Today, Aug 8, is the day our new shipping law takes affect. Any wineries going to start shipping “legally” into PA?
Is the paperwork too burdensome? Are fees too high?
Thanks for any comments that I can take back to my state senator who pushed for the change.
I often want buy a wine from a winery, get to checkout, and then abandon the purhase because the added fees of double shipping make it not as appealing.
Much more likely to support wineries that ship direct!
They may not have received the compliance packages from PA or their attorneys are still trying to decipher what it really says is legal. Some can be real entertaining. Tried to do compliance with TX as a retailer. It required a physical presence in a “wet” county, then file the paperwork for the license, which would appear on the next regular ballot to be voted on for approval. We don’t ship to TX.
Here is summary:
Wineries can now ship directly to consumers, up to 36 cases annually. The law does not allow retail wine stores to ship to PA, only wineries. This law puts PA law into line with the standards of wine shipping throughout the US, which has enormous benefits for the wine trade.
For a winery to ship to a customer in PA, they will have to obtain a a direct wine shipper license from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB), which will cost $250 per year. There will be two taxes on the wines. First is a gallonage tax of $2.50 per gallon, which will add $0.43 per bottle to the price. Sales tax for PA will also have to be collects. In Philly, that tax is currently 10%.
The 18% Johnstown Flood tax will not be levied for direct shipments of wine.
As to be expected, it wasn’t perfectly clear what they needed but I had some very helpful exchanges via email and now have all my paperwork submitted for a permit. I never believe anything until I have it in hand, but I’m hopeful.
Several of the wineries from whom I regularly order have also put in paperwork. Expected shipping approvals will be Oct. Looking forward to doing all this legally for a change - and ditching off-site. That will save me $$$.