Excise duty, popularly known as alcohol tax, is an indirect tax (as is VAT) levied on consumption, and must therefore be paid to the state in the country where the taxable product is consumed.
Intra-Community traffic in goods
Since Spain’s entry into the European Community, and following the repeated incorporations of new members, trade exchanges have been boosted, which in most cases have an easy administrative management. However, the exchange of products subject to special manufacturing taxes, such as wine, beer and alcoholic beverages, are subject to specific treatment under strict control by the Agencia Tributaria (in Spain), through the Spanish Customs.
Failure to follow the regulatory procedure established by the Law on Excise Duties can lead to heavy penalties, even in the case of beverages such as wine, for which the tax rate is zero in Spain.
Some companies carry out operations receiving in Spain, for example, wines from France or Italy without any authorisation (due to ignorance of the law), and nothing happens until the Agencia Tributaria finds out. There is no point in arguing that the rate is zero, so you pay no excise duty.
In order to send or receive wines between countries within the Community territory, authorisation must be obtained and the Public Administration must be informed through a series of declarations and notifications that are compulsory.
Calculation of excise duties
We have given the example of wines, which do not pay tax… let’s imagine if we are talking about alcoholic beverages with a high alcohol content, which will be a serious aggravating factor.
The rate of taxation for alcoholic beverages is currently EUR 958.94 per hectolitre of pure alcohol measured at a temperature of 20°C. The rate may change over time, so the information should be updated.
As a simple example of calculation, the cost of excise duty for a 70cl bottle of vodka, with an alcohol content of 45 proof, would be EUR 3.02066 per bottle.
The procedure to comply with the legislation is complex, so having the assistance of a specialised agent is crucial to be able to operate safely.
