pretty face, and once you get your first taste of 80 Strong you’ll agree. The 80 proof, lower than most bourbons, makes it very smooth and tasty. Sensuous aromas of vanilla and hazelnut; lusty notes of caramel; hints of fruits and almonds; delicious neat, on ice or mixed. 80 Strong is a small-batch, premium authentic Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, distilled, aged and bottled in Bardstown, KY.

“When I decided to make this I wanted to take some truly premium bourbon and get it into a hot new package,” says Michael Kanbar, owner and founder of Strong Spirits, Inc. the producer of 80 Strong. “I always was turned on by products that looked cool without being pretentious and that are without compromise in how they’re made, stuff like Burton Snowboards, Harley Davidson motorcycles and Fender Stratocasters. So I took that concept and applied it to making 80 Strong.”

80 Strong will be relying heavily on the internet for its marketing. The 80 Strong gang will be using “technology, communication and a lot of creativity” to let consumers know about the brand. “It just seems to make sense to me; we’re an independent brand and I think the people that will get what we’re all about are out there on the web, checking out indie music, art and films, communicating with other people a million miles away with the same interests, playing games online and blogging. To me, 80 Strong is like the indie rock band of bourbon.”

Strong Spirits, Inc. is a small independent company, “makin’ bourbon and livin’ the life”.

80strong.com
info@80strong.com

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Montana Legislation Above is the link to the state of Montana. It's legislation has been used as a model for other states to draw-up "new" craft distlling legislations.

My other life is that of a photographer. I'm best known for the book Suburbia. Visit my new website to see photos and films.

billowens.com