29 April 2004 Excise Ruling 49986 - Cooking Wines

Please note that the following document, although correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the Agency. / Veuillez prendre note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'Agence.

Excise Duties and Taxes Division Policy and Planning Branch 20th Floor, Tower A, Place de Ville 320 Queen Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0L5
XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX	Case Number: 49986
XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX	April 29, 2004

Subject:

EXCISE DUTY RULING Cooking Wines

Dear XXXXX:

Thank you for your letter XXXXX concerning the excise duty status of cooking wines under the Excise Act, 2001. Your letter was forwarded to this office for response.

The following information is taken from your letter and from your telephone conversation with Steve Mosher XXXXX. You also provided some additional information to XXXXX Excise Duty Officer in our XXXXX Region.

Statement of Facts

Our understandings of the facts are as follows:

1. XXXXX is a corporation registered under XXXXX.

2. XXXXX is a wine licensee XXXXX under the Excise Act, 2001 ("Act"). Prior to July 1, 2003 wine was administered under the Excise Tax Act ("ETA"), XXXXX.

3. XXXXX Under section 27 of the Excise Tax Act, "wines of all kinds" were subject to excise tax.

4. XXXXX continues to import various brands of cooking wine XXXXX XXXXX.

5. Salted cooking wine, including your brands of this product group, is imported under customs tariff item 2103.90.20, which covers "mixed condiments and mixed seasonings"[.] Wine is included in Chapter 22 of the List of Tariff Provisions under the Customs Tariff.

6. The following samples were received in good order by the Laboratory and Scientific Services Directorate ("the laboratory") of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), for testing of their salt and alcohol contents, and to determine whether or not they are potable:

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

The sample of XXXXX was broken at the time it was received by the laboratory, and therefore no tests could be conducted in respect of that brand.

7. The cooking wines listed above, except XXXXX were found by the laboratory to have alcohol and salt contents as indicated below:

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

            XXXXX

Ruling Requested

You have asked that the cooking wines that are imported by your company not be treated as wine for the purposes of the Act, because they are not beverages. Your request covered all of the brands listed XXXXX above, and also included the XXXXX brands.

Ruling Given

Based on the facts set out above and from information and recommendations we have received from the laboratory, we regard all of the cooking wines listed XXXXX above, as non-potable alcoholic formulations. Those formulations meet the requirements of paragraph (b) of the definition of "approved formulation" under section 2 of the Act, and are not considered to fall under the definition "wine" in section 2 of the Act. Therefore, they are not subject to excise duty.

This ruling does not cover the XXXXX, or the XXXXX brands mentioned in your letter, because the laboratory could not or did not test these brands.

We are bound by this ruling provided that none of the above issues is currently under audit, objection, or appeal under the provisions of the Act, that there are no relevant changes in the future to the Act or to our interpretative policy; and that you have fully described all the necessary facts and products for which you requested this ruling and for which complete samples were received by the laboratory for testing.

Explanation

Under section 2 of the Act, paragraph (b) of the definition of "approved formulation" covers:

"(b) any imported product that, in the opinion of the Minister, would be a product under paragraph (a) if it were made in Canada by a licensed user."

Paragraph (a) of the definition of "wine" under section 2 of the Act

(a) a beverage, containing more than 0.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, that is produced without distillation, other than distillation to reduce the absolute ethyl alcohol content, by the alcoholic fermentation of

(i) an agricultural product other than grain,

(ii) a plant or plant product, other than grain, that is not an agricultural product, or

(iii) a product wholly or partially derived from an agricultural product or plant or plant product other than grain;

Since the cooking wines that are listed XXXXX above, were determined to be non-potable alcohol formulations, they may not be regarded as beverages for the purpose of the definition of "wine" under the Act. Therefore, excise duty is not applicable to those cooking wines.

If you wish to obtain from us an application ruling on the excise duty status of your other cooking wine brands that were not tested by the laboratory, please submit samples of those brands to the XXXXX Excise Duty Office, together with a written request for a ruling.

Should you have any further questions or require any clarification of the above matter, please call me at (613) 954-5894, or Steve Mosher, at (613) 941-1497.

Yours truly,

Original signed by

Mark Hartigan
A/Manager
Excise Duty Operations - Alcohol

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