Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 560-2-2-.01 - Definitions

(1) As used in these Regulations:

(a) "Act" means the Georgia Alcoholic Beverage Code as amended.

(b) "Alcohol" means ethyl alcohol, hydrated oxide of ethyl, or spirits of Wine, from whatever source or by whatever process produced.

(c) "Alcoholic Beverage" means and includes all Alcohol, Distilled Spirits, Malt Beverage, Wine, or Fortified Wine intended for human consumption.

(d) "Alcohol Type" means the various Alcohol products within the categories of Alcoholic Beverages such as bourbon, gin and vodka for Distilled Spirits, chardonnay and pinot noir for Wine and lager and ale for Malt Beverages.

(e) "Brand" means any word, name, group of letters, symbols or combination thereof that is used to identify a specific Distilled Spirit, Malt Beverage, Wine, or other Alcoholic Beverage product and which is used to distinguish that product from other Alcoholic Beverage products.

(f) "Brand Label" means any distinctive labeling characteristics of an Alcoholic Beverage product associated with a Brand including, without limitation, trade name, trademark, trade dress, colors, packaging, Alcohol Type designation, or design. A Brand may have more than one Brand Label associated with such Brand. A difference in packaging container size alone is not considered a new or different Brand or Brand Label.

(g) "Broker" means any person who purchases or obtains an Alcoholic Beverage from an Importer, distillery, brewery, or winery and sells the Alcoholic Beverage to another Broker, Importer, or Wholesaler without having custody of the Alcoholic Beverage or maintaining a stock of the Alcoholic Beverage.

(h) "Carrier" means any person whose business is to transport goods or people while acting in the capacity as common, private, or contract transporter of a product using its facilities or those of other carriers.

(i) "Commissioner" means the state revenue commissioner, or the Commissioner's designated agent or representative.

(j) "Consular Officer" means a career consular officer who is a national of the sending country assigned to a consular post in Georgia for the exercise of consular functions, and whose sending country is a contracting party to the multilateral consular convention referred to in Rule 560-2-15-.06 or another treaty with the United States of similar import.

(k) "Consular Post" means any consulate-general, consulate, vice-consulate or consular agency.

(l) "County or Municipality" means a political subdivision of this state as defined by law and includes any form of political subdivision consolidating a county with one or more municipalities.

(m) "Department" means the Georgia Department of Revenue.

(n) "Denatured Alcohol" means a type of Alcohol to which denaturants have been added in order to render the Alcohol unfit for beverage purposes or internal human medicinal use.

(o) "Denaturants" means materials authorized for use pursuant to Chapter 1 of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(p) "Distilled Spirits" means any Alcoholic Beverage obtained by distillation or containing more than twenty-four percent (24%) Alcohol by volume.

1. Any beverage containing Distilled Spirits shall be classified as a Distilled Spirit, independent of any added flavorings or liquids, including other Alcoholic Beverages, even if the total Alcohol by volume is less than twenty-four percent (24%).

2. A Wine or Fortified Wine is not a Distilled Spirit.

(q) "Family or Immediate Family" means any person related to a Manufacturer, Shipper, Importer, or Broker within the first degree of consanguinity and affinity as computed according to the canon law.

(r) "Flavored Malt Beverage" means any Malt Beverage containing flavors and other non-beverage ingredients containing Alcohol. Except as provided by paragraph (r)1. below, no more than 49% of the overall Alcohol content may be derived from the addition of flavors and other non-beverage ingredients containing Alcohol.

1. In the case of Malt Beverages with an Alcohol content of more than six percent (6%) and not exceeding fourteen percent (14%) by volume, no more than one and a half percent (1.5%) of the volume of the Malt Beverage may consist of Alcohol derived from added flavors and other non-beverage ingredients containing Alcohol.

2. A Flavored Malt Beverage shall be deemed a Malt Beverage for purposes of these Regulations.

(s) "Fortified Wine" means any Alcoholic Beverage containing not more than twenty-four percent (24%) Alcohol by volume made from fruits, berries, or grapes either by natural fermentation or by natural fermentation with brandy added. The term includes, but is not limited to, brandy. Other than brandy, only distilled spirits made from fruits, berries or grapes can be added to Wine without causing such Alcoholic Beverage to be reclassified as a Distilled Spirit.

