27 C.F.R. § 19.319 Production gauge.
Title 27 - Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms
(a) General. All spirits shall be gauged by determining quantity and proof within a reasonable time after production is completed. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this section, quantities may be determined by volume or by weight, by approved meter, or, when approved by the appropriate TTB officer, by other devices or methods which accurately determine the quantities. If caramel is added to brandy or rum, the proof of the spirits shall be determined after the addition. Spirits in each receiving tank shall be gauged before reduction in proof and both before and after each removal of spirits therefrom. The gauges shall be recorded by the proprietor in the records required by §19.736. (b) Tax to be determined on production gauge. Tax may be determined on the basis of the production gauge if: (1) Spirits are weighed into bulk conveyances; (2) Spirits are uniformly filled by weight into metal packages; or (3) Spirits are filled by weight into packages for immediate withdrawal from bonded premises and the details of the gauge for each package are recorded on a package gauge record according to §19.769. Transaction records shall be marked “Withdrawal on Production Gauge.” (c) Tax not to be determined on production gauge. If spirits are drawn from the production system into barrels, drums, or similar portable containers of the same rated capacity and the containers are filled to capacity, and the tax is not to be determined on the basis of the production gauge, the gauge may be made by: (1) Weighing in a tank, converting the weight into proof gallons, and determining the average content of each container; or (2) Measuring volumetrically, in a calibrated tank, converting the wine gallons determined into proof gallons, and determining therefrom the average content of each container; or (3) Converting the rated capacity into proof gallons to determine the average content of each container; or (4) Determining by a device or method approved under the provisions of paragraph (a) of this section, the total quantity filled into containers, and determining therefrom the average content of each container. Rated capacity of new cooperage shall be as prescribed by specifications of the manufacturer, or in the case of used cooperage, as determined by the proprietor. (d) Records of production gauge. In computing the production gauge on the basis of average content of packages as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, fractional proof gallons shall be rounded to the nearest one-tenth and the average content so determined and the number of packages filled shall be used in computing the quantity produced. A separate gauge record, as prescribed in §19.768, shall be prepared for each lot of packages filled (see §19.593(b)) and for each removal by pipeline or bulk conveyance for deposit in bond on the same plant premises. The gauge record shall indicate “Deposit in storage” or “Deposit in processing.” If spirits are to be transferred in bond, or withdrawn from bond, as authorized by this part, the production gauge shall be made on the form or record required by this part for the transaction (accompanied by a package gauge record, if required). Each transaction form or record and each package gauge record, if any, shall show: (1) The real name (or basic operating name as provided in §19.280) of the producer, and, if the spirits are produced under a trade name, the trade name under which produced. (2) For each remnant container, the actual proof gallons in the container. (Sec. 201, Pub. L. 85–859, 72 Stat. 1358, as amended, 1362, as amended (26 U.S.C. 5204, 5211))
Title 27: Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
PART 19—DISTILLED SPIRITS PLANTS
Subpart J—Production
§ 19.319 Production gauge.
