The West Virginia Direct Shipper Application, instructions and tax forms are now available on the Wine Institute website http://wi.shipcompliant.com/StateDetail.aspx?StateID=17. Effective June 8, 2007 wineries are required to have a Direct Shipper’s License to ship wine to a resident of West Virginia. Wineries must complete the Direct Wine Shipper Application and pay a license fee of $150 to ship wines with an alcohol content of 14% or less. The license fee is $250 to ship wines with an alcohol content of more than 14%. The Direct Shipper’s Application requires applicants to request a Letter of Good Standing from the State of California (or state of domicile) and provide a list of brands that are to be shipped to WV. A licensed winery may ship no more than 2 cases of wine per month to a consumer. Shipments to dry areas are prohibited. A list of dry zip codes is available on the Wine Institute website
All wineries must register with the Department of Tax and Revenue and obtain a Tax ID number by completing form WV/ BUS-APP. Wineries, since they are involved in the business of agriculture, are exempt from the $30 registration fee. Applicants should allow 4-5 weeks for their applications to be processed; applications may be faxed to 304-558-8754 to expedite the process. Wineries are required to submit monthly reports and pay sales, municipal and excise tax. The sales tax rate is 6% and the municipal tax rate is 5%.
Corporations are required to register with the Secretary of State and obtain a Certificate of Authority. The Secretary of State requires corporations to pay the following annual fees: 1) License tax for full year beginning in July of $250 2) Registration fee of $100 and 3) Attorney in-fact fee $25. The licensee fee and attorney in-fact fee are prorated for parts of years on a calendar basis.
West Virginia will allow wineries who have applied for a Direct Shipper’s License to continue to ship to consumers while their application is being processed if the winery attaches copies of their Business Registration form and application for a Certificate of Authority (if required) to their Direct Shipper’s Application. Please contact Annie Bones in the State Relations Department at 415-356-7530 should you have questions about the application process.