Competition Registration

Participant can enter the Competition by submitting an Entry Form or entering Online, paying the Entry Fee and delivering the Entry to Competition warehouse. Entries that do not arrive by the entry deadline cannot be refunded or credited.

No refund or credit of an Entry Fee will be given in any circumstances, including circumstances in which an Entry is disqualified, withdrawn, lost or damaged or does not arrive in time. SCA will not refund or re-ship the samples/ bottles back if entry cancelled by the participant. No Refund or Re-ship of samples if changed later once samples delivered. If the samples gets returned, SCA is not responsbile and hence no refund will be processed. If TTB COLA approval gets expired, you'll have to re-apply with fees again.

Labeling and Shipping

Clearly label each box of wine using the delivery label, which can be downloaded once you have entered and paid for your wine in your account.
If you send your wines directly to our warehouse, you must tick the option: ‘Duties and Taxes payable by shipper'. If the above is not completed, we cannot guarantee that the wine will not be stopped in Customs and arrive on time for the competition. Sommeliers Choice Awards is not responsible for tracking the shipping of your wines, please ensure everything is in order before sending your wines.

INSTRUCTIONS IF SHIPPING FROM OUTSIDE THE U.S.

It is best to use your own importer or agent to clear your shipment through U.S. Customs. All beverages shipped from outside the U.S. require import documents that must be obtained from your own importer or through import partners that provide TTB / Cola service.

If you do not currently work with a US Importer, you must contact Park Street Import or MHW, who can help you prepare the COLA waiver and FDA Permit approval PRIOR to your shipment. DO NOT SHIP OUT TO THE U.S. BEFORE OBTAINING YOUR COLA WAIVER AND FDA APPROVAL. Please note that TTB / Cola waiver charges are usually from $50 to $80 which you can directly pay the service provider that quotes you.

If shipped without COLA or Importer and samples get stuck in customs, the shipper will be responsible and has to manage the missing documents, duties and so. If you need assistance from our partner importer, additional charges and processing time may be applied. During this, if the samples return, the shipper has to manage the samples again. But no cancellations or refunds will be initiated in certain scenarios, however, if re-shipped and delivered on time will be considered.

The above fee is for import services only. The sender is responsible for shipping costs and any duties, taxes, customs charges, or other fees accessed by your carrier or third parties with whom you contract. Do not ship until the necessary COLA waivers have been obtained from TTB.

Import License, Declaration & Duty

All duty, shipping costs, and taxes must be prepaid by the submitter of the samples. Wines must be Delivery Duty Paid (DDP), therefore instruction to complete the import declaration should be given to your forwarder/courier company, please choose ‘shipper accept all charges on the documentation provided by your courier company. Submitters should also be responsible for any fees related to the import declaration. Wines cannot be accepted by our logistic partner if the charges associated with shipping have not been paid. Any penalty and additional cost incurred from the non-compliance of declaration requirement in the USA will be borne by the Submitters.

Insurance

SCA and its logistic partner will not take responsibility for wine damaged or lost whilst in transit. In the event that for reasons beyond the reasonable control of SCA, it is necessary or advisable for the SCA to be canceled, SCA cannot accept any liability whatsoever for any direct or indirect loss of profit, damage, retunrs or expense of any kind incurred as the result of such a cancellation.

Delayed Shipments

For the SCA Judges to taste your products it is essential they arrive in time. If your samples do not arrive in time for the SCA, they will not be judged. No refund should be provided. SCA is not responsible to deal with customs, freight companies or local shipping companies. Overseas suppliers should especially aim to ship by July 10 due to delays that may occur in label approval process.

Printing Labels and Rights (License to Print)

The purpose of License to Print was primarily arranged for the convenience of Winners that have larger quantities of bottles to add their SCA Medals. Large scale usage of License to Print enables Winners to save manpower to add to all bottles by hand and/or they can arrange their printing more efficiently without needing to find a machine that can attach stickers with the exact dimensions that SCA Medals are issued at, can be time-consuming/not easily accessible.  SCA Medal's showcase winning wines and spirits to buyers who are seeking the all-important SCA stamp of approval. Whether you are the Producer, Distributor, Importer or Retailer, now is your chance to celebrate and boost sales.

Force Majeure

The Organiser shall not be liable for delay or failure of performance with respect to cancellation or postponement of the show caused by an act of God, action by any governmental or quasi-governmental entity, fire, flood, insurrection, riot, explosion, embargo, strikes whether legal or illegal, transportation interruption of any kind, or any condition beyond the control of organisers ("Force Majeure Events").

Usage rights to SCA Medal artwork

Winners are welcome to use the SCA artwork on marketing materials related to the winning products with no restrictions if it's used for marketing material, presentations, website, press releases, trade shows and any other marketing purpose. For usage of the SCA materials on Bottles or Packaging/Boxes, winners order either SCA Medal Stickers or the SCA License to Print. Both have no time limit to usage and are based on quantity ordered.