Certification Requirements for Imported Wine - Questions and Answers
PrintSection 2002 of the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004 amended section 5382(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, which sets forth standards regarding what constitutes proper cellar treatment of natural wine. The Act added new certification requirements regarding production practices and procedures for imported natural wine. TTB has issued a temporary rule document to implement this change and in a separate notice document is soliciting comments on the temporary rule.
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A person who imports natural wine produced after December 31, 2004, must comply with the certification requirements.
For more information about certain exemptions, see:
- Are there any exemptions from the certification requirements?
- If I import wine from a country with which the United States has an enological practices agreement, is the wine subject to certification?
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A natural wine is the product of the juice or must of sound, ripe grapes or other sound, ripe fruit (including berries) made with any cellar treatment authorized by subparts F and L of 27 CFR part 24, containing not more than 24 percent alcohol by volume and containing not more than 21 percent by weight (21 degrees Brix de-alcoholized wine) of total solids.
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No. Sake is produced from rice, not from the juice or must of sound, ripe grapes or other sound, ripe fruit.
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No. Honey Wine/Mead is produced from honey, not from the juice or must of sound, ripe grapes or other sound, ripe fruit.
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Possibly. Cider is the product of the juice or must of sound, ripe fruit. However, ciders that have been made with cellar treatments or ingredient quantities not authorized by subparts F and L of 27 CFR part 24 are not natural wines.
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An effervescent wine is considered to be a natural wine only if it was made with cellar treatments or ingredient quantities authorized by subparts F and L of 27
CFR part 24.
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The alcohol content limitations in the definition of natural wine refer to the wine's "actual" alcohol by volume content, which does not include the alcohol equivalent of the residual sugar.
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For purposes of the certification requirement, which applies to wine produced after December 31, 2004, wine is "produced" when it is removed from the fermenter.
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Proper cellar treatment is a production practice or procedure authorized by subparts F and L of 27 CFR part 24 and, in the case of natural wine produced and imported subject to an international agreement or treaty on enological practices, those practices and procedures acceptable to the United States under that agreement or treaty.
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Certification is a statement that the practices and procedures used to produce the imported wine constitute proper cellar treatment. 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. Certification may also be in the form of a statement from the importer, that is, a self-certification.
- Who may self-certify?
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If an importer or its affiliate owns or controls a winery operating under a basic permit issued under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act, that importer may certify that the practices and procedures used to produce the wine constitute proper cellar treatment (self-certification). An importer who self-certifies does not need to obtain a producing country certification and laboratory analysis.
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For purposes of self-certification, a person is an "affiliate" if one of two or more persons has actual or legal control, directly or indirectly, whether by stock ownership or otherwise, of the other person or persons. The term includes a winery's parent or subsidiary or any other entity in which the winery's parent or subsidiary has a controlling ownership interest. An affiliate also includes any one of two or more persons subject to common control, actual or legal, directly or indirectly, whether by stock ownership or otherwise.
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An importer with an affiliate that owns a winery may self-certify.
An importer with an affiliate that controls a winery may self-certify.
An importer who controls a winery may self-certify.
An importer controlled by a winery may not self-certify.
A person qualified as both an importer and a winery may not self-certify.
(Note: The foreign producer of the wine need not be an affiliate of the importer.)
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Yes. Natural wine is exempt from the certification requirements if it is:
- Produced before January 1, 2005;
- Imported for personal use, for example, importations by travelers or gift shipments between individuals;
- Imported by diplomats for embassy or consular use;
- Imported for use as commercial samples, for example, as trade samples, for trade shows, for laboratory analysis; and
- Imported for use on international passenger carriers, for example, cruise ships or airliners.
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The wine is subject to certification only if a certification is required by the agreement or if the agreement does not contain a provision in which the United States finds that the wine making practices of the other country are "acceptable."
For a listing of countries with which the United States currently has enological agreements, see Which countries currently have enological practices agreements with the United States?
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Thirty countries currently have enological practices agreements with the United States.
