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Title 26, Internal Revenue CodeRelease 119-110

§5223 Redistillation of Spirits, Articles, and Residues

Title 26 › Subtitle E — Alcohol, Tobacco, and Certain Other Excise Taxes › CHAPTER 51 — DISTILLED SPIRITS, WINES, AND BEER › Subchapter C — Operation of Distilled Spirits Plants › PART II — OPERATIONS ON BONDED PREMISES › Subpart B — Production › § 5223

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Owners of a distilled spirits plant may redistill spirits on their bonded premises if they follow rules the Secretary sets. Spirits that were lawfully taken off the premises without tax can be sent back for redistillation under those rules. Products made with denatured spirits and the leftover residues from making them can also be brought to the bonded plant and have the spirits recovered by redistilling, again under the Secretary’s rules. Spirits recovered this way can only leave the bonded premises for industrial use or after being denatured as the law requires. Spirits redistilled after the original production measurement are treated as if the redistiller made them. Any prior tax, lien, or bond claims on those spirits are removed when they are redistilled. Rules about labeling, marking, or identifying redistilled spirits still apply, and the Secretary can set those rules.

Full Legal Text

Title 26, §5223

Internal Revenue Code, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Spirits on bonded premises
The proprietor of a distilled spirits plant authorized to produce distilled spirits may, under such regulations as the Secretary shall prescribe, redistill any distilled spirits which have not been withdrawn from bonded premises.
(b)Distilled spirits returned for redistillation
Distilled spirits which have been lawfully removed from bonded premises free of tax or without payment of tax may, under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, be returned for redistillation to the bonded premises of a distilled spirits plant authorized to produce distilled spirits.
(c)Redistillation of articles and residues
Articles, containing denatured distilled spirits, which were manufactured under the provisions of subchapter D or on the bonded premises of a distilled spirits plant, and the spirits residues of manufacturing processes related thereto, may be received, and the distilled spirits therein recovered by redistillation, on the bonded premises of a distilled spirits plant authorized to produce distilled spirits, under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe.
(d)Denatured distilled spirits, articles, and residues
Distilled spirits recovered by the redistillation of denatured distilled spirits, or by the redistillation of the articles or residues described in subsection (c), may not be withdrawn from bonded premises except for industrial use or after denaturation thereof in the manner prescribed by law.
(e)Products of redistillation
All distilled spirits redistilled on bonded premises subsequent to production gauge shall be treated the same as if such spirits had been originally produced by the redistiller and all provisions of this chapter applicable to the original production of distilled spirits shall be applicable thereto. Any prior obligation as to taxes, liens, and bonds with respect to such distilled spirits shall be extinguished on redistillation. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as affecting any provision of law relating to the labeling of distilled spirits or as limiting the authority of the Secretary to regulate the marking, branding, or identification of distilled spirits redistilled under this section.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those comprising subsecs. (a) and (d) of this section were contained in prior sections of act Aug. 16, 1954, prior to the general revision of this chapter by Pub. L. 85–859, as follows: Present subsecs.:Prior sections (a)5194(f), 5217(a), 5305, 5308. (d)5194(f). The prior sections, act Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, are set out in 68A Stat. 635, 641, 657.

Amendments

1979—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 96–39, § 807(a)(31)(A), inserted “or on the bonded premises of a distilled spirits plant” after “subchapter D,”. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 96–39, § 807(a)(31)(B), struck out provisions relating to the treatment of the processing of distilled spirits, subsequent to production gauge, in the manufacture of vodka in the production facilities of a distilled spirits plant as a redistillation of the spirits for purposes of this subsection, subsection (a), and section 5025(d) and 5215. 1976—Subsecs. (a) to (c), (e). Pub. L. 94–455 struck out “or his delegate” after “Secretary” wherever appearing. 1965—Pub. L. 89–44, § 805(f)(8), substituted “spirits, articles, and residues” for “spirits” in section catchline. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 89–44, § 805(d), added subsec. (c). Former subsec. (c) redesignated (d). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 89–44, § 805(d), (f)(10), redesignated subsec. (c) as (d), inserted “, articles, and residues” after “distilled spirits” in heading, and inserted “, or by the redistillation of the articles or residues described in subsection (c),” after “denatured distilled spirits” in text. Former subsec. (d) redesignated (e). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 89–11, § 805(d), redesignated former subsec. (d) as (e).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1979 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 96–39 effective Jan. 1, 1980, see section 810 of Pub. L. 96–39, set out as a note under section 5001 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1965 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 89–44 effective Oct. 1, 1965, see section 805(g)(2) of Pub. L. 89–44, set out as a note under section 5004 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

26 U.S.C. § 5223

Title 26, Internal Revenue Code

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110