(t) "Fraternal Organization" means any society, order, or supreme lodge, whether incorporated or not, conducted solely for the benefit of its members and their beneficiaries and not for profit, operated on the lodge system with a ritualistic form of work, and having a representative form of government.

(u) "Gallon" or "Wine Gallon" means a United States gallon of liquid measure equivalent to the volume of 231 cubic inches or the nearest equivalent metric measurement.

(v) "Georgia Tax Center" is the Department's electronic filing and payment system, which includes registration, collection, and licensing for Alcohol. This term shall include any successor electronic filing and payment system implemented by the Department.

(w) "Hard Cider" means an Alcoholic Beverage obtained by the fermentation of the juice of apples, containing not more than six percent (6%) of Alcohol by volume, including, but not limited to flavored or carbonated cider. For purposes of this regulation, hard cider shall be deemed a Malt Beverage for tax purposes. This term does not include "sweet cider."

(x) "Head of a Consular Post" means the Consular Officer charged with the duty of acting in the capacity of head of the Consular Post to which he or she is assigned.

(y) "Hotel" means any hotel, inn, or other establishment which offers overnight accommodations to the public for hire.

(z) "Importer" means any person who imports an Alcoholic Beverage into this state from a foreign country and sells the Alcoholic Beverage to another Importer, Broker, or Wholesaler and who maintains a stock of the Alcoholic Beverage.

(aa) "Individual" means a natural person.

(bb) "Licensee" means any person who is granted a license or permit by the Department concerning the manufacturing, brokering, importing, wholesaling, or shipping of Alcoholic Beverages, or who is licensed as a Retailer or Retail Consumption Dealer.

(cc) "Malt Beverage" means any Alcoholic Beverage obtained by the fermentation of any infusion or decoction of barley, malt, hops, or any other similar product, or any combination of such products in water containing not more than fourteen percent (14%) Alcohol by volume and including, but not limited to, the Alcohol Types of ale, porter, brown, stout, lager beer, small beer, and strong beer. This term does not include sake, also known as Japanese rice wine.

(dd) "Manufacturer" means any maker, producer, or bottler of an Alcoholic Beverage and:

1. In the case of Distilled Spirits, any person engaged in distilling, rectifying, or blending any Distilled Spirits;

2. In the case of Malt Beverages, any brewer; and

3. In the case of Wine, any vintner.

(ee) "Mead Wine" or "Honey Mead" means a fermented Alcoholic Beverage made from honey that may not contain an Alcoholic content of more than fourteen percent (14%) by volume or total solids content that exceeds thirty-five (35) degrees Brix.

(ff) "Military Beer" means Malt Beverages which have been purchased pursuant to these regulations which are exempt from Georgia excise taxes and which have been properly identified pursuant to Rules 560-2-15-.03 and 560-2-15-.04.

(gg) "Military Liquors" means Distilled Spirits purchased pursuant to these regulations which are exempt from Georgia excise taxes and which have been properly identified pursuant to Rules 560-2-15-.03 and 560-2-15-.04.

(hh) "Military Reservation" means a duly commissioned post, camp, base, or station of a branch of the armed forces of the United States located on territory within this state which has been ceded to the United States.

(ii) "Military Wine" means Wine purchased pursuant to these regulations which is exempt from Georgia excise taxes and which have been properly identified pursuant to Rules 560-2-15-.03 and 560-2-15-.04.

(jj) "Package" means a bottle, can, keg, barrel, or other original consumer container.

(kk) "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership, cooperative, nonprofit membership corporation, joint venture, association, company, corporation, agency, syndicate, estate, trust, business trust, receiver, fiduciary, or other group or combination acting as a unit, body politic, or political subdivision, whether public, private, or quasi-public.

(ll) "Place of Business" means the Premises of a licensed Manufacturer, Broker, Importer, Wholesaler, Retailer or Retail Consumption Dealer described in such license where Alcohol, or Alcoholic Beverages are manufactured, sold, or offered for sale.

