The 2022 Iowa General Assembly enacted and Governor Reynolds signed Senate File 2378, a bill that made changes to Iowa’s beverage container deposit and redemption law, commonly known as the “bottle bill.” SF 2378 created a new reimbursement for beer distributors that pay handling fees for empty beer containers to entities that collect those containers. The reimbursement to beer distributors is administered by the Iowa Department of Revenue. Beginning November 15, 2023, the bill requires the registration of universal product codes (UPCs) for each beverage container.
Beer Distributor Reimbursement and UPC Upload Processes Under the Amended Bottle Bill
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A beer distributor is allowed to request a one-cent reimbursement for every beer container sold by that distributor for which the distributor paid a handling fee to a redemption center, dealer agent, or participating dealer. The reimbursement applies to containers for which the beer distributor pays the entity accepting the empty container on or after January 1, 2023.
Beer distributors must have a GovConnectIowa account and the appropriate license from the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division in order to file the reimbursement claim. There will not be a paper form to request the reimbursement. Once a beer distributor is connected to their account and logged into GovConnectIowa, the link to the reimbursement request will appear in the Refunds panel on the I Want To… tab.
The Department processes reimbursement requests on a quarterly basis. Beer distributors were able to request reimbursements beginning April 1, 2023. The first tax period for which a beer distributor was able to request a reimbursement was January 1 through March 31, 2023. Beer distributors are able to request reimbursements for multiple quarters in a single claim, but only one claim can include each quarterly period. Beer distributors must input the start and end date for the period covered by their claim as well as the number of containers for which they are requesting reimbursement. Beer distributors may upload supporting documentation, but are not required to do so. The Department will mail paper checks to beer distributors.
Beer distributors with additional questions about the reimbursement process should contact the Department at 515-281-3114 or idr@iowa.gov.
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The Department requires the registration of the universal product code (UPC) for each beverage container, in accordance with Iowa Code section 455C.5(1)(b). You must be logged into GovConnectIowa to upload UPCs.
UPC Upload Instructions
- Log in to your GovConnectIowa account
- Click the I Want To… tab
- Select the Upload UPC List hyperlink within the Refunds panel
- Follow the steps on the screen to complete the upload
- The UPC Upload must follow the template instructions
- Note: Duplicate UPCs listed on a template will result in the file being rejected
- Submit your upload
Please visit the Department’s YouTube channel for a quick tutorial on the UPC Upload Process.
A report detailing the UPC uploads, updated monthly, can be found at data.iowa.gov.