New and Revised Brewery Forms

To: Brewers And Others Involved In The Beer Industry

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) collects information from the brewing industry using notice, bond, application, return, record, and report forms. When any Government agency uses forms to collect information from the public, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must approve the use of the forms. OMB's approval process involves assessing the appropriateness of the information requested and an estimate of the length of time it will take to complete the forms. OMB's role is to ensure that Government agencies do not require the public to submit unnecessary and inappropriate information. The approval of forms obtained from OMB is effective for a specific length of time, usually for several years. As part of the renewal of the approval, the responsible Government agency has an opportunity to update and enhance the form.

Since the four existing forms cited below were due for either periodic review or approval by OMB, we took the opportunity to revise them using plain language. This revision will make the forms clearer and more user-friendly. The three new forms were also written using plain language.

What is the purpose of this circular?

The purpose of this circular is to announce the availability of the following new and revised beer forms and to provide information concerning their use and filing.

ATF Form 5130.9--Brewer's Report of Operations
ATF Form 5130.10--Brewer's Notice
ATF Form 5130.22--Brewer's Bond
ATF Form 5130.23--Brewer's Bond Continuation Certificate
ATF Form 5130.25--Brewer's Collateral Bond (New)
ATF Form 5130.26--Brewpub Report of Operations (New)
ATF Form 5130.27--Brewer's Collateral Bond Continuation Certificate (New)

What are the benefits of plain language?

ATF recognizes the necessity to promote the creation of forms and literature that are written using the ideals of plain language. We recognize that ATF forms and instructions written in plain language serve to reduce the number of hours spent by brewers and others in completing the required forms. It is our goal to promote the use of clear and straightforward language on forms and documents that we create, which in turn will make completion of forms by the brewer and review by ATF easier.

What are the Brewer's and Brewpub Reports of Operations?

All brewers must submit to ATF a periodic report summarizing operations at the brewery. In reviewing this reporting requirement, we determined that the report form should be easier for small brewers to prepare. Small brewers who do not bottle or rack (keg) beer do not need to report information about the transfer of beer in the brewery cellars for bottling and racking operations. In addition, small brewers generally conduct fewer other operations than large brewers. In recognition of the limited scope of operations at brewpubs, we created a new form, the Brewpub Report of Operations, ATF Form 5130.26, which brewpubs may use in lieu of the existing ATF Form 5130.9.

You may use the new ATF Form 5130.26 if you produce not more than 5,000 barrels of beer annually and if you do not bottle or keg beer for removal from your brewery. You must use the Brewer's Report of Operations, ATF Form 5130.9, if you produce more than 5,000 barrels of beer annually or if you produce less than 5,000 barrels of beer annually but you package beer in bottles or kegs for removal from the brewery. The size of your individual brewery is the factor in determining which form you may use. For example, if you are a large brewing company but operate a brewpub location producing less than 5,000 barrels of beer annually, then you may use the Brewpub Report of Operations, ATF Form 5130.26, for that qualifying location.

What are the common changes to ATF Forms 5130.9, Brewer's Report of Operations and 5130.26, Brewpub Report of Operations?

We have added new information to that required on existing ATF Form 5130.9. This new information is also required on the new ATF Form 5130.26.

The first change requires you to enter your Employer Identification Number (EIN) on the form. The EIN number assists ATF National Revenue Center (NRC) personnel in associating the report of operations form with the corresponding excise tax returns. In conjunction with this requirement, both report forms contain a new Part 2, Report Period Tax Payments. In this new section, you must list certain information about all Excise Tax Returns, ATF Form 5000.24, that you filed during the period covered by the report. The tax return information assists ATF personnel in auditing the excise tax returns and operational reports.