- Based on the enological agreement between the United States and Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Georgia, New Zealand, and South Africa, natural grape wines containing 7 to 22 percent alcohol by volume imported from these countries are not subject to certification requirements.
- Based on the enological agreement between the United States and the European Union, natural grape wines containing 0.5 to 22 percent alcohol by volume imported from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom are not subject to certification requirements.
Currently, wine from berries and other fruit is not a part of these agreements and is subject to certification requirements.
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There is no TTB form; however, the format for certification is in the regulations document.
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You must have the certification in your possession when your wine is released from customs custody. However, you do not need to present the document for certification as part of the customs entry process.
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Submission to TTB is required only for Federal Alcohol Administration Act purposes. Therefore, you must submit your certification with your Certificate of Label Approval (COLA) application.
Also see:
- My COLA was issued before the certification requirements were imposed. I am now using the approved labels to import wine produced after December 31, 2004, and a certification is required for the wine. When do I submit the certification to TTB?
- My certification was not available when I submitted my COLA application. When should I submit my certification to TTB?
- If I am unable to submit my certification with my COLA application and have to submit it later, what do I do?
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Yes, the certification is part of your required records and must be maintained as provided by subpart I of 27 CFR part 27. Therefore, you must keep the certifications for three years, unless TTB directs you to keep them for longer, that is, up to another three years. If the certification also supports a COLA, you must keep it as long as you use the COLA to import wine.
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Yes. The corresponding certification must be submitted with the resubmitted COLA application. TTB will not retain certifications that do not correspond to approved COLAs.
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This is a reminder of your responsibility to submit the certification to TTB in the event that the required certification was not available when you filed the COLA application. TTB is placing this qualification on all COLAs for imported wine even if under the new regulations you are exempt from the certification requirements portion. If you are required to submit a certification for the wine and do not do so, you may not use the label on the wine.
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You must submit your certification when the wine is released from customs custody.
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You must submit your certification when the wine is released from customs custody.
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Certifications submitted after label approval must be annotated with the TTB label approval identification number, a 14 digit number assigned by TTB as a unique identifier for each COLA. It may be found in the upper left-hand corner of the COLA form in the box labeled TTB ID.
Send the annotated certification to:
Director, International Affairs Division
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
1310 G Street NW, Box 12
Washington, DC 20005
Or you may fax to 202-453-2970
Or email to Winecertificationdocket@ttb.gov
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Your certification will be made publicly available on TTB's website at http://www.ttb.gov/wine/certs_on_file.shtml.
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Yes. You may use another importer's certification provided the wine is of the same brand, class or type, producer, cellar treatment and conforms to the statements made on the certification. When you submit the certification to TTB, please ensure that it reflects the TTB ID number ( a 14 digit number assigned by TTB, located in the upper left-hand corner of the approved COLA form) that corresponds to your COLA, rather than that of another importer.
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Yes, if you are importing wine of the same brand, class or type, producer, and cellar treatment and the wine conforms to the statements made on the certification. When you submit the certification to TTB, please ensure that it reflects the TTB ID number (a 14 digit number assigned by TTB, located in the upper left-hand corner of the approved COLA form) that corresponds to your COLA, rather than that of another importer.
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You can print a copy from TTB's web site at http://www.ttb.gov/wine/certs_on_file.shtml.
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No. One certification submission and retention will cover multiple shipments provided the wine is of the same brand, class or type, producer, cellar treatment and conforms to the statements made on the certification.
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No. You may use the same certification only for wine of the same class or type, brand, producer and subjected to the same cellar treatment. "Red wine" and "white wine" are different types.
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No. You may use the same certification only for wine of the same class or type, brand, producer and subjected to the same cellar treatment. "Cabernet Sauvignon" and "Chardonnay" are different types.
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Yes, any change in cellar treatment requires a new certification even if it doesn't require a new COLA.
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No. Importations of commercial samples, including trade show samples, are exempt from the certification requirements.
- Are there any exemptions from the certification requirements?
-
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Contact an International Affairs Division staff member at 202-453-2260.
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