New York requires the “Federal Wholesaler’s Permit” and “Federal Importer’s Permit” in order to be a wholesaler or importer. These two distinctions are obtained via the Federal “Basic Permit,” guided under the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (“TTB”). There is no separate application for New York State. On the Federal level, the TTB requires the “Basic Permit”, which can be found on their website as well. An importer must also complete the “Alcohol Dealer Registration” form.
New York divides licenses into two categories:
(a) wholesale-responsible for storing and distributing packaged drinks for sale to retailers, and;
(b) retail-responsible for storing and selling to the alcohol to the public.
The different licenses available in New York are: (a) Grocery or Drug Store Beer and Wine license, (b) Restaurant Wine license, (c) On Premises Liquor license, (d) Cabaret Liquor license, (e) Wholesaler or Manufacturer license-if you want to sell to other retailers, and (f) Liquor Store license.