Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau is seeking $14.9 million and 40 additional employees to administer a new import claims program. The Craft Beverage Modernization Act (CBMA), as amended, transferred jurisdiction for import-related provisions from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to Treasury as of Jan. 1, 2023, and Treasury intends for TTB to administer the new CBMA import claims program.
Under the law, starting in 2023, alcohol beverage importers will no longer be eligible for the CBMA tax benefits at the time of entry; rather, importers will be required to pay the full tax rate at entry and submit quarterly refund claims to TTB to receive the benefits. TTB anticipates that this program will roughly double its current claims workload, estimating that importers will submit approximately 7,000 claims per year for roughly $250 million in refunds.
The FY 2023 request supports the development and maintenance of
custom information technology (IT) modules for foreign producers and importers to enable online filing and processing of claims as well as additional tax administration and enforcement staff necessary to timely issue refunds.