As an additional response to the burdens that COVID-19 is placing on alcohol beverage industry members, TTB has issued Industry Circular 2020-2. The Circular postpones several filing and due dates where the original date falls on or after March 1, 2020 through July 1, 2020. TTB published the Circular on March 31.

Per the Industry Circular TTB is, among other considerations:

1. Postponing tax payment due dates for wine, beer, and distilled spirits excise taxes.
2. Postponing filing due dates for excise tax returns.
3. Postponing filing due dates for submission of operational reports.
4. Postponing filing due dates for claims for credit or refund by producers.
5. Postponing filing due dates for claims by manufacturers of nonbeverage products.
6. Postponing due dates for submission of export documentation.

See TTB Industry Circular 2020-2.

The due dates and filings are postponed for 90 days from the due date otherwise prescribed. For example, if your DSP operational report is due on May 15, 2020 it is now postponed until August 13, 2020.  Attachment A to Industry Circular 2020-2 provides a list of excise tax payment and filing dates with a corresponding postponement date. Attachment B to Industry Circular 2020-2 provides a list of new due dates for postponed operational reports.

So now it’s not only the (infinite?) amount of cash...

While everyone in our industry struggles with the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, distilled spirits plant (“DSP”) production of hand sanitizer or ethanol (whether denatured or not) for use in hand sanitizer is a particularly important topic. The Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (“TTB”) are issuing guidance on a seemingly daily basis.

To that end, TTB released Public Guidance 2020-1A on Thursday March 26, 2020, updating its previous March 18th guidance regarding the production of hand sanitizer. This new guidance contains several important points for DSPs moving forward and is valid until June 30, 2020 unless extended by TTB.

First, a DSP may manufacture hand sanitizer without obtaining TTB formula approval if the DSP uses a formula cited by FDA in its March 23, 2020 guidance titled Temporary Policy for Preparation of Certain Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer Products During the Public Health Emergency (COVID-19). Although TTB tries to approve non-beverage alcohol product formulas within 10 days or so, by utilizing one of the formulas identified by FDA, DSPs can start producing hand sanitizer as soon as practical. If this saves you even a few days it can go a long way toward helping health professionals and many others who need hand sanitizer.

Second, a DSP does not need to...

Four New Lawyers, With Wide Alcohol Beverage Experience, Join Us Within the Past Three Months

We are delighted to announce that we have added two more highly experienced alcohol beverage lawyers in recent days:  Art DeCelle and Marshall Fawley. They join us after many years handling beer, wine and spirits issues at one of the premier alcohol beverage law practices in the U.S. A few weeks earlier, we affiliated with two other of counsel lawyers.

Our firm has steadily grown in recent years and we are now at ten alcohol beverage lawyers. Our new colleagues make us one of the top U.S. alcohol beverage law firms, significantly expanding the range of alcohol beverage law issues that we can address for clients. The firm started in 2001 with just one lawyer, focused primarily on labels and formulas. We have branched out to cover permits, trademarks, trade practices, distribution, and the other legal issues that commonly impact beer, wine, spirits, cider, kombucha, hard seltzer and other beverages.

The below-listed new lawyers join a highly experienced team of ten lawyers and several other professionals.

• Art DeCelle. Senior Counsel. Art has been working as a lawyer for over 30 years in various senior capacities such as at a leading international law firm, as General Counsel of the Beer Institute, and as a Chief...