Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 560 - RULES OF DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE › Chapter 560-2 - ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO DIVISION › Subject 560-2-2 - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Rule 560-2-2-.01 - Definitions

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through June 27, 2024
(1) As used in
				these Regulations:
(a) "Act" means the
				Georgia Alcoholic Beverage Code as amended.
(b) "Alcohol" means ethyl alcohol, hydrated
				oxide of ethyl, or spirits of Wine, from whatever source or by whatever process
				produced.
(c) "Alcoholic Beverage"
				means and includes all Alcohol, Distilled Spirits, Malt Beverage, Wine, or
				Fortified Wine intended for human consumption.
(d) "Alcohol Type" means the various Alcohol
				products within the categories of Alcoholic Beverages such as bourbon, gin and
				vodka for Distilled Spirits, chardonnay and pinot noir for Wine and lager and
				ale for Malt Beverages.
(e) "Brand"
				means any word, name, group of letters, symbols or combination thereof that is
				used to identify a specific Distilled Spirit, Malt Beverage, Wine, or other
				Alcoholic Beverage product and which is used to distinguish that product from
				other Alcoholic Beverage products.
(f) "Brand Label" means any distinctive
				labeling characteristics of an Alcoholic Beverage product associated with a
				Brand including, without limitation, trade name, trademark, trade dress,
				colors, packaging, Alcohol Type designation, or design. A Brand may have more
				than one Brand Label associated with such Brand. A difference in packaging
				container size alone is not considered a new or different Brand or Brand
				Label.
(g) "Broker" means any
				person who purchases or obtains an Alcoholic Beverage from an Importer,
				distillery, brewery, or winery and sells the Alcoholic Beverage to another
				Broker, Importer, or Wholesaler without having custody of the Alcoholic
				Beverage or maintaining a stock of the Alcoholic Beverage.
(h) "Carrier" means any person whose business
				is to transport goods or people while acting in the capacity as common,
				private, or contract transporter of a product using its facilities or those of
				other carriers.
(i) "Commissioner"
				means the state revenue commissioner, or the Commissioner's designated agent or
				representative.
(j) "Consular
				Officer" means a career consular officer who is a national of the sending
				country assigned to a consular post in Georgia for the exercise of consular
				functions, and whose sending country is a contracting party to the multilateral
				consular convention referred to in Rule
				560-2-15-.06 or another treaty with
				the United States of similar import.
(k) "Consular Post" means any
				consulate-general, consulate, vice-consulate or consular agency.
(l) "County or Municipality" means a
				political subdivision of this state as defined by law and includes any form of
				political subdivision consolidating a county with one or more
				municipalities.
(m) "Department"
				means the Georgia Department of Revenue.
(n) "Denatured Alcohol" means a type of
				Alcohol to which denaturants have been added in order to render the Alcohol
				unfit for beverage purposes or internal human medicinal use.
(o) "Denaturants" means materials authorized
				for use pursuant to Chapter 1 of Title 27 of the Code of Federal
				Regulations.
(p) "Distilled
				Spirits" means any Alcoholic Beverage obtained by distillation or containing
				more than twenty-four percent (24%) Alcohol by volume.
1. Any beverage containing Distilled Spirits
				shall be classified as a Distilled Spirit, independent of any added flavorings
				or liquids, including other Alcoholic Beverages, even if the total Alcohol by
				volume is less than twenty-four percent (24%).
2. A Wine or Fortified Wine is not a
				Distilled Spirit.
(q)
				"Family or Immediate Family" means any person related to a Manufacturer,
				Shipper, Importer, or Broker within the first degree of consanguinity and
				affinity as computed according to the canon law.
(r) "Flavored Malt Beverage" means any Malt
				Beverage containing flavors and other non-beverage ingredients containing
				Alcohol. Except as provided by paragraph (r)1. below, no more than 49% of the
				overall Alcohol content may be derived from the addition of flavors and other
				non-beverage ingredients containing Alcohol.
1. In the case of Malt Beverages with an
				Alcohol content of more than six percent (6%) and not exceeding fourteen
				percent (14%) by volume, no more than one and a half percent (1.5%) of the
				volume of the Malt Beverage may consist of Alcohol derived from added flavors
				and other non-beverage ingredients containing Alcohol.
