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German| Date: 2004-05-09 19:37:41 |
| From: boscastle@t-online.de |
Subject: Personal imports of wine into the US, From David |
Personal imports of wine into the US. Thanks to several people who kindly provided information and those I’ll be replying to those who have made enquiries about specific German wines (Franken, Mosel etc). Unlike the situation here in the European Union (I live in Germany where I am currently setting up Wines from Germany) citizens of any of the 25 countries can order anything from any country of the EU and pay at the tax rates which are current in that country. Ie. tax is paid in the country of despatch, not arrival. As each country sets its own rate of value added tax it’s an advantage for most Europeans to benefit from Germany’s rate of 16%. (Eg. UK 17%, Denmark 25%). For countries outside the EU any goods are sent tax-free and taxes are paid in the importer’s country. That would apply for US too but the problem for US consumers is in importing wine since US citizens it seems can only buy from supermarkets and other shops (like pharmacies which strikes we Europeans as odd by the way) licenced to sell wine and beers. That’s a problem as alcohol licences as such don’t exist in Germany (nor France) which is why you can buy wine direct from wine growers and vineyards if you're touring around. In my case I supply wine direct from them. BLVDDAD advised There is a legal fight going on on behalf of American wineries and others who want to sell via the internet. He tells me the matter will soon come before the Supreme Court. Let’s hope so! He also added there is a news letter from www.bensonmarketing.com giving more recent info. He says in Michigan residents can order wine is if delivered to a personal address. (Now that’s interesting) but in Kentucky it’s a felony and he thinks Florida has severe restrictions. Ken Rhodes in Alabama advises he thinks Americans can buy wine from the Internet but “the companies we buy from must be licenced to sell in the state we live in. So that means no direct European imports and fits in with Peter Ustinov’s famous story about Alabama in returning a bottle of corked wine to dealers (ie. it’s opened wine and illegal to have in an automobile!). In short it seems residents in certain states MAY be able to find legal grounds for importing European wines for their own personal use but that it varies from state to state. Wines from Germany will be ready to roll at the end of the month and our 15-odd page English web site is obviously aimed at English speaking people and will give a selection of wines as well as being a source of accurate information about German wine, German wine laws and grading and so on. For this reason I would be very grateful for comments about individual states which residents might like to let me have. I’ll probably be able to add notes about individual states on the website if you can give me some up to date feedback. Wines from Germany will be selling wines direct from the vineyards here in southern Germany (Wurttemberg). My address is boscastle@t-online.de Thanks in advance for any help! David Williams This message was created using the Web-based forum : www.wein-plus.com/forum/ |
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