A second change affects how you must report adjustments. If you adjusted a previous tax return, ATF Form 5400.24 and that adjustment affects the quantity of beer reported on a previous report of operations, you must report the adjusted amount of beer on ATF Form 5130.9 or 5130.26. Separate lines are now provided for the reporting of adjustments made for prior reporting periods. Use lines 35 and 36 on ATF From 5130.9 or lines 9 and 18 on ATF Form 5130.26 to report both increasing and decreasing adjustments. Report adjustments using positive numbers only. Do not interline adjustment quantities with current reporting period quantities. You must continue to explain adjustments on ATF Form 5130.9 or 5130.26 or on a separate attachment.

When do I file operations reports?

If you file the Brewpub Report of Operations, ATF Form 5130.26, you may file for the quarterly reporting periods of January through March, April through June, July through September, or October through December. You must file quarterly reports no later than 15 days after the end of the calendar quarter for which they are prepared.

If you file the Brewer's Report of Operations, ATF Form 5130.9, you may file either monthly or quarterly, depending on your production. If you operate a brewery producing not more than 10,000 barrels of beer per year, you may file this report on a calendar quarter basis as described above. If you produce more than 10,000 barrels of beer per year, you must file ATF Form 5130.9 monthly. Monthly reports must be filed no later than 15 days after the end of the month for which they are filed. Revised instructions on both forms require these reports of operations to be filed with the Chief of ATF's National Revenue Center in Cincinnati, OH.

Are there other changes to ATF Form 5130.9, Brewer's Report of Operations?

We have made only minor changes to the lines on part 1 on ATF Form 5130.9. Lines 15(a) and (b) are separated into new lines 14 and 15. Line 14 reports beer removed tax determined from the brewery. Line 15 reports beer removed tax determined to a tavern on the brewery premises. We have made minor changes in the wording of lines 1 through 34 in order to provide reporting information in plain language. Part 1 of this form remains an accounting form where additions to beer inventory, lines 1 through 12, equal removals and deletions from beer inventory, lines 14 through 33.

What information is required on ATF Form 5130.26, Brewpub Report of Operations?

This new form is for use by brewpubs. We require the reporting of only limited information in part 1, and this part of the form does not constitute an account balancing form. Thus, you need report only quantities of beer produced, transferred, tax determined for use at the tavern, and so forth. There are no separate cellar, bottling, or racking accounts. We believe this simplifies the information reported and will make this form easier for small brewers to use. You may report quantities of beer on hand at the beginning and end of the reporting period on ATF Form 5130.26 if you have beer at the brewery that has not yet been tax determined.

You may report the voluntary destruction of beer tax determined and removed to the tavern by showing the beer returned to the brewery, line 4, and then destroyed at the brewery, line 13. We believe this reporting format will simplify reporting of tax determined beer on the tavern premises that you voluntarily destroy.

Were changes made to the Brewer's Notice, ATF Form 5130.10?

We have made substantial changes to ATF Form 5130.10. Many of the changes result from us requiring you to enter information on the form that in the past was submitted as a separate attachment to the Brewer's Notice. Other changes reflect information required by 27 CFR part 25 but never incorporated into the Brewer's Notice. Addition of the requirement for this information on this form eliminates the need for submission of several separate notices and variance requests and places all brewery qualifying information together on the Brewer's Notice.

Line 10 includes check boxes to indicate the type of brewery for which the Brewer's Notice is filed. For a brewpub, you must provide additional information on lines 16 and 17, and you must attach a separate diagram of the brewpub. This information is required by 27 CFR section 25.25 but has never been included in the Brewer's Notice.

You must now enter your brewery's EIN number on line 12 of the Brewer's Notice. In order to assist ATF personnel in contacting an applicant or an individual at the brewery, we now require a contact person's name, telephone number, and e-mail address--if an Internet address is available--on the Brewer's Notice. The contact person must have signature authority or power of attorney for the brewery.

The Brewer's Notice contains check boxes at line 11 to indicate the type of business structure and at line 13 to indicate the reason the Brewer's Notice is being filed. New line 14 is a statement that the brewer is or is not entitled to pay the reduced rate of tax on beer. If you are a member of a controlled group of breweries and are entitled to pay the reduced rate of tax, a listing of other breweries in the controlled group of breweries is required. By incorporating this information on the Brewer's Notice, you do not need to file a separate notice each year with us as required by 27 CFR section 25.167. You must update this information on the Brewer's Notice when changes occur that affect production amounts, the rate of tax eligible to be paid, or the listing of other members of a controlled group of breweries.

