Title 26, Internal Revenue CodeRelease 119-102
§5418 Beer Imported in Bulk
Title 26 › Subtitle E — Alcohol, Tobacco, and Certain Other Excise Taxes › CHAPTER 51 — DISTILLED SPIRITS, WINES, AND BEER › Subchapter G — Breweries › PART II — OPERATIONS › § 5418
Summary
Under rules set by the Secretary, bulk beer brought into the United States can be moved from customs to a brewery without paying the internal revenue tax at import. When customs releases the beer, the brewery owner must pay that tax and the importer is no longer responsible.
Full Legal Text
Title 26, §5418
Internal Revenue Code, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Beer imported or brought into the United States in bulk containers may, under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, be withdrawn from customs custody and transferred in such bulk containers to the premises of a brewery without payment of the internal revenue tax imposed on such beer. The proprietor of a brewery to which such beer is transferred shall become liable for the tax on the beer withdrawn from customs custody under this section upon release of the beer from customs custody, and the importer, or the person bringing such beer into the United States, shall thereupon be relieved of the liability for such tax.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
Pub. L. 105–34, title XIV, § 1421(c), Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 1049, provided that: “The
Amendments
made by this section [enacting this section] shall take effect on the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter that begins at least 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 5, 1997].”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
26 U.S.C. § 5418
Title 26, Internal Revenue Code
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102