North Carolina Reporting Changes for DTC & Wholesale

The North Carolina Department of Revenue (NCDOR) has made several changes to the alcoholic beverages tax forms that impact members who make sales and ship directly to consumers and/or wholesalers in NC. Sales to NC-licensed wholesalers after Jan. 1, 2019 must be reported on a different form than direct-to-consumer sales; prior to this change, the same form was used for reporting all sales. These changes are intended to ensure consistency in reporting and paying alcohol taxes.

Effective Jan. 1, wineries that hold a Nonresident Wine Vendor Permit must report shipments to NC-licensed wholesalers monthly using the newly created B-C-788, Nonresident Wine Vendor Monthly Report For Transactions to N.C. Wine Wholesalers, Importers, or Bottlers. This monthly report is due on the 15th of the month following the month in which non-tax-paid sales, deliveries, or shipments were made to a wholesaler, importer or bottler; the form must be filed even if there are no transactions to report. The first report, covering Jan. 2019, is due Feb. 15, 2019. Detailed instructions for completing B-C-788 are available on Wine Institute’s Wholesale Law Portal and the NCDOR website.

Additionally, starting with calendar year 2019 sales, wineries that hold a NC Wine Shipper Permit and ship directly to NC consumers are required to use the revised and renamed B-C-786, Wine Shipper Permittee Annual Excise Tax Return form to report and pay excise taxes annually. A return must be filed once a year even if no taxes are due. Instructions for filing the new B-C-786 form are available on Wine Institute’s NC Direct Shipping page and the NCDOR website.

To clarify, a winery with permits to sell both wholesale and direct-to-consumer in NC must file monthly non-resident wine vendor reports and an annual wine shipper excise tax return. For more information, see the Important Notice: Revised Alcoholic Beverages Tax Forms issued by the NCDOR. Note that these changes do not affect reports and returns for sales in 2018.