Change of Liquor Excise Tariffs
March 2008
Singapore Customs has issued a circular announcing that all liquor tariffs would be levied based on alcohol content with effect from 15 February 2008. The change supersedes the previous tariff regime whereby tariffs on some of the liquors such as sparkling wine were based on volume.
This is in line with the intention of the Singapore Government to harmonise the liquor tariff regime based on alcoholic content which was announced in last year’s annual Budget Statement. The tariffs for beer and stout were first to be changed based on their alcohol content, with effect from 1 January 2008.
Further details regarding the latest changes in liquor tariff are as follows:
|
HS CODE
|
Description
|
Excise Rate
|
|
|
Previous
|
Present
|
||
| 2204.10.00 | Sparkling wine |
$9.50 per litre
|
$70.00 per litre of alcohol
|
| 2204.21.11 | Still wine, 2 ltr or less, not exceeding 15% alc/vol |
$9.50 per litre
|
$70.00 per litre of alcohol
|
| 2204.21.12 | Still wine, 2 ltr or less, exceeding 15% alc/vol |
$9.50 per litre
|
$70.00 per litre of alcohol
|
| 2204.29.11 | Still wine, more than 2 ltr, not exceeding 15% alc/vol |
$9.50 per litre
|
$70.00 per litre of alcohol
|
| 2204.29.12 | Still wine, more than 2 ltr, exceeding 15% alc/vol |
$9.50 per litre
|
$70.00 per litre of alcohol
|
| 2205.10.10 | Vermouth and other grape wine flavoured with plants or aromatic substances, 2 ltr or less, not exceeding 15% alc/vol |
$9.50 per litre
|
$70.00 per litre of alcohol
|
| 2205.10.20 | Vermouth and other grape wine flavoured with plants or aromatic substances, 2 ltr or less, exceeding 15% alc/vol |
$9.50 per litre
|
$70.00 per litre of alcohol
|
| 2205.90.10 | Vermouth and other grape wine flavoured with plants or aromatic substances, more than 2 ltr, not exceeding 15% alc/vol |
$9.50 per litre
|
$70.00 per litre of alcohol
|
| 2205.90.20 | Vermouth and other grape wine flavoured with plants or aromatic substances, more than 2 ltr, exceeding 15% alc/vol |
$9.50 per litre
|
$70.00 per litre of alcohol
|
| 2206.00.10 | Cider and perry |
$3.30 per litre
|
$48.00 per litre of alcohol
|
| 2206.00.40 | Shandy |
$0.80 per litre
|
$70.00 per litre of alcohol
|
| 2208.20.10 | Brandy, not exceeding 46% alc/vol |
$30.00 per litre
|
$70.00 per litre of alcohol
|
| 2208.20.30 | Other spirits obtained by distilling grape wine or grape marc, not exceeding 46% alc/vol |
$30.00 per litre
|
$70.00 per litre of alcohol
|
| 2208.30.10 | Whisky, not exceeding 46% alc/vol |
$30.00 per litre
|
$70.00 per litre of alcohol
|
| 2208.40.10 | Rum and other spirits obtained by distilling fermenting sugar-cane products, not exceeding 46% alc/vol |
$30.00 per litre
|
$70.00 per litre of alcohol
|
| 2208.50.10 | Gin and Geneva, not exceeding 46% alc/vol |
$30.00 per litre
|
$70.00 per litre of alcohol
|
| 2208.60.10 | Vodka, not exceeding 46% alc/vol |
$30.00 per litre
|
$70.00 per litre of alcohol
|
| 2208.70.10 | Liqueurs and cordials, not exceeding 57% alc/vol |
$30.00 per litre
|
$70.00 per litre of alcohol
|
| 2208.90.70 | Bitters and similar beverages, not exceeding 57% alc/vol |
$30.00 per litre
|
$70.00 per litre of alcohol
|
Though liquors with lower alcoholic content such as whisky and gin would typically be incurring less excise tariffs, the same cannot been said for those with high alcoholic content. The wine industry will not be as much affected as wines usually contain less than 13.5% alcohol.
Companies that are currently trading liquors or plan to do so in Singapore should re-look at their liquor products in Singapore. It might be feasible for these companies to even restructure their existing supply chain if necessary to mitigate or to exploit the tariff changes so as to keep their operating costs competitive.
