In order effectively to regulate interstate and foreign commerce in distilled spirits, wine, and malt beverages, to enforce the twenty-first amendment, and to protect the revenue and enforce the postal laws with respect to distilled spirits, wine, and malt beverages:

Terms Used In 27 USC 203

  • affiliate: means any one of two or more persons if one of such persons has actual or legal control, directly or indirectly, whether by stock ownership or otherwise, of the other or others of such persons. See 27 USC 211
  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • distilled spirits: means ethyl alcohol, hydrated oxide of ethyl, spirits of wine, whiskey, rum, brandy, gin, and other distilled spirits, including all dilutions and mixtures thereof, for non-industrial use. See 27 USC 211
  • interstate or foreign commerce: means commerce between any State and any place outside thereof, or commerce within any Territory or the District of Columbia, or between points within the same State but through any place outside thereof. See 27 USC 211
  • officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1
  • person: means individual, partnership, joint stock company, business trust, association, corporation, or other form of business enterprise, including a receiver, trustee, or liquidating agent and including an officer or employee of any agency of a State or political subdivision thereof. See 27 USC 211
  • State: includes a Territory and the District of Columbia. See 27 USC 211
  • United States: means the several States and Territories and the District of Columbia. See 27 USC 211
  • wine: means (1) wine as defined in section 610 and section 617 of the Revenue Act of 1918 as now in force or hereafter amended, and (2) other alcoholic beverages not so defined, but made in the manner of wine, including sparkling and carbonated wine, wine made from condensed grape must, wine made from other agricultural products than the juice of sound, ripe grapes, imitation wine, compounds sold as wine, vermouth, cider, perry and sake. See 27 USC 211

(a) It shall be unlawful, except pursuant to a basic permit issued under this subchapter by the Secretary of the Treasury-

(1) to engage in the business of importing into the United States distilled spirits, wine, or malt beverages; or

(2) for any person so engaged to sell, offer or deliver for sale, contract to sell, or ship, in interstate or foreign commerce, directly or indirectly or through an affiliate, distilled spirits, wine, or malt beverages so imported.


(b) It shall be unlawful, except pursuant to a basic permit issued under this subchapter by the Secretary of the Treasury-

(1) to engage in the business of distilling distilled spirits, producing wine, rectifying or blending distilled spirits or wine, or bottling, or warehousing and bottling, distilled spirits; or

(2) for any person so engaged to sell, offer or deliver for sale, contract to sell, or ship, in interstate or foreign commerce, directly or indirectly or through an affiliate, distilled spirits or wine so distilled, produced, rectified, blended, or bottled, or warehoused and bottled.


(c) It shall be unlawful, except pursuant to a basic permit issued under this subchapter by the Secretary of the Treasury-

(1) to engage in the business of purchasing for resale at wholesale distilled spirits, wine, or malt beverages; or

(2) for any person so engaged to receive or to sell, offer or deliver for sale, contract to sell, or ship, in interstate or foreign commerce, directly or indirectly or through an affiliate, distilled spirits, wine, or malt beverages so purchased.


This subsection shall take effect July 1, 1936.

This section shall not apply to any agency of a State or political subdivision thereof or any officer or employee of any such agency, and no such agency or officer or employee shall be required to obtain a basic permit under this subchapter.

  Previous section
Next section  
 Subchapter I Contents