This subpart contains procedural requirements relative to the refunds of internal revenue tax for imported alcohol made available under the Craft Beverage Modernization Act provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 at 26 U.S.C. 5001(c)(4), 5041(c)(7), and 5051(a)(6). The refunds available under this subpart apply only to imported products entered for consumption on or after January 1, 2023.

When used in this subpart and in forms prescribed under this subpart, where not otherwise distinctly expressed or manifestly incompatible with the intent thereof, terms have the meaning ascribed in this section. Words in the plural form include the singular, and vice versa.

CBMA. The Craft Beverage Modernization Act provisions (sections 13801-13808) of the law commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Pub. L. 115-97), as amended.

CBMA importer refund claims system. The electronic system established by TTB for the collection and review of claims for refund of internal revenue tax authorized under § 27.264. The CBMA importer refund claim system is available at https://www.TTB.gov.

CBMA tax benefits. The reduced tax rates or tax credits made available under CBMA at 26 U.S.C. 5001(c)(1) (distilled spirits), 5041(c)(1) (wine), and 5051(a)(1) (beer), and made assignable to importers by foreign distilled spirits operations, wineries, and brewers pursuant to sections 5001(c)(3), 5041(c)(6), and 5051(a)(4), respectively.

Foreign producer. A foreign distilled spirits operation, wine producer, or brewer.

Foreign Producer ID. The identification number issued to a foreign producer registered with TTB under § 27.254.

Foreign producer registration and assignment system. The electronic system established by TTB for the collection of information related to the registration of a foreign producer under §§ 27.254 through 27.260 and the assignment of CBMA tax benefits by such foreign producer under § 27.262. The foreign producer registration and assignment system is available at https://www.TTB.gov.

(a) General. A foreign producer electing to assign CBMA tax benefits to one or more importers must first register with TTB and receive a Foreign Producer ID.

(b) Information required in registration. A foreign producer must provide the following information through the foreign producer registration and assignment system to register with TTB and receive a Foreign Producer ID:

(1) The name, country of residence, and principal business address of the foreign producer;

(2) The name, title, country of residence, phone number, and email address of an employee or individual owner of the business who has authority to act for the business;

(3) If different than the individual identified in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, the name, address, phone number, and email address of the individual submitting the registration and authorized to act on the foreign producer's behalf;

(4) The Food Facility Registration number(s) obtained from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under 21 CFR 1.225 that may be reported to FDA under 21 CFR 1.281(a)(6)(ii) for the purposes of importing into the United States the foreign producer's alcohol products;

(5) Identifying information for the individuals and/or entities with ownership interests in the foreign producer as required by § 27.256, or a certification that § 27.256 does not require the foreign producer to provide such identifying information;

(6) Any prescribed certifications attesting to the authority of the individual submitting the registration and the truthfulness of the information submitted, the acknowledgement by the person submitting the registration that providing erroneous or fraudulent information may cause TTB to revoke the foreign producer's eligibility to assign CBMA tax benefits, and consent to receive electronically any written notice of contemplated revocation;

(7) Any additional information required by the appropriate TTB officer (including, through the foreign producer registration and assignment system) in order to verify a submitter's identity. Such information may include identifying numbers (e.g., Employer Identification Number, Social Security Number) as provided in 26 U.S.C. 6109; and

(8) Any additional information required by the appropriate TTB officer on a case-by-case basis, to administer CBMA.

(c) Language. All registration information must be submitted in the English language except an individual's name, the name of a company, and the name of a street may be submitted in a foreign language. All information, including these items, must be submitted using the English alphabet.

(d) Electronic registration required. The foreign producer must submit the information required by paragraph (b) of this section electronically using the format provided by TTB.

(a) When required. A foreign producer must provide, as part of the registration required by § 27.254, the identifying information set forth in paragraph (b) of this section only when one or more of the individuals or entities holding an ownership interest in the foreign producer of 10 percent or more also holds an ownership interest in any distilled spirits operation, winery, or brewery in the United States or in any other foreign producer that has assigned or will assign CBMA tax benefits for any calendar year in which the registering foreign producer also assigns such benefits. Otherwise, the foreign producer must only certify that this scenario does not apply.

(b) Identifying information—(1) Individual owner. For each individual holding an ownership interest of 10 percent or more in the foreign producer, the foreign producer must provide the following information when required by paragraph (a) of this section:

(i) The name, address, and phone number of the individual.