We have included the signature authority for corporate officers on the Brewer's Notice at line 15. This is included as a convenience for brewers and applicants who no longer need to include this information as an attachment to the Brewer's Notice.

Line 18 lists additional documents that you must attach as part of the Brewer's Notice. We have previously required brewers or applicants to submit these documents, but they have not been specifically referenced on the Brewer's Notice, ATF Form 5130.10, or in regulations in 27 CFR part 25.

The revised Brewer's Notice, ATF Form 5130.10, no longer requires certain information previously required. The 24-hour brewer's business day is no longer a required element, although you must continue to inform us of the 24-hour period by which you intend to conduct business and prepare records if you use a different 24-hour business day. The Brewer's Notice no longer contains a reference to the submission of statements of process. Although statements of process continue to be required for the production of certain fermented beverages, we no longer desire their submission with the Brewer's Notice to the NRC. We now require you to submit statements of process (or formulas) directly to our Alcohol Labeling and Formulation Division in Washington, DC. We are currently addressing the submission of these documents through a regulations change to 27 CFR part 25.

We have made the instructions to the Brewer's Notice clearer and more explicit. We believe that clearer instructions enable applicants and brewers to fill out this form more easily and accurately. These instructions also include certain information from regulations identifying the required corporate organizational documents found in 27 CFR section 25.66.

Were changes made to bond forms?

We have revised all brewers' bond forms and have created two new bond forms. The revised Brewer's Bond, ATF Form 5130.22, and the Brewer's Bond Continuation Certificate, ATF Form 5130.23, contain more explicit instructions than did previous editions. Conditions for which these bond forms are issued have not changed and the execution of these bond forms remains the same. Brewers and applicants must use these revised bond forms the next time it is necessary to execute a new Brewer's Bond or Brewer's Bond Continuation Certificate.

We are providing two new bond forms, the Brewer's Collateral Bond, ATF Form 5130.25, and the Brewer's Collateral Bond Continuation Certificate, ATF Form 5130.27. These bond forms are created specifically for applicants or brewers who post collateral (cash or acceptable securities) in lieu of submitting a bond backed by a corporate surety. The collateral bond, ATF Form 5130.25, is simple since it requires only a description of the cash or security tendered (Treasury note or bill), and execution by the brewer or applicant. In the case of a bond backed by a security certificate, a notary public must witness the signature. The Brewer's Collateral Bond Continuation Certificate, ATF Form 5130.27, requires only a description of the bond form(s) that it continues in effect, plus execution and witnessing similar to that required in using ATF Form 5130.25, Brewer's Collateral Bond. You may execute ATF Form 5130.27, the collateral bond continuation certificate, to continue coverage of an existing Brewer's Bond, ATF Form 5130.22 that is backed by a security certificate.

How can I get these forms?

All of the new and revised forms may be obtained by contacting us at the ATF Distribution Center, P.O. Box 5950, Springfield, VA 22150-5950; telephone (703) 455-7801. Copies of forms may be downloaded from our Web site at www.atf.treas.gov. An initial supply of forms will not be sent to brewers.

Brewers and applicants should begin using the revised Brewer's Notice, ATF Form 5130.10, immediately. Brewers and applicants should begin using the new and revised bond forms the next time filing a bond or continuation certificate is necessary. You may use the revised Brewers Report of Operations and the new Brewpub Report of Operations immediately. You must use these report forms beginning with the April 2002 monthly report or for the quarterly report for January through March 2002.

We are currently preparing a regulations document to address the use of these new and revised forms. We welcome comments on the forms and the information required on them.

Who should I contact with questions?

Inquiries about this circular should be addressed to: Regulations Division, Office of Alcohol and Tobacco, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, 650 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20226.

Bradley A. Buckles
Director