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Title 26 — Internal Revenue CodeRelease 119-73not60

§5391 Exemption From Distilled Spirits Taxes

Title 26 › Subtitle Subtitle E— Alcohol, Tobacco, and Certain Other Excise Taxes › Chapter 51— DISTILLED SPIRITS, WINES, AND BEER › Subchapter F— Bonded and Taxpaid Wine Premises › Part IV— GENERAL › § 5391

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Owners of bonded wine cellars do not have to pay the tax in section 5001 on distilled spirits they use to make wine on their premises, unless other rules in this subchapter say differently. If wine or wine spirits are used in violation of this subchapter, the section 5001 tax must be collected unless the owner shows they did not know the use was illegal.

Full Legal Text

Title 26, §5391

Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the tax imposed by section 5001 on distilled spirits shall not, except as provided in this subchapter, be assessed, levied, or collected from the proprietor of any bonded wine cellar with respect to his use of wine spirits in wine production, in such premises; except that, whenever wine or wine spirits are used in violation of this subchapter, the applicable tax imposed by section 5001 shall be collected unless the proprietor satisfactorily shows that such wine or wine spirits were not knowingly used in violation of law.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 5391, act Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 672, consisted of provisions similar to those comprising this section, prior to the general revision of this chapter by Pub. L. 85–859.

Amendments

1979—Pub. L. 96–39 substituted “distilled” for “rectifying and” in section catchline and struck out provisions relating to exemption from taxes imposed on rectified spirits and wines and the status of any proprietor of a bonded wine cellar as a rectifier of such spirits in text.

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

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.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

26 U.S.C. § 5391

Title 26 — Internal Revenue Code

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60