(ii) [Reserved]

(2) Other entity. For each entity (other than an individual) holding an ownership interest of 10 percent or more in the foreign producer, the foreign producer must provide the following information when required by paragraph (a) of this section:

(i) The name, address, and phone number of the entity;

(ii) If the entity is a U.S. entity, and if the entity has such a number, the entity's Employer Identification Number issued by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service; and

(iii) If the entity is a foreign entity, and if the entity has such a number, the Dun & Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System number of the entity.

Whenever there is a change to any of the information submitted by the foreign producer under § 27.254, the foreign producer must update its registration with the new information within 60 days. Whenever the appropriate TTB officer determines that a foreign producer has failed to update its registration information as required, the foreign producer's registration is deemed invalid and the foreign producer will be unable to assign CBMA tax benefits until the foreign producer updates its registration as required or the appropriate TTB officer is satisfied that no such update is required.

(a) General. A foreign producer registered with TTB to assign CBMA tax benefits must identify at least one person authorized to act on its behalf. The person who initially registers a foreign producer under § 27.254 must have authorization from the foreign producer to provide the required registration information, edit the foreign producer's registration information, designate additional persons who are also authorized by the foreign producer to act on the foreign producer's behalf or cancel the designations of authorized persons, and make assignments of CBMA tax benefits. All authorized representatives of the foreign producer must have authority to receive and respond to communications from TTB, including notice of contemplated revocation under § 27.268(b).

(b) Authorization of additional persons. (1) A foreign producer may authorize more than one person to act on its behalf within the foreign producer registration and assignment system. To designate an additional person as described above, the foreign producer must provide the following information:

(i) The name and email address of the person; and

(ii) The appropriate system role for the person, based on the functions in paragraph (a) of this section that the person is authorized to carry out.

(2) TTB may collect additional information from the additional person, as needed, to verify their identity. Such information may include identifying numbers (e.g., Social Security Number) as provided in 26 U.S.C. 6109.

(c) Proof of authority. An individual acting on behalf of the foreign producer in the foreign producer registration and assignment system must maintain documentation establishing the individual's authority to act for the foreign producer and provide this documentation to TTB upon request. Any representative must be authorized by the foreign producer pursuant to a duly executed power of attorney or other document deemed acceptable to the appropriate TTB officer.

(a) General. A foreign producer who has registered with TTB under § 27.254 and received a Foreign Producer ID may assign its CBMA tax benefits to importers, subject to the quantity limitations established by law.

(b) Information required in assignment. A foreign producer must provide the following information through the foreign producer registration and assignment system to make an assignment of CBMA tax benefits to an importer:

(1) The calendar year for which the CBMA tax benefits are being assigned;

(2) The TTB importer permit number or TTB-assigned reference number of the importer to whom the assignment is made;

(3) The Internal Revenue Code classification of the product for which the assignment is made, either distilled spirits, wine, or beer;

(4) The reduced tax rate or tax credit being assigned, either:

(i) For distilled spirits:

(A) The reduced tax rate of $2.70 per proof gallon on the first 100,000 proof gallons imported in the calendar year; or

(B) The reduced tax rate of $13.34 per proof gallon on the next 22.13 million proof gallons imported in the calendar year;

(ii) For wine:

(A) The tax credit of $1 per wine gallon on the first 30,000 wine gallons of wine imported in the calendar year (or credit of 6.2 cents per wine gallon for wine classified as “hard cider”);

(B) The tax credit of 90 cents per wine gallon on the next 100,000 wine gallons imported in the calendar year (or credit of 5.6 cents per wine gallon for wine classified as “hard cider”); or

(C) The tax credit of 53.5 cents per wine gallon on the next 620,000 wine gallons imported in the calendar year (or credit of 3.3 cents per wine gallon for wine classified as “hard cider”);

(iii) For beer, the reduced tax rate of $16 per barrel on the first 6,000,000 barrels imported in the calendar year;

(5) The quantity by proof gallons, wine gallons, or beer barrels of the reduced tax rate or tax credit being assigned; and

(6) Any prescribed certifications attesting to the submitter's authority and the submitter's acknowledgement of statutory limitations on the quantities of assignments that may be made; and

(7) Any additional information required by the appropriate TTB officer on a case-by-case basis to administer CBMA.

(c) Limitations—(1) General. Quantities that may be assigned are limited to the number of proof gallons, wine gallons, and beer barrels in paragraph (b)(4) of this section, and also cannot exceed the quantities of the foreign producer's distilled spirits, wine, and beer that are reasonably projected to be imported into the United States during the specified calendar year by the importer receiving the assignment.

