New Zealand’s Wineries are no longer able to ship samples to the United States by citing an importer’s “Basic Importer Permit”, unless they have a COLA (Certificate of Label Approval) or a COLA Waiver.
The TTB (The Trade & Taxation Bureau of the US Treasury — formally the ATF) now requires all alcoholic beverage samples being imported to the US, either for use at trade shows or to solicit orders from the trade, to have a COLA, or a waiver to this rule.
Importantly, clearance of samples is contingent on all bottles in a sample shipment being affixed with: “Sample” or “For Sampling Purposes Only”; “Contains Sulfites”; and inclusion of the Surgeon General’s Health Warning.
Contact: more information on the process and guidelines on waiver requests may be found online at https://www.ttb.gov/itd/importing_samples.shtml.
For further information contact:
Eric Johnson
NZTE Washington, DC
eric.johnson@nzte.govt.nz