You asked for a summary of An Act Concerning the Shipment of Wine to State Residents (SB 122) and for summaries of related laws.

SUMMARY

SB 122 allows wine producers and sellers licensed in other states to ship up to 24 bottles of wine in a 30-day period to Connecticut package stores. Someone who is at least 21 years old must receive the wine. The bill requires the shipper to report each shipment to the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) and satisfy all taxes on the wine.

The law prohibits package stores from buying wine for resale from any business other than a Connecticut manufacturer or wholesaler. Apparently, the shippers would be sending the wine to the package stores to hold for the actual purchaser or for the storeowner’s personal use.

Under current law, consumers can import up to five gallons in a 60-day period from any out-of-state liquor retailer in the United States and up to five gallons in a year from outside of the country. Before doing so, consumers must obtain permission from the Department of Revenue Services (DRS) and pay the excise tax. By law, shippers must state the

contents on the container of liquor sent into the state and make delivery conditioned on obtaining a signature from someone at least 21 years old or legally authorized to receive the shipment. Delivery companies must hold a state-issued liquor permit.

PROPOSED LEGISLATION

The bill allows a liquor licensee in another state holding a wine producer, supplier, importer, wholesaler, distributor, or retailer license and a Connecticut out-of-state shipper’s permit to ship wine to a Connecticut package store if (1) the shipment is addressed to a package store permittee, (2) someone 21 or older signs for receipt of the shipment, (3) the shipper reports the shipment to DCP in the manner it prescribes, (4) all taxes related to the shipment’s production, sale, and consumption are satisfied, and (5) the shipments, in the aggregate, contain no more than 24 bottles in a 30-day period.

The law, unchanged by the bill, does not allow package stores to purchase wine for resale from any business other than one holding a Connecticut manufacturer or wholesaler permit (CGS § 30-76). Apparently, the bill allows package store permit holders to receive wine from these out-of-state businesses either for personal consumption or on behalf of another purchaser.

The bill takes effect on passage.

Out-of-State Shipper’s Permits

An out-of-state shipper’s permit for alcoholic liquor may be issued to a business that is either in or out of state. It allows its holder to sell all types of alcoholic liquor except beer to Connecticut manufacturers and wholesalers. The annual fee is $ 1,000 for out-of-state businesses and $ 45 for in-state businesses.

An out-of-state small winery shipper’s permit may be issued to businesses located in another state, in a territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It allows its holder to sell wine to Connecticut manufacturers and wholesalers. An applicant must affirm that it did not produce more than 100,000 gallons of wine in the most recently completed calendar year. The annual fee is $ 250.

The law requires out-of-state shippers to register the brand with the DCP before they ship wine into the state. The fee is $ 100 for each brand registration. They must also post the bottle and case price with DCP each month (CGS § 30-63). The law also requires out-of-state shippers to file a schedule of suggested consumer resale prices for each brand with DCP before selling any wine. The schedule must identify the brand, capacity of the container and the suggested consumer price, among other things (CGS § 30-64).

CURRENT LAW ON WINE IMPORTATION BY INDIVIDUALS

The law, unchanged by the bill, allows a consumer to import up to five gallons of alcoholic beverage in any 60-day period from any other state and up to five gallons in any 365-day period from outside the country (CGS § 12-436(b)(2)). It does not require a consumer to be physically present when ordering alcoholic beverages. This means that consumers may order wine from out-of-state businesses by whatever method they choose, such as by telephone or over the Internet (CGS § 30-77(a)). Alcoholic beverages imported in this way must be for personal consumption. The law requires consumers to obtain prior approval from DRS and pay excise and sales taxes before importing any liquor. The process is described in Department of Revenue Services (DRS) Informational Bulletin IP 2000-15. Consumers must use DRS forms BT-100 or BT-101 to request permission to import and form S&BT to pay the excise and sales taxes. Copies of the bulletin and forms are available on the DRS website (Connecticut Department of Revenue Services) and are enclosed. (Enclosure 1)

The law requires anyone who ships a container of any kind of liquor into the state to (1) clearly mark the contents on the outside of the container and (2) make delivery conditional on obtaining the signature of an individual who is at least 21 years old or legally authorized to receive the liquor under the Liquor Control Act (CGS § 30-93a).

The law requires delivery companies to obtain an in-state transporter’s permit from the Department of Consumer Protection (CGS § 30-19f). The permit allows deliveries only if the excise tax has already been paid. Currently, 43 businesses have an in-state transporter’s permit.

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