(2) Controlled group rules. Foreign and/or domestic producers under common ownership are grouped together when applying the quantity limitations in paragraph (c)(1) of this section. The quantity limitations apply to:

(i) Foreign and/or domestic producers in a “parent-subsidiary controlled group,” as defined in 26 U.S.C. 1563 and as modified by 26 U.S.C. 5051(5)(A)-(B);

(ii) Foreign and/or domestic producers in a “brother-sister controlled group,” as defined in 26 U.S.C. 1563 and as modified by 26 U.S.C. 5051(5)(A)-(B);

(iii) Foreign and/or domestic producers in a “combined group,” as defined in 26 U.S.C. 1563 and as modified by 26 U.S.C. 5051(5)(A)-(B);

(iv) Shared ownership structures similar to those described in paragraphs (c)(2)(i) through (iii) of this section, but where one or more producers under common ownership is not a corporation.

(d) Timing. Assignments of CBMA tax benefits may be submitted to TTB beginning no earlier than October 1st of the calendar year prior to the year for which the CBMA tax benefits are to be assigned. Assignments of CBMA tax benefits must be submitted on or before December 31st of the calendar year for which the CBMA tax benefits are assigned.

(e) Changes to assignments. Once made, a foreign producer may not revoke or reduce an assignment of CBMA tax benefits unless the assignee importer has rejected the assignment.

(f) Electronic registration required. The foreign producer must submit the information required by paragraph (b) of this section electronically using the format provided by TTB.

(a) General. An importer who has elected to receive an assignment of CBMA tax benefits from a foreign producer may file a claim in accordance with this section for a partial refund of the tax paid to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on alcohol produced by the assigning foreign producer and imported into the United States by that importer. Refunds are to be determined no more frequently than quarterly. The amount of refund is calculated as provided at 26 U.S.C. 5001(c)(4)(B) for distilled spirits, 5041(c)(7)(B) for wine, and 5051(a)(6)(B) for beer, on such products entered for consumption within the calendar quarter and for which the importer has received an assignment of CBMA tax benefits and paid to CBP the tax determined on such products.

(b) Election to receive CBMA tax benefits. An importer who has been assigned CBMA tax benefits by a foreign producer is presumed to have elected to receive such assignment unless and until the importer rejects the assignment through the online system prior to filing a claim for a refund based on that assignment.

(c) Information required at entry summary. To be eligible for a refund described in paragraph (a) of this section, the importer must submit electronically the information required by § 27.48(a)(2) for distilled spirits, wines, and beer imported into the United States subject to tax (in satisfaction of § 27.48(a)(2), an importer who does not have and is not required to obtain an FAA Act basic permit must instead submit its TTB-assigned reference number obtained under § 27.266). The importer must also indicate its intent to claim a refund on the entry summaries of the consumption entries for the alcohol subject to the prospective claim, either at the time of entry summary or through post-summary correction. These entry summaries must include the following information for each line item to be included in a claim for refund, in the electronic format prescribed by CBP:

(1) The TTB-issued Foreign Producer ID of the foreign producer who assigned CBMA tax benefits to the importer;

(2) The name of the foreign producer who assigned CBMA tax benefits to the importer;

(3) A statement of whether the importer is using an eligible flavor content credit pursuant to §§ 27.76 and 27.77; and

(4) An indicator or set of indicators specifying the particular CBMA reduced tax rate or tax credit assigned by the foreign producer of the alcohol.

(d) Information required in claim submission. To submit a claim for a refund described in paragraph (a) of this section, the importer must submit and/or verify, as appropriate, within the CBMA importer refund claims system the following information for each consumption entry line item to be included in the claim:

(1) The date of the entry for consumption;

(2) The year of importation, if different than the year of the entry for consumption;

(3) The entry summary number and the entry summary line number;

(4) The particular CBMA reduced tax rate or tax credit assigned by the foreign producer of the alcohol;

(5) The quantity of proof gallons, wine gallons, or beer barrels entered for consumption subject to the rate or credit identified in paragraph (d)(4) of this section;

(6) The TTB-issued Foreign Producer ID of the foreign producer who assigned CBMA tax benefits to the importer;

(7) The amount of tax determined and paid by the importer;

(8) The amount of the refund sought by the importer;

(9) Information allowing the appropriate TTB officer to arrange payment to the importer of the refund;

(10) Any prescribed certifications attesting to submitter's authority and the truthfulness of the information submitted; and

(11) Any additional information, as needed by TTB on a case-by-case basis, to administer CBMA.

(e) Timing of claim submission. Claims under this section may be submitted only after the end of the calendar quarter in which the entries for consumption were filed. The calendar quarters end on March 31, June 30, September 31, and December 31. Claims must be filed within the limitations period set forth at 26 U.S.C. 6511.

