March 12, 2010
Greetings! We hope you have had a smooth and productive week! This edition includes information on our views regarding an Anheuser Busch, Inc. retailer program, withdrawal of TTB Notice No. 100, notification of a new edition of COLAs Online eNews, and a Treasury report on Federal tobacco receipts lost due to illicit trade.
In the TTB Newsletter, we compile the top TTB news of the week and other helpful information about the Bureau and the Federal alcohol and tobacco laws and regulations we enforce. Please send any questions and/or comments to Executive Liaison for Industry Matters (industryliaison@ttb.gov) and/or State Liaison (stateliaison@ttb.gov). |
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TTB's POSITION ON ANHEUSER BUSCH MVP PROGRAM
TTB has received inquiries both from industry members and State ABC officials concerning Anheuser- Busch Companies, Inc. (AB) Major Volume Player (MVP) program that includes providing display enhancers to retailers. Certain States were trying to determine whether some incentives being offered to retailers were allowed under the State's trade practice regulations, and they were looking to ascertain TTB's position on the MVP program.
TTB has reviewed the MVP program materials from AB and has informed AB officials that we do not believe their display enhancers meet the Product Display exception as outlined in the tied house provisions of 27 CFR 6.83. We also do not believe that the sweepstakes part of the program meet the Direct Offering exception as outlined in 27 CFR 6.96(b). Instead, TTB would consider these to fall under 27 CFR Part 6, Subpart C - Unlawful Inducements.
With respect to tied house trade practice activities involving malt beverages, there is no violation under the FAA Act unless similar State law exists and the elements of interstate commerce and exclusion are present. If State law allows these types of activities to take place, then the Tied-House provisions of the FAA Act are not applicable for malt beverages.
NOTICE NO. 102 WITHDRAWS NOTICE NO. 100, DRAWBACK OF INTERNAL REVENUE TAXES FROM CONSIDERATION
This document withdraws a notice of proposed rulemaking, Notice 100, published in the Federal Register on October 15, 2009, that proposed conforming amendments to the TTB regulations in title 27, Code of Federal Regulations to reflect proposed Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations in title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations (published on the same day) stating that domestic merchandise on which no tax is paid under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 may not be substituted for imported merchandise for purposes of claims for drawback of tax under the customs laws and regulations. The notice is being withdrawn to permit further consideration of the relevant issues involved in the proposed rulemaking. The effective date of this withdrawal is March 2, 2010. CBP published a similar notice of withdrawal for its proposed regulations.
COLAs ONLINE eNEWS MARCH EDITION IS NOW AVAILABLE
COLAs Online eNews is an electronic newsletter designed with the users of our Web-based label approval system in mind. Each issue provides useful and timely information that helps registered users understand and use COLAs Online to their best advantage.
TREASURY RELEASES REPORT TO CONGRESS ON FEDERAL TOBACCO RECEIPTS LOST DUE TO ILLICIT TRADE
Section 703 of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) directed the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a study concerning the magnitude of illicit tobacco trade in the United States and to submit to Congress recommendations for the most effective steps that the Department of the Treasury can take to reduce such illicit tobacco trade. The Secretary was directed to include a review of the loss of Federal tax receipts due to the illicit tobacco trade in the United States and the role of imported tobacco products in the illicit trade in the United States. The report has been released.