Small Brewers Bond Reduction

Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is publishing a temporary rule that for a period of three years modifies the penal sum for a brewer's bond where the excise tax liability of the brewer is reasonably expected to be not more than $50,000 in the current calendar year and the brewer was liable for not more than $50,000 in such taxes in the preceding calendar year. Under the temporary rule, for the next three years, the penal sum of the required bond is $1,000 for such brewers who file excise tax returns and remit taxes quarterly. In this document, TTB proposes to adopt the $1,000 penal sum amount for the brewer's bond for such brewers as a permanent regulatory change. This document also proposes amendments to the regulatory text to require that such brewers file Federal excise tax returns and payments quarterly, as well as submit reports of operations quarterly. Finally, TTB is soliciting comments on how the TTB regulations governing brewers' operations might be modified to reduce the burden on brewers and, at the same time, meet all statutory requirements and protect the revenue.