(mm) "Premises" means one physically identifiable Place of Business operated by the same ownership and overall management with only one address registered as a single Place of Business with the local licensing authority and the State of Georgia.

(nn) "Regulations" means the regulations that are promulgated by the Commissioner pursuant to the Act.

(oo) "Representative" means a person, employee, agent, independent contractor, or salesperson with or without compensation from a Licensee, who, acting on behalf of or at the direction of the Licensee, represents the Licensee to a third-party.

(pp) "Retail Consumption Dealer" means any person who sells Distilled Spirits for consumption on the premises at retail only to consumers and not for resale.

(qq) "Retailer" means, except as to Distilled Spirits, any person who sells Alcoholic Beverages, either in unbroken packages or for consumption on the premises, at retail only to consumers and not for resale. With respect to Distilled Spirits, the term means any person who sells Distilled Spirits in unbroken packages at retail only to consumers and not for resale.

(rr) "Routine Hub Transfer" means a simultaneous transfer of Alcoholic Beverage products from one Wholesaler delivery truck (the hub truck) to another Wholesaler delivery truck(s) (the spoke truck(s)).

(ss) "Shipper" means any person who ships an Alcoholic Beverage into Georgia from outside of Georgia.

(tt) "Social Media" means websites and other web-based technology that enable users to create, share, or exchange information, ideas, messages, and other content.

(uu) "Standard Case" means six (6) containers of 1.75 liters, twelve (12) containers of 750 milliliters, twelve (12) containers of one liter, twenty-four (24) containers of 500 milliliters, twenty-four (24) containers of 375 milliliters, forty-eight (48) containers of 200 milliliters, sixty (60) containers of 100 milliliters, or one hundred twenty (120) containers of 50 milliliters.

(vv) "State" means the State of Georgia.

(ww) "Taxpayer" means any person made liable by law to file a return or to pay tax.

(xx) "Warehouse" means any premises of a Wholesaler, Manufacturer, Importer, or Shipper other than its registered Place of Business, used for the storage of Alcoholic Beverages in accordance with the express written approval of the Commissioner.

(yy) "Wholesaler" means any person who sells or distributes Alcoholic Beverages to other licensed Wholesalers, Importers, Retailers, or to Retail Consumption Dealers.

(zz) "Wine" means any Alcoholic Beverage containing not more than 24 percent (24%) Alcohol by volume made from fruits, berries, or grapes either by natural fermentation or by natural fermentation with brandy added. Other than brandy, only distilled spirits made from fruits, berries or grapes can be added to Wine without causing such Alcoholic Beverage to be reclassified as a Distilled Spirit.

1. This term includes, but is not limited to, all sparkling wines, champagnes, combinations of such beverages, vermouths, special natural wines, rectified wines, other like products and Sake, which is an Alcoholic Beverage produced from rice.

2. This term does not include cooking wine mixed with salt or other ingredients so as to render it unfit for human consumption as a beverage.

3. A liquid shall first be deemed to be a "Wine" at that point in the manufacturing process when it conforms to the definition of "Wine".

Notes

Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 560-2-2-.01

O.C.G.A. §§ 3-2-2, 3-2-3, 3-2-7.1, 48-2-12.

Original Rule entitled "Notification of Intention to Engage as a Producer" adopted. F. and eff. June 30, 1965. Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. Nov. 22, 1972; eff. Dec. 12, 1972. Repealed: New Rule entitled "Definitions" adopted. F. May 5, 1982; eff. May 25, 1982. Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. Dec. 15, 2006; eff. Jan. 4, 2007. Amended: F. Mar. 10, 2008; eff. Mar. 30, 2008. Repealed: New Rule of the same title adopted. F. Oct. 1, 2010; eff. Oct. 21, 2010. Amended: F. Nov. 1, 2013; eff. Nov. 21, 2013. Amended: F. June 26, 2015; eff. July 16, 2015. Amended: F. May 6, 2016; eff. May 26, 2016. Repealed: New Rule of the same title adopted. F. Aug. 1, 2017; eff. Aug. 21, 2017. Amended: F. May 31, 2023; eff. June 20, 2023. Amended: F. Jan. 19, 2024; eff. Feb. 8, 2024.