(f) Authorization. Each person authorized to sign or act on behalf of the importer must be authorized pursuant to a duly executed power of attorney. TTB may collect additional information from the authorized person, as needed, to verify their identity. Such information may include identifying numbers (e.g., Social Security Number) as provided in 26 U.S.C. 6109.

(g) Electronic filing required. To be eligible for a refund under this section, an importer must submit the information required by paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section electronically in the formats prescribed by CBP and TTB, respectively.

An importer who does not have and is not required to obtain an FAA Act basic permit must request and receive a reference number from the appropriate TTB officer before receiving assignments of CBMA tax benefits from foreign producers under § 27.262. The importer must provide this reference number to any foreign producers that will assign CBMA tax benefits to the importer.

(a) Revocation of foreign producer's eligibility. A foreign producer who provides erroneous or fraudulent information that the appropriate TTB officer determines is material to the eligibility of the foreign producer to assign CBMA tax benefits under § 27.262 may have such eligibility revoked, for a period not to exceed three calendar years following the year of revocation, under the procedures set forth in paragraphs (b) through (e) of this section. If the foreign producer has previously had its eligibility revoked under this section, any subsequent revocation may instead be permanent. In any case where a criminal conviction results from the foreign producer's providing of erroneous or fraudulent information as described above, eligibility will be permanently revoked.

(b) Notice of contemplated revocation. Where the appropriate TTB officer has reason to believe that a foreign producer, including anyone acting on behalf of a foreign producer, has provided erroneous or fraudulent information as described in paragraph (a) of this section, such officer will provide a written notice of contemplated revocation to the foreign producer. Such notice will set forth the facts and analysis supporting the contemplated revocation, as well as the period of contemplated revocation. Written notice will be provided electronically to persons authorized to act on behalf of the foreign producer within the online foreign producer registration and assignment system as provided in § 27.260.

(c) Response to contemplated revocation. A foreign producer in receipt of a notice of contemplated revocation, or its representative, may submit a written response to the appropriate TTB officer explaining why the foreign producer believes the information at issue was not erroneous or fraudulent, or why such information is not material to the foreign producer qualifying for CBMA tax benefits. This response must be submitted within 45 days of receipt of the written notice of contemplated revocation and must be submitted electronically through means specified in such notice. Any representative of the foreign producer in these proceedings must be authorized by the foreign producer pursuant to a duly executed power of attorney or other document deemed acceptable to the appropriate TTB officer. If the foreign producer does not submit a response within 45 days, the appropriate TTB officer will issue an order of revocation as set forth in paragraph (d) of this section.

(d) Revocation determination. Following receipt of a foreign producer's response to a contemplated revocation, the appropriate TTB officer will consider the arguments raised in the response and issue an order either dismissing the contemplated revocation or imposing a revocation as authorized under paragraph (a) of this section. Any order imposing revocation will set forth the facts and analysis supporting the revocation, taking into consideration any response provided by the foreign producer under paragraph (c) of this section. The order will be provided electronically to the foreign producer or the foreign producer's representative in the matter.

(e) Review—(1) Appeal. A foreign producer may appeal an order of revocation issued under paragraph (d) of this section by submitting a written appeal to the appropriate TTB officer within 45 days of receipt of such order. The appeal must explain why the foreign producer believes its revocation is in error, supported by facts and analysis. The appeal must be submitted electronically through the means specified in the order of revocation. The appropriate TTB officer will issue a final decision by notifying the foreign producer within 90 days of receipt of the appeal whether the appeal is granted or denied, and the reasons for the determination. The appropriate TTB officer may extend this period of time once by an additional 90 days if the appropriate TTB officer requires additional time to consider the issues presented by an appeal and must notify the foreign producer of the extension within the initial 90-day period. If the appropriate TTB officer fails to issue a decision granting or denying the appeal within the applicable deadline, the appeal is denied and such denial will be considered a final decision.

(2) Judicial review. A final decision from the appropriate TTB officer following appeal is required prior to application to the Federal courts for review of any order of revocation.

(f) Notice to affected importers. In any instance where an order imposing revocation of a foreign producer's eligibility for CBMA tax benefits is issued under paragraph (d) of this section, the appropriate TTB officer will notify any importer having an assignment of CBMA tax benefits from that foreign producer of the revocation. In the event that the revocation is appealed and the appeal is granted pursuant to paragraph (e) of this section, the appropriate TTB officer will notify any importer having an assignment from that foreign producer of the dismissal of such revocation.