Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau said it will waive late filing, payment, or deposit penalties related to excise taxes on wine, distilled spirits, beer, and tobacco products on a case-by-case basis for industry members affected by the California wildfires. . Wherever warranted, waivers will be approved based on the statutory standard of reasonable cause and a lack of willful neglect demonstrated by the taxpayer.
Affected taxpayers include all taxpayers located in areas declared a Major Disaster by the President of the United States. Visit the Major Disaster Declarations page at FEMA.gov, to determine if your business is located in one of the disaster areas.
The waiver of penalties may also apply to taxpayers such as relief workers, taxpayers whose place of employment is located in an affected area, and taxpayers whose records are maintained in the above areas.
To qualify for a waiver, a taxpayer must demonstrate to the satisfaction of TTB that recent events or related events directly affected their ability to timely file, pay, or deposit. This request should be submitted either by mail or faxed to TTB’s National Revenue Center.
In a related move, TTB said wineries should report casualty losses of wine as soon as possible to TTB National Revenue Center and on TTB F 5120.17, Report of Wine Premise Operations.
TTB also said that owing “to the circumstances caused by the 2017 wildfires, TTB is waiving the requirement that proprietors must first obtain TTB approval before destroying taxpaid wine. However, proprietors must still submit a notification, as soon as practical, to the NRC containing the information required by 27 CFR 24.294.”
TTB is also waiving the requirement in 27 CFR 24.235(b) that proprietors must first obtain TTB approval before destroying wine spirits. However, proprietors must still submit a notification as soon as practical. The notification must be sent to the District Director, Trade Investigations Division, who serves your area.