TTB Label Approvals……Make Sure to Plan Ahead!
Wineries beware! TTB label approval times are now back up to over 30 days!
Here is my post from 2 years ago w/info on how you can plan ahead for this necessary step in the process:
All wines that are bottled by wineries to be sold for consumption are required to have a federal label approval. The industry term for this is certificate of label approval, or COLA. Of the three alcoholic beverage categories (Beer, Wine and spirits) the number of applications for label approval received by the federal regulating agency, the TTB from the wine industry makes up over 80% of the total. Add to this scenario the current government budget issues which have resulted in staff cuts and retirements at the TTB and the end result is label approval processing time has gone up. Many in the industry had become accustomed to their label approval turn around time lasting about 10 working days. (This is for those using the TTB’s electronic filing system, COLAs Online) That time frame now has now gone up to 38 Days! Read more
Warning: Firefox and The TTB’s Online Systems Do Not Mix Well
After a recent computer virus issue I made the switch to using Firefox as my web browser from a recommendation from my computer guy. This definetely made an improvement in some of the issues I was having at the time so I was satisfied with the switch. That is until I was attempting to change my password for my COLAs online account.
First Hand Feedback on the TTB’s Online Permits System
When I first saw the TTB’s (That is the Alcohol & Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) announcement a few months ago on their website stating their plans to launch an online version of submitting permit application materials I thought- that’s brilliant! I have given the TTB a lot of credit for being the trend setter when it comes to eliminating paper forms and snail mail trails. They have already released two other very successful online submission systems. First was COLAs online, the electronic version of label approval which was released in 2002. Then came Pay.gov, their site used to electronically file such common report forms as the monthly report (702) and excise taxes. So this latest online portal continues to complete the whole plate of TTB processes wineries are required to complete. Read more