§5661 — Title 26 Internal Revenue Code | U.S. Code

§5661 Penalty and forfeiture for violation of laws and regulations relating to wine

Title 26 › Subtitle Subtitle E— - Alcohol, Tobacco, and Certain Other Excise Taxes › Chapter CHAPTER 51— - DISTILLED SPIRITS, WINES, AND BEER › Subchapter Subchapter J— - Penalties, Seizures, and Forfeitures Relating to Liquors › Part PART II— - PENALTY AND FORFEITURE PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO WINE AND WINE PRODUCTION › § 5661

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

If a person intentionally tries to cheat the United States by not paying wine taxes, breaking the tax-code rules about wine, or trying to get spirits out of wine, they can be fined up to $5,000, put in jail up to 5 years, or both for each offense. Any products or materials used in the illegal act must be taken by the United States. If a proprietor, employee, agent, or any other person breaks those same wine rules without intent to cheat the United States, or helps someone else break them, the penalty for each offense is a fine up to $1,000, jail up to 1 year, or both.

Title 26, §5661

Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Whoever, with intent to defraud the United States, fails to pay any tax imposed upon wine or violates, or fails to comply with, any provision of subchapter F or subpart C of part I of subchapter A, or regulations issued pursuant thereto, or recovers or attempts to recover any spirits from wine, shall be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both, for each such offense, and all products and materials used in any such violation shall be forfeited to the United States.

(b)Any proprietor of premises subject to the provisions of subchapter F, or any employee or agent of such proprietor, or any other person, who otherwise than with intent to defraud the United States violates or fails to comply with any provision of subchapter F or subpart C of part I of subchapter A, or regulations issued pursuant thereto, or who aids or abets in any such violation, shall be fined not more than $1,000, or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both, for each such offense.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 5661, act Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 695, consisted of provisions similar to those comprising this section, prior to the general revision of this chapter by Pub. L. 85–859. Prior section 5661(a) also provided for an additional penalty “of double the tax due, to be assessed, levied and collected in the same manner as taxes are collected”. See section 6651 et seq. of this title.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective July 1, 1959, see section 210(a)(1) of Pub. L. 85–859, set out as a note under section 5001 of this title.