§203 — Title 27 Intoxicating Liquors | U.S. Code

Summary

You must have a basic permit from the Secretary of the Treasury to import, make, or buy for wholesale resale distilled spirits, wine, or malt beverages when those products will be sold or shipped across state lines or to other countries. Without that permit, it is illegal to import these drinks. It is also illegal to distill, produce, blend, bottle, or warehouse and bottle them, or to buy them for resale at wholesale. People doing any of those things may not sell, offer, deliver, contract to sell, or ship the products in interstate or foreign commerce, whether directly, indirectly, or through an affiliate.

Title 27, §203

Intoxicating Liquors — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

In order effectively to regulate interstate and foreign commerce in distilled spirits, wine, and malt beverages, to enforce the twenty-first amendment, and to protect the revenue and enforce the postal laws with respect to distilled spirits, wine, and malt beverages:

(a)It shall be unlawful, except pursuant to a basic permit issued under this subchapter by the Secretary of the Treasury—

(1)to engage in the business of importing into the United States distilled spirits, wine, or malt beverages; or

(2)for any person so engaged to sell, offer or deliver for sale, contract to sell, or ship, in interstate or foreign commerce, directly or indirectly or through an affiliate, distilled spirits, wine, or malt beverages so imported.

(b)It shall be unlawful, except pursuant to a basic permit issued under this subchapter by the Secretary of the Treasury—

(1)to engage in the business of distilling distilled spirits, producing wine, rectifying or blending distilled spirits or wine, or bottling, or warehousing and bottling, distilled spirits; or

(c)It shall be unlawful, except pursuant to a basic permit issued under this subchapter by the Secretary of the Treasury—

(1)to engage in the business of purchasing for resale at wholesale distilled spirits, wine, or malt beverages; or

(2)for any person so engaged to receive or to sell, offer or deliver for sale, contract to sell, or ship, in interstate or foreign commerce, directly or indirectly or through an affiliate, distilled spirits, wine, or malt beverages so purchased.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification In the original, subsections (a) and (b) of this section contained a final paragraph which provided as follows: “This subsection shall take effect sixty days after the date upon which the Administrator first appointed under this title takes office.”

Amendments

1988—Pub. L. 100–690, § 8001(b)(2), substituted “subchapter” for “chapter” wherever appearing. 1936—Subsec. (c). Act Feb. 29, 1936, extended the

Effective Date

from

March 1, 1936, to

July 1, 1936.

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

“Secretary of the Treasury” was substituted in text for “Administrator”, meaning the Administrator of the Federal Alcohol Administration, pursuant to Reorg. Plan No. III of 1940, see note set out under section 201 of this title.

§203 Unlawful businesses without permit; application to State agency