McDermott Will & Emery
Subscribe to McDermott Will & Emery's PostsRecent Retailer Direct Shipping Opinion Illustrates Stakes in Upcoming Supreme Court Review
By McDermott Will & Emery on Oct 1, 2018
Posted In Distribution, Trade Practices
The recent US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan opinion strikes down a Michigan statue and authorizes out-of-state retailers to sell and ship wine directly to Michigan consumers. Lebamoff Enterprises v. Snyder, E.D. Mich. Case No. 17-10191 (Sept. 28, 2018). More fundamentally, the Lebamoff decision underscores the stakes in the upcoming (as of...
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Customs and Border Protection Interim Regulations for Refunds of Excise Taxes on Imported Beer, Wine and Spirits
By McDermott Will & Emery on Aug 15, 2018
Posted In Alcohol Excise Taxes, Import/Export
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) expects to publish tomorrow Interim Regulations authorizing the refund of beer, wine, and spirits excise taxes in connection with the 2017 tax reform act’s reduced rates and credits. The Interim Regulations specify: Claims must be filed with the National Revenue Center of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau...
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TTB Issues Guidance on Transfers of Beer between Breweries of Different Ownership
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jul 23, 2018
Posted In Alcohol Excise Taxes, Distribution
Last week, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) published a TTB Procedure governing the transfer in bond of beer between breweries of different ownership. See TTB Procedure 2018-1 (July 17, 2018). In bond transfers between breweries of different ownership were authorized by the 2017 tax reform act and like many provisions of...
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An Intro to Distribution Agreements
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jul 3, 2018
Posted In Distribution
As a craft distiller, getting your products into the hands of consumers is, of course, critical to your business. As a general matter, state alcohol laws separate the alcohol beverage industry into three tiers (i.e., the three-tier system): the supplier tier, the wholesaler tier, and the retailer tier. To get its product to market, a...
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Son of Granholm Inches Closer
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jul 2, 2018
Posted In Distribution, Trade Practices
Two recent developments reinforce my expectation that the Supreme Court will need to clarify the scope of its 2005 Granholm v. Heald decision within the next few years. Granholm struck down state restrictions on the interstate sale and shipment of wine by wineries, where the state permitted in-state wineries to engage in such direct-to-consumer sales...
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CBP Issues Guidance on Alcohol Excise Tax Provisions
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jun 28, 2018
Posted In Alcohol Excise Taxes, Import/Export
Yesterday, Customs & Border Protection (CBP) issued Guidance on the alcohol excise tax provisions contained in the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (Tax Act). Key points Importers must continue to pay the full excise tax rate (not the rates reduced by the Tax Act’s lower rates or credits) upon importation. CBP and TTB are working on...
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California Court of Appeal Holds That “Safe Harbor” Defense Precludes Suit Based on Presence of Inorganic Arsenic in Wines
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jun 1, 2018
Posted In Advertising and Marketing, Food Safety and FDA
Last month, the Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, Division Four, issued an opinion in Charles v. Sutter Home Winery, Inc. (2018 Cal. App. LEXIS 418*; 2018 WL 2126987). The court considered the Plaintiffs’ appeal of their dismissed putative class action complaint brought under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of...
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Five Issues That Impact Craft Brewers
By McDermott Will & Emery on May 31, 2018
Posted In Advertising and Marketing, Alcohol Excise Taxes, Distribution, Legislation, Trade Practices
In an article published by The New Brewer, Marc Sorini discusses five issues most likely to have a meaningful impact on craft brewers in the coming years, including: The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act’s (CBMTRA) new tiered excise tax rate structure, its extending benefits to foreign producers, and its authorization for brewers to...
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TTB Announces Extension of Tax Credits for Wines Stored at Bonded Wine Cellars and Bonded Wineries
By McDermott Will & Emery on May 21, 2018
Posted In Alcohol Excise Taxes, Legislation
On May 17, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) issued an Industry Circular, No. 2018-1A, clarifying that under the recently-enacted tax reform legislation (Tax Act), wineries may tax determine and tax pay wine they produce and that is stored untaxpaid at another bonded wine cellar or bonded winery as if the wine...
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USDA Publishes Proposed GMO Labeling Regulations
By McDermott Will & Emery on May 14, 2018
Posted In Advertising and Marketing, Food Safety and FDA, Legislation
The Agricultural Marketing Service of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently published a proposed rule containing regulations to implement the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard mandated by Congress in 2016. See 83 Fed. Reg. 19860 (May 4, 2018). The proposed regulations would govern the labeling of raw agricultural products and packaged foods whose labeling...
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