ALFD Newsletter January 2008

What Does it Mean?

DBA/Trade Name - This is a name you may choose to do business as other than your official corporate or business name. If you are using a DBA, Assumed Name or Trade Name in the mandatory name and address statement on a label, you must supply it in Step 2 when filing an eApp. You may only use a DBA, Assumed Name or Trade Name on a beverage alcohol label AFTER you obtain approval from the TTB National Revenue Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. If you have questions about the addition of a DBA or Trade Name, please call the National Revenue Center at 1-800-398-2282.

Greetings!

A very happy New Year to all our readers! We’ve included a special feature in this edition called Meet the Editors, and we hope you enjoy learning a bit about the folks who bring you COLAs Online eNews each month!

Announcements

There are still spaces available for the COLAs Online Workshop in Deerfield Beach, Florida (near Ft. Lauderdale) on February 5, 2008. The morning session will provide potential users with the benefits of filing online and the tools needed to successfully file eApps. The afternoon session will provide our current users with additional assistance in problem areas and help in resolving image issues. Both sessions will include the opportunity for hands-on learning with TTB labeling specialists available to answer your questions. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity! Click here to register for the Florida workshop today!

TTB will be in Dallas, Texas, on March 12, 2008, at the Hotel Indigo in downtown Dallas hosting our next a COLAs Online Workshops. Click here to register for the Dallas workshop.

Please stay tuned and visit ttb.gov for information on upcoming workshops. Specific dates and times will be posted as locations are confirmed.

You Aren’t the Only One Who Asked Us...

If you receive an e-mail notification that your eApp Needs Correction you will have 15 days from the date that you were notified to make all the necessary corrections and to return the eApp as Corrected. It is vital that if you have more than one item to be corrected that you make all the necessary corrections at one time because you will not be able to save the eApp once you begin to make corrections nor will you be able to make any changes to your application once you have submitted it back for review. If you do not resubmit the Corrected eApp within 15 days it will automatically be rejected.

Tip of the Month

Each label that appears on your container of alcohol must be uploaded as a separate image file.

The TTB wine, spirits, and malt beverage labeling regulations each contain lists of mandatory items of information that must appear on the label(s) of each container of alcohol. Some of those items are required to appear on particular labels, e.g., the class and type statement must appear on the brand or front label. Other items of mandatory information may appear on any label.

In order to facilitate the review of your labels for mandatory information we require that each label be uploaded separately in Step 3 and that you correctly identify the label, for example front or neck.

So, remember to always submit separate label images and also be sure to crop all white space or miscellaneous information like hash marks or printer information from around the actual label.

Meet the Editors

We want to share with our readers a bit about ourselves including our enthusiasm for helping others and our dedication to COLAs Online.

My name is Geina Fields and I’ve worked for the Federal Government since 1992 when I started with the General Services Administration. I came to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) in 1997 where I filled a few administrative positions before becoming a label specialist responsible for reviewing and approving wine, spirits, and malt beverage labels. While I was a label specialist I was a member of our Beverage Alcohol Streamlining Team, which developed and implemented process improvements for the label approval processes, including adding customer service specialists dedicated to assisting our customers. I moved into one of these customer service positions in 2002 and, since we became TTB in 2003, I continue to help our customers with their phone inquiries, e-mails and now by working on COLAs Online eNews. I am very dedicated to helping our customers understand and get the most out of COLAs Online.

Hi, I’m Susan Stewart Evans and I began my career with the Federal Government 20 years ago in the New York City Area Office of ATF. After six years inspecting regulated industry members I moved to Houston, Texas, to be a field supervisor. In 1999, I moved back east to ATF headquarters to head up the office that processed applications for label and formula approval. While in that job I was privileged to preside over the development of COLAs Online, which was ATF’s first e-filing system. Just before COLAs Online was launched in May 2003, TTB split from ATF, and I moved on to become the Assistant Administrator for Headquarters Operations. A little more than two years ago I became TTB’s first Executive Liaison for Industry Matters. This position is dedicated entirely to enhancing the exchange of information between TTB and our regulated industry members and in particular finding creative ways to help you understand and meet your obligations with regards to the myriad of laws of regulations under which you must operate. Since I have always had a special affinity for COLAs Online, I am very dedicated to continue to find ways to promote its use and help its users experience its full potential. We certainly hope COLAs Online eNews does just that!