2. A Flavored Malt Beverage shall be deemed a
				Malt Beverage for purposes of these Regulations.
(s) "Fortified Wine" means any Alcoholic
				Beverage containing not more than twenty-four percent (24%) Alcohol by volume
				made from fruits, berries, or grapes either by natural fermentation or by
				natural fermentation with brandy added. The term includes, but is not limited
				to, brandy. Other than brandy, only distilled spirits made from fruits, berries
				or grapes can be added to Wine without causing such Alcoholic Beverage to be
				reclassified as a Distilled Spirit.
(t) "Fraternal Organization" means any
				society, order, or supreme lodge, whether incorporated or not, conducted solely
				for the benefit of its members and their beneficiaries and not for profit,
				operated on the lodge system with a ritualistic form of work, and having a
				representative form of government.
(u) "Gallon" or "Wine Gallon" means a United
				States gallon of liquid measure equivalent to the volume of 231 cubic inches or
				the nearest equivalent metric measurement.
(v) "Georgia Tax Center" is the Department's
				electronic filing and payment system, which includes registration, collection,
				and licensing for Alcohol. This term shall include any successor electronic
				filing and payment system implemented by the Department.
(w) "Hard Cider" means an Alcoholic Beverage
				obtained by the fermentation of the juice of apples, containing not more than
				six percent (6%) of Alcohol by volume, including, but not limited to flavored
				or carbonated cider. For purposes of this regulation, hard cider shall be
				deemed a Malt Beverage for tax purposes. This term does not include "sweet
				cider."
(x) "Head of a Consular
				Post" means the Consular Officer charged with the duty of acting in the
				capacity of head of the Consular Post to which he or she is assigned.
(y) "Hotel" means any hotel, inn, or other
				establishment which offers overnight accommodations to the public for
				hire.
(z) "Importer" means any
				person who imports an Alcoholic Beverage into this state from a foreign country
				and sells the Alcoholic Beverage to another Importer, Broker, or Wholesaler and
				who maintains a stock of the Alcoholic Beverage.
(aa) "Individual" means a natural
				person.
(bb) "Licensee" means any
				person who is granted a license or permit by the Department concerning the
				manufacturing, brokering, importing, wholesaling, or shipping of Alcoholic
				Beverages, or who is licensed as a Retailer or Retail Consumption
				Dealer.
(cc) "Malt Beverage" means
				any Alcoholic Beverage obtained by the fermentation of any infusion or
				decoction of barley, malt, hops, or any other similar product, or any
				combination of such products in water containing not more than fourteen percent
				(14%) Alcohol by volume and including, but not limited to, the Alcohol Types of
				ale, porter, brown, stout, lager beer, small beer, and strong beer. This term
				does not include sake, also known as Japanese rice wine.
(dd) "Manufacturer" means any maker,
				producer, or bottler of an Alcoholic Beverage and:
1. In the case of Distilled Spirits, any
				person engaged in distilling, rectifying, or blending any Distilled
				Spirits;
2. In the case of Malt
				Beverages, any brewer; and
3. In
				the case of Wine, any vintner.
(ee) "Mead Wine" or "Honey Mead" means a
				fermented Alcoholic Beverage made from honey that may not contain an Alcoholic
				content of more than fourteen percent (14%) by volume or total solids content
				that exceeds thirty-five (35) degrees Brix.
(ff) "Military Beer" means Malt Beverages
				which have been purchased pursuant to these regulations which are exempt from
				Georgia excise taxes and which have been properly identified pursuant to Rules
				560-2-15-.03 and
				560-2-15-.04.
(gg) "Military Liquors" means Distilled
				Spirits purchased pursuant to these regulations which are exempt from Georgia
				excise taxes and which have been properly identified pursuant to Rules
				560-2-15-.03 and
				560-2-15-.04.
(hh) "Military Reservation" means a duly
				commissioned post, camp, base, or station of a branch of the armed forces of
				the United States located on territory within this state which has been ceded
				to the United States.
