There have been some recent developments at the Alcohol Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (“TTB”) regarding filing corporate updates that may affect your federal licensing as an importer, producer or wholesaler of alcoholic beverages. When you receive an approval letter for a TTB permit, you’ll receive information regarding the ongoing requirement to report changes in name, address, ownership, management or control after the original qualification of your business. Perhaps someone on your board of directors is new, or there’s a new 10% or greater shareholder in your company, or an officer leaves, or new officers are appointed; all of these changes must be reviewed by the right folks in your organization to determine if it triggers corporate updates with both the TTB and state authorities where you hold licenses.

We’ve blogged about the importance of staying up to date on your license applications with the TTB in the past, but we’ve just been reminded why keeping up with these compliance requirements is so important. Recently, the TTB announced enforcement against an Illinois wholesaler for not updating its TTB permits to report changes in ownership and control within the required timeline (in this instance, 30 days). See the TTB press release here. The Illinois wholesaler in question had not updated its ownership information with the TTB in a significant period of time, and the TTB ruled that the wholesaler was therefore operating without a valid permit, which is a criminal offense under 27 U.S.C. § 207. Although the Illinois wholesaler was engaged in other, more problematic behavior (paying slotting fees to a retailer), the citation of the unreported permit changes does indicate a potential shift in TTB enforcement priorities.

Accordingly, we recommend that all businesses keep their TTB permits up-to-date within the required deadlines, and, where required, file applications or amendments in advance of such changes. A change in proprietorship typically requires TTB preapproval of the new entity before closing a transaction, while a change in control typically triggers a post-closing notification to TTB. Other changes that may require updates with the TTB include changes to trade names, changes to business names, extensions or curtailments of the premises, changes to any alternation of premises or proprietor, or adding or removing non-contiguous storage locations. The TTB website also features more specific guidance on required updates for wineries, breweries, distilled spirits plants, and wholesalers/importers.

If you have any questions about report updates or licensing, please contact one of the attorneys at Strike Kerr & Johns.

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