Alcohol Beverage Industry Can Save Millions of Dollars Through Data Synchronization; 1SYNC Data Pool Supports Beverage Country of Bottling Attribute.

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. -- 1SYNC(TM), a leading Data Pool and provider of data synchronization services, today announced that it has incorporated the newly-approved standard, the Beverage Country of Bottling attribute, into its Data Pool solution. This new feature will give the alcohol beverage industry greater accuracy in determining tax assessments on distilled spirits. Due to changes in federal tax regulations on domestic and imported spirits, this new data synchronization feature has the potential to generate millions of dollars in tax credit savings annually for liquor distributors.

With the introduction of a newly-ratified GSMP (Global Standard Management Process) standard attribute called the Beverage Country of Bottling, manufacturers and distributors utilizing data synchronization can easily identify where the spirit was bottled. This attribute will give the alcohol beverage industry a standardized way to identify domestic and imported spirits, synchronize this information between manufacturer and wholesaler, and determine proper taxes accordingly.

Bob Noe, the CEO of 1SYNC said, "Data synchronization not only produces common multi-sector benefits, such as improved order accuracy, reduced mis-shipments, and lower transaction and logistics costs, it also helps industries unlock very specific value. The Distilled Spirits Tax Equity Act is a perfect example of how accurate, standardized, and synchronized data can help industries to quickly capitalize on new business opportunities."

Historically, imported alcohol beverage spirit products had an unfair price advantage over comparable products that were produced domestically. Federal excise taxes are required to be paid at the point of purchase by the wholesalers, while the federal excise taxes paid on imported goods could be deferred until after the date the product is actually sold. With the enactment of the Domestic Spirits Tax Equity Act (H.R. 1987, S. 2047), this new law gives qualified wholesalers a tax credit on domestic spirits roughly equal to the excise tax financing charges they incur, which is approximately 20 cents per case.

According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), roughly 170 million cases of spirits were sold in the United States, with 130 million cases eligible for the tax credit (100 million cases of domestic production and 30 million cases of imported spirits bottled in the U.S.) providing a total industry tax credit of $26 million. However, current systems have made it difficult for wholesalers to identify the 30 million cases of imported spirits bottled in the U.S., which could result in a failure to claim $6 million in tax credits. By utilizing the Beverage Country of Bottling attribute in data synchronization, wholesalers will be able to identify spirits that are eligible for this tax credit.

Bobby Burg, Senior Vice President and CIO of Southern Wines and Spirits of America, said, "One of the great values of the entire data synchronization initiative is that when laws and regulations change, we now have a solution that gives our industry the data accuracy and system agility we need to move forward. The recent changes to the federal statutes regarding tax interest credits and the Beverage Country of Bottling attribute is another demonstration of the many ways data synchronization can help business."

About 1SYNC

1SYNC(TM) is a newly-formed subsidiary of GS1 US(TM). The company is the combination of Transora and UCCnet, two Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN)-certified data pools. 1SYNC offers a range of data synchronization services that eliminate costly data errors, increase supply chain efficiencies, and promote the advancement of next-generation technologies, such as the Electronic Product Code(TM) (EPC). GS1 US is a not-for-profit member organization of GS1 and is dedicated to the development and implementation of standards-based, global supply chain solutions. 1SYNC is headquartered in Lawrenceville, New Jersey with offices in the U.S., Brazil, France, Mexico, and UK. Visit www.1SYNC.org for more information.