Title 26 › Subtitle Subtitle E— Alcohol, Tobacco, and Certain Other Excise Taxes › Chapter 51— DISTILLED SPIRITS, WINES, AND BEER › Subchapter B— Qualification Requirements for Distilled Spirits Plants › § 5173
People who plan to open and run a distilled spirits plant must put up a bond before they start, unless section 5551(d) says they do not have to. Distilled spirits cannot be taken out of bonded premises unless the tax is paid or the proprietor has a bond that covers the withdrawal. That rule does not apply to spirits withdrawn under sections 5214 or 7510. A bond can cover one plant; a plant and an adjacent bonded wine cellar; or two or more plants (and their adjacent wine cellars) in the same area if they are run by the same person or a corporation with its controlled subsidiaries. A withdrawal bond can cover withdrawals from any premises that could be on the same operations bond. Under rules made by the Secretary, a single unit bond may cover both operations and withdrawals. Every bond must promise to follow the laws and rules and to pay all taxes, penalties, and fines. The Secretary will set other terms and the bond amounts, including minimums and maximums. The whole bond amount can be used to pay any liability. If a bond covers withdrawals but not operations, it is extra to the operations bond, and any spirits withdrawn under that bond are no longer covered by the operations bond. A wine cellar is only “adjacent” if the plant is qualified to make distilled spirits and both are run by the same person or controlled subsidiaries. A bond that covers an adjacent wine cellar replaces the wine bond that would otherwise be required under section 5354, except for any supplemental bonds that section still needs.
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Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
26 U.S.C. § 5173
Title 26 — Internal Revenue Code
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60