(ii)
				"Military Wine" means Wine purchased pursuant to these regulations which is
				exempt from Georgia excise taxes and which have been properly identified
				pursuant to Rules
				560-2-15-.03 and
				560-2-15-.04.
(jj) "Package" means a bottle, can, keg,
				barrel, or other original consumer container.
(kk) "Person" means any individual, firm,
				partnership, cooperative, nonprofit membership corporation, joint venture,
				association, company, corporation, agency, syndicate, estate, trust, business
				trust, receiver, fiduciary, or other group or combination acting as a unit,
				body politic, or political subdivision, whether public, private, or
				quasi-public.
(ll) "Place of
				Business" means the Premises of a licensed Manufacturer, Broker, Importer,
				Wholesaler, Retailer or Retail Consumption Dealer described in such license
				where Alcohol, or Alcoholic Beverages are manufactured, sold, or offered for
				sale.
(mm) "Premises" means one
				physically identifiable Place of Business operated by the same ownership and
				overall management with only one address registered as a single Place of
				Business with the local licensing authority and the State of Georgia.
(nn) "Regulations" means the regulations that
				are promulgated by the Commissioner pursuant to the Act.
(oo) "Representative" means a person,
				employee, agent, independent contractor, or salesperson with or without
				compensation from a Licensee, who, acting on behalf of or at the direction of
				the Licensee, represents the Licensee to a third-party.
(pp) "Retail Consumption Dealer" means any
				person who sells Distilled Spirits for consumption on the premises at retail
				only to consumers and not for resale.
(qq) "Retailer" means, except as to Distilled
				Spirits, any person who sells Alcoholic Beverages, either in unbroken packages
				or for consumption on the premises, at retail only to consumers and not for
				resale. With respect to Distilled Spirits, the term means any person who sells
				Distilled Spirits in unbroken packages at retail only to consumers and not for
				resale.
(rr) "Routine Hub Transfer"
				means a simultaneous transfer of Alcoholic Beverage products from one
				Wholesaler delivery truck (the hub truck) to another Wholesaler delivery
				truck(s) (the spoke truck(s)).
(ss)
				"Shipper" means any person who ships an Alcoholic Beverage into Georgia from
				outside of Georgia.
(tt) "Social
				Media" means websites and other web-based technology that enable users to
				create, share, or exchange information, ideas, messages, and other
				content.
(uu) "Standard Case" means
				six (6) containers of 1.75 liters, twelve (12) containers of 750 milliliters,
				twelve (12) containers of one liter, twenty-four (24) containers of 500
				milliliters, twenty-four (24) containers of 375 milliliters, forty-eight (48)
				containers of 200 milliliters, sixty (60) containers of 100 milliliters, or one
				hundred twenty (120) containers of 50 milliliters.
(vv) "State" means the State of
				Georgia.
(ww) "Taxpayer" means any
				person made liable by law to file a return or to pay tax.
(xx) "Warehouse" means any premises of a
				Wholesaler, Manufacturer, Importer, or Shipper other than its registered Place
				of Business, used for the storage of Alcoholic Beverages in accordance with the
				express written approval of the Commissioner.
(yy) "Wholesaler" means any person who sells
				or distributes Alcoholic Beverages to other licensed Wholesalers, Importers,
				Retailers, or to Retail Consumption Dealers.
(zz) "Wine" means any Alcoholic Beverage
				containing not more than 24 percent (24%) Alcohol by volume made from fruits,
				berries, or grapes either by natural fermentation or by natural fermentation
				with brandy added. Other than brandy, only distilled spirits made from fruits,
				berries or grapes can be added to Wine without causing such Alcoholic Beverage
				to be reclassified as a Distilled Spirit.
1.
				This term includes, but is not limited to, all sparkling wines, champagnes,
				combinations of such beverages, vermouths, special natural wines, rectified
				wines, other like products and Sake, which is an Alcoholic Beverage produced
				from rice.
2. This term does not
				include cooking wine mixed with salt or other ingredients so as to render it
				unfit for human consumption as a beverage.
3. A liquid shall first be deemed to be a
				"Wine" at that point in the manufacturing process when it conforms to the
				definition of "Wine".