Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This temporary rule updates and reissues Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau regulations pertaining to the semimonthly payments of excise tax on distilled spirits, wine, beer, tobacco products, and cigarette papers and tubes, and also reissues temporary regulations regarding quarterly payment of excise tax for small alcohol excise taxpayers. The temporary regulations adopted in this document replace temporary regulations issued under T.D. ATF-365 and T.D. TTB-41, which were originally published in 1995 and 2006, respectively. TTB is soliciting comments from all interested parties on these regulatory provisions through a notice of proposed rulemaking, published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau proposes to amend its regulations by adding a number of new names to the list of grape variety names approved for use in designating American wines. In addition, TTB proposes to include separate entries for synonyms of existing entries so that readers can more readily find them and to correct one existing entry.

In response to a request made on behalf of a wine industry association, TTB is extending for an additional 60 days the comment period prescribed in Notice No. 109, Use of Various Winemaking Terms on Wine Labels and in Advertisements; Request for Public Comment, an advance notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on November 3, 2010.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is reopening the comment period for Notice No. 105, which concerned a proposal to establish an American viticultural area having the name Pine Mountain- Mayacamas. This reopening of the comment period solicits comments from the public on issues that were raised in public comments received in response to Notice No. 105. Three specific issues which we seek comments on concern the proper name for the proposed viticultural area, the viticultural significance of a suggested alternative name for the viticultural area, and the propriety of expanding the boundary of the proposed viticultural area.

This Treasury decision renames the ``Yamhill-Carlton District'' viticultural area, located in Yamhill and Washington Counties, Oregon, as the ``Yamhill-Carlton'' viticultural area. We designate viticultural areas to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau proposes to amend the wine labeling regulations to allow the labeling of imported wines with multistate appellations of origin. This amendment would provide treatment for imported wines similar to that currently available to domestic wines bearing multistate appellations. It would also provide consumers with additional information regarding the origin of these wines.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we invite comments on the proposed or continuing information collections listed below in this notice.

In response to a request from a viticulture industry group, we are extending the comment period for Notice No. 105, Proposed Establishment of the Pine Mountain-Mayacmas Viticultural Area, a notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on May 27, 2010, for an additional 45 days.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau requests public comments on standards that have been proposed to distinguish between pipe tobacco and roll-your-own tobacco for Federal excise tax purposes based upon certain physical characteristics of the two products. We also request comments on any other physical characteristics that may be used for such purposes.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we invite comments on the proposed or continuing information collections listed below in this notice.

This Treasury decision adopts as a final rule, without change, a temporary rule that amended the regulations administered by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to reflect the repeal of certain special (occupational) taxes effected by section 11125 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users. The regulatory amendments involved the repeal of special taxes on alcohol beverage producers and dealers, tax-free alcohol users, denatured spirits users and dealers, and persons claiming drawback for the manufacture of nonbeverage alcoholic products, and the inclusion of recordkeeping and registration requirements for dealers in distilled spirits, wines, and beer, and for manufacturers of nonbeverage products who claim drawback.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau proposes to rename the established Yamhill-Carlton District viticultural area located in Yamhill and Washington Counties, Oregon, as the ``Yamhill- Carlton'' viticultural area. The size and boundary description of the renamed viticultural area would remain the same. We designate viticultural areas to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase. We invite comments on this proposed addition to our regulations.

This document withdraws a notice of proposed rulemaking, published in the Federal Register on October 15, 2009, that proposed conforming amendments to reflect proposed Customs and Border Protection regulations stating that domestic merchandise on which no tax is paid under the Internal Revenue Code may not be substituted for imported merchandise for purposes of claims for drawback of tax under the customs laws and regulations. The notice is being withdrawn to permit further consideration of the relevant issues involved in the proposed rulemaking.

This Treasury decision establishes the Calistoga viticultural area in Napa County, California. The viticultural area is entirely within the existing Napa Valley viticultural area. We designate viticultural areas to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau proposes to amend its regulations to clarify the relationship between tax payment under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and drawback of tax under the Tariff Act of 1930. The proposal provides conforming amendments to reflect proposed Customs and Border Protection regulations stating that domestic merchandise on which no tax is paid under the Internal Revenue Code may not be substituted for imported merchandise for purposes of claims for drawback of tax under the customs laws and regulations.

On June 22, 2009, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau published T.D. TTB-78, which included amendments to the notice requirements applicable to packages of roll-your-own tobacco and pipe tobacco. The temporary regulations provided a use-up period, until August 1, 2009, for manufacturers and importers to continue to remove packages that did not meet the new notice requirements. Those temporary regulations also included a new rule governing when a product in a package bearing the declaration ``pipe tobacco'' would be classified as roll-your-own tobacco for tax purposes. This temporary rule extends the use-up period and delays application of the new classification rule. It also corrects two minor errors in the previously published regulatory texts. We also are soliciting comments from all interested parties on these new amendments through a notice of proposed rulemaking published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we invite comments on the proposed or continuing information collections listed below in this notice.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we invite comments on the proposed or continuing information collections listed below in this notice.

Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is issuing a temporary rule implementing section 11125 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, which repealed certain special (occupational) taxes and which continues to require recordkeeping and registration by dealers in distilled spirits, wines, and beer, and by manufacturers of nonbeverage products. In this notice of proposed rulemaking, we are soliciting comments from all interested parties on the regulatory amendments to implement these changes. The text of the regulations in the temporary rule published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register serves as the text of the proposed regulations.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau proposes to establish the 9.7-square mile ``Sierra Pelona Valley'' American viticultural area in southern California. We designate viticultural areas to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase. We invite comments on this proposed addition to our regulations.

Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is issuing a temporary rule to implement certain changes made to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. The principal changes involve permit and related requirements for manufacturers and importers of processed tobacco and an expansion of the definition of roll-your-own tobacco. The text of the regulations in the temporary rule published in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register serves as the text of the proposed regulations.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we invite comments on the proposed or continuing information collections listed below in this notice.

This Treasury decision establishes the 24,040-acre ``Lake Chelan'' American viticultural area in Chelan County, Washington. It lies within the larger Columbia Valley viticultural area in north- central Washington. We designate viticultural areas to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase.

Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is issuing a temporary rule implementing certain provisions of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA). The text of the regulations in the temporary rule published in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register serves as the text of the proposed regulations.