Texas Border Business
AUSTIN – Employees of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission will spend the first two weeks of January assisting travelers entering Texas during the busy Paisano travel season.
Paisano season refers to a roughly two-week period following the holidays in which travelers with families living in Mexico cross the border to visit their relatives. In many cases, the returning travelers bring alcohol back into the state with them, which requires a short stop at one of TABC’s Ports of Entry facilities at the border. State law requires all travelers entering the state with alcohol to pay a small tax and administrative fee on any spirits, wine or beer brought into Texas.
TABC Ports of Entry employees assess and collect the tax while keeping an eye out for any potentially illegal or dangerous beverages, according to TABC Executive Director Bentley Nettles.
“The Paisano season is obviously an extremely exciting and hectic time for travelers, and we want them to know that TABC will have additional staff members standing by to help travelers bring their alcohol into Texas safely and legally,” he said. “We’ll also be paying special attention to disallowing any potentially dangerous beverages before they can enter the Texas marketplace.”
Illicit beverages include those brought in unapproved containers, such as gasoline cans or unlabeled bottles, as well as those suspected of containing illegal or dangerous substances. During the 2020 Paisano season, TABC regulatory compliance officers (RCOs) disallowed 162 illicit alcohol containers while approving more than 146,798 containers for entry into Texas. The agency also collected nearly $511,606 in revenue at the Texas-Mexico border during the period.
For more information about TABC’s mission at the Texas-Mexico border, visit: tabc.texas.gov/poe.
