(a) An out-of-state winery shipper's permit for wine shall allow the sale of wine to manufacturer and wholesaler permittees in this state as permitted by law and for those shippers that produce not more than one hundred thousand gallons of wine per year, the sale and shipment by the holder thereof to a retailer of wine manufactured by such permittee in the original sealed containers of not more than fifteen gallons per container. For purposes of this section, “wine” shall include cider not exceeding six per cent alcohol by volume and apple wine not exceeding fifteen per cent alcohol by volume.

(b) Subject to the provisions of this subsection, an out-of-state winery shipper's permit for wine shall allow the sale and delivery or shipment of wine manufactured by the permittee directly to a consumer in this state. Such permittee, when selling and shipping wine directly to a consumer in this state, shall: (1) Ensure that the shipping labels on all containers of wine shipped directly to a consumer in this state conspicuously state the following: “CONTAINS ALCOHOL—SIGNATURE OF A PERSON AGE 21 OR OLDER REQUIRED FOR DELIVERY”; (2) obtain the signature of a person age twenty-one or older at the address prior to delivery, after requiring the signer to demonstrate that he or she is age twenty-one or older by providing a valid motor vehicle operator's license or a valid identity card described in section 1-1h; (3) not ship more than five gallons of wine in any two-month period to any person in this state and not ship any wine until such permittee is registered, with respect to the permittee's sales of wine to consumers in this state, for purposes of the taxes imposed under chapters 219 and 220, with the Department of Revenue Services; (4) pay, to the Department of Revenue Services, all sales taxes and alcoholic beverage taxes due under chapters 219 and 220 on sales of wine to consumers in this state, and file, with said department, all sales tax returns and alcoholic beverage tax returns relating to such sales, with the amount of such taxes to be calculated as if the sale were in this state at the location where delivery is made; (5) report to the Department of Consumer Protection a separate and complete record of all sales and shipments to consumers in the state, on a ledger sheet or similar form which readily presents a chronological account of such permittee's dealings with each such consumer; (6) permit the Department of Consumer Protection and Department of Revenue Services, separately or jointly, to perform an audit of the permittee's records upon request; (7) not ship to any address in the state where the sale of alcoholic liquor is prohibited by local option pursuant to section 30-9; (8) hold an in-state transporter's permit pursuant to section 30-19f or make any such shipment through the use of a person who holds such an in-state transporter's permit; and (9) execute a written consent to the jurisdiction of this state, its agencies and instrumentalities and the courts of this state concerning the enforcement of this section and any related laws, rules, or regulations, including tax laws, rules or regulations.

(c) The Department of Consumer Protection, in consultation with the Department of Revenue Services, may adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 to assure compliance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section.

(d) A holder of an out-of-state winery shipper's permit for wine, when advertising or offering wine for direct shipment to a consumer in this state via the Internet or any other on-line computer network, shall clearly and conspicuously state such liquor permit number in its advertising.

(e) (1) For purposes of chapter 219, the holder of an out-of-state winery shipper's permit for wine, when shipping wine directly to a consumer in this state, shall be deemed to be a retailer engaged in business in this state as defined in chapter 219 and shall be required to be issued a seller's permit pursuant to chapter 219.

(2) For purposes of chapter 220, the holder of an out-of-state winery shipper's permit for wine, when shipping wine directly to a consumer in this state, shall be deemed to be a distributor as defined in chapter 220 and shall be required to be licensed pursuant to chapter 220.

(f) Any person who applies for an out-of-state winery shipper's permit for wine or for the renewal of such permit shall furnish an affidavit to the Department of Consumer Protection, in such form as may be prescribed by the department, affirming whether the out-of-state winery that is the subject of such permit produced more than one hundred thousand gallons of wine during the most recently completed calendar year.

(g) The annual fee for an out-of-state winery shipper's permit for wine shall be three hundred fifteen dollars.

(h) As used in this section, “out-of-state” means any state other than Connecticut, any territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, but does not include any foreign country.

(P.A. 97-101; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(d); P.A. 04-169, S. 17; 04-189, S. 1; P.A. 05-274, S. 3; P.A. 07-39, S. 3; P.A. 09-47, S. 2; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 331.)

History: June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 and P.A. 04-169 replaced Department of Consumer Protection with Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 05-274 designated existing provisions as Subsecs. (a) and (f) to (h), made technical changes therein and authorized in Subsec. (a) the sale and shipment to a retailer by out-of-state winery shippers that produce not more than 100,000 gallons of wine per year, added Subsec. (b) re the sale and delivery or shipment of wine by such permittee directly to a consumer in this state, Subsec. (c) re regulations for the direct shipment of wine by such permittees to consumers in this state, Subsec. (d) re the offering of wine for direct shipment to consumers in this state via the Internet and Subsec. (e) re such permittee's classification as a retailer doing business in this state and classification as a distributor, effective July 13, 2005; P.A. 07-39 changed 60-day period to 2-month period in Subsec. (b)(3); P.A. 09-47 amended Subsec. (a) by specifying wine shall include cider not exceeding 6% alcohol and apple wine not exceeding 15% alcohol, effective May 20, 2009; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 increased fee in Subsec. (g) from $250 to $315.