Trade Name on Basic Permit

Advice is requested whether a corporation, holding a wholesaler's basic permit, may use the name of a division of the corporation in conjunction with the corporate name without showing such division name as a trade name on its basic permit.

A corporation holds a Wholesaler's Basic Permit, Form 1633, and sells alcoholic beverages under its corporate name. It also does business under the name of one of its divisions in conjunction with its corporate name.

If a secondary name is used without the corporate name, such secondary name becomes a trade name and must be included on the basic permit. As an illustration, suppose the "John Doe Distilleries Corporation" has a division known as "Robert Roe & Company." If business were carried on under the name "Robert Roe & Company, Division of the John Doe Distilleries Corporation," the name Robert Roe & Company" would not be a trade name and would not need to be shown on the basic permit. However, if business were carried on under the name "Robert Roe & Company" only such name would have to be shown on the basic permit as a trade name under which operations of the permittee were carried on.

27 U.S.C. 203; (27 CFR 1.20-1.23)