SPECIAL NOTICE TO WINE GROWERS AND IMPORTERS
The Board of Equalization (BOE) approved regulations necessary to clarify the definition of “distilled spirits” under the Alcoholic Beverage Tax Law. The regulations were approved by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) and became fully operative on October 1, 2008.
The regulations create a rebuttable presumption that all alcoholic beverages, except wine, as defined by Business and Professions Code section 23007, contain 0.5 percent or more alcohol by volume derived from flavors or other ingredients containing alcohol obtained from the distillation of fermented agricultural products and are “distilled spirits.” The regulations also prescribe a procedure for rebutting this presumption.
Accordingly, unless a manufacturer files the attached form BOE-505 Alcoholic Beverage Tax Report for Board of Equalization Rebutting Regulation 2559 to rebut the presumption, any product (including any wine-based products) that does not meet the definition of wine under Business and Profession Code section 23007, is presumed to be a distilled spirit for purposes of the Alcoholic Beverage Tax Law.
. . . . . .
Read Full Text (PDF)
________________________________________________