Council Directive 92/83/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the harmonization of the structures of excise duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages

• Coming into Force: 01 January 2022
• Published date: 01 January 2022
• Celex Number: 01992L0083-20220101
• Date: 01 January 2022

01992L0083 — EN — 01.01.2022 — 003.001

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►B COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/83/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the harmonization of the structures of excise duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages (OJ L 316 31.10.1992, p. 21)

Amended by:

		Official Journal
		No	page	date
►M1	COUNCIL DIRECTIVE (EU) 2020/1151 of 29 July 2020	L 256	1	5.8.2020

Amended by:

A1	ACT concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded	L 236	33	23.9.2003
►A2	TREATY CONCERNING THE ACCESSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA AND ROMANIA TO THE EUROPEAN UNION	L 157	203	21.6.2005

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COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/83/EEC

of 19 October 1992

on the harmonization of the structures of excise duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages

SECTION I

BEER

Scope

Article 1

1.

Member States shall apply an excise duty to beer in accordance with this Directive.

2.

Member States shall fix their rates in accordance with Directive 92/84/EEC.

Article 2

For the purposes of this Directive, the term ‘beer’ covers any product falling within CN code 2203 or any product containing a mixture of beer with non-alcoholic drinks falling within CN code 2206, in either case with an actual alcoholic strength by volume exceeding 0,5 % vol.

Establishment of the duty

Article 3

1.

The excise duty levied by Member States on beer shall be fixed by reference either:

—

to the number of hectolitre/degrees Plato,

or

—

to the number of hectolitre/degrees of actual alcoholic strength by volume

of finished product.

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All the ingredients of the beer, including those added after the completion of fermentation, shall be taken into account for the purposes of measuring the degree Plato.

By way of derogation from the second subparagraph, Member States that, on 29 July 2020, do not take ingredients of the beer that have been added after fermentation into account for the purposes of measuring the degree Plato, may continue to do so until 31 December 2030.

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2.

In assessing the charge to duty on beer in accordance with the requirements of Directive 92/84/EEC, Member States may ignore fractions of a degree Plato or degree of actual alcoholic strength by volume.

In addition, Member States which levy the duty by reference to the number of hectolitre/degrees Plato may divide beer into categories consisting of no more than four degrees Plato per category and charge the same rate of duty per hectolitre on all beers falling within each category. Such rates shall invariably equal or exceed the minimum rate laid down in Article 6 of Directive 92/84/EEC, hereinafter referred to as the minimum rate.

Article 4

1.

Member States may apply reduced rates of duty, which may be differentiated in accordance with the annual production of the breweries concerned, to beer brewed by independent small breweries within the following limits:

—

the reduced rates shall not be applied to undertakings producing more than 200 000 hl of beer per year,

—

the reduced rates, which may fall below the minimum rate, shall not be set more than 50 % below the standard national rate of excise duty.

2.

For the purposes of the reduced rates the term ‘independent small brewery’ shall mean a brewery which is legally and economically independent of any other brewery, which uses premises situated physically apart from those of any other brewery and does not operate under licence. However, where two or more small breweries cooperate, and their combined annual production does not exceed 200 000 hl, those breweries may be treated as a single independent small brewery.

3.

Member States shall ensure that any reduced rates they may introduce apply equally to beer delivered into their territory from independent small breweries situated in other Member States. In particular they shall ensure that no individual delivery from another Member States ever bears more duty than its exact national equivalent.

Article 5

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1.

Member States may apply reduced rates, which may fall below the minimum rate, for beer with an actual alcoholic strength by volume not exceeding 3,5 % vol.

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2.

Member States may confine the application of this Article to products containing a mixture of beer with non-alcoholic drinks falling within CN code 2206.

Article 6

Subject to such conditions as they shall lay down to ensure the straigthforward application of the exemption, Member States may exempt from excise duty beer produced by a private individual and consumed by the producer, members of his family or his guests, provided that no sale is involved.

SECTION II

WINE

Scope

Article 7

1.

Member States shall apply an excise duty to wine in accordance with this Directive.

2.

Member States shall fix their rates in accordance with Directive 92/84/EEC.

Article 8

For the purposes of this Directive:

1.

The term ‘still wine’ covers all products falling within CN codes 2204 and 2205, except sparkling wine as defined in paragraph 2 of this Article:

—

having an actual alcoholic strength by volume exceeding 1,2 % vol. but not exceeding 15 % vol., provided that the alcohol contained in the finished product is entirely of fermented origin,

—

having an actual alcoholic strength by volume exceeding 15 % vol. and not exceeding 18 % vol. provided they have been produced without any enrichment and that the alcohol contained in the finished product is entirely of fermented origin;

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2.

The term ‘sparkling wine’ covers all products falling within CN codes 2204 10 , 2204 21 06 , 2204 21 07 , 2204 21 08 , 2204 21 09 , 2204 29 10 and 2205 which:

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—

are contained in bottles with ‘mushroom stoppers’ held in place by ties or fastenings, or they have an excess pressure due to carbon dioxide in solution of three bar or more,

—

have an actual alcoholic strength by volume exceeding 1,2 % vol. but not exceeding 15 % vol., provided that the alcohol contained in the finished product is entirely of fermented origin.

Establishment of the duty

Article 9

1.

The excise duty levied by Member States on wine shall be fixed by reference to the number of hectolitres of finished product.

2.

Except as provided in paragraphs 3 and 4, Member States shall levy the same rate of excise duty on all products chargeable with the duty on still wine. Similarly, they shall levy the same rate of excise duty on products chargeable with the duty on sparkling wine. they may apply the same rate of duty to both still and sparkling wine.

3.

Member States may apply reduced rates of excise duty to any type of still wine and sparkling wine of an actual alcoholic strength by volume not exceeding 8,5 % vol.

4.

Member States which on 1 January 1992 applied a higher rate of duty to still wines as defined in Article (8) (1), second indent, may continue to apply this rate. This higher rate must not be more than the standard national rate applied to intermediate products.

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Article 9a

1.

Member States may apply reduced rates of duty to wine produced by independent small wine producers within the following limits:

—

the reduced rates shall not be applied to undertakings producing on average more than 1 000 hl or, in the case of the Republic of Malta, on average more than 20 000 hl of wine per year,

—

the reduced rates shall not be set more than 50 % below the standard national rate of excise duty.

2.

For the purposes of the reduced rates the term ‘independent small wine producer’ shall mean a wine producer which is legally and economically independent of any other wine producer, which uses premises situated physically apart from those of any other wine producer and does not operate under licence. However, where two or more small wine producers cooperate, and their combined annual production does not exceed 1 000 hl or 20 000 hl, as appropriate, those wine producers may be treated as a single independent small wine producer.

3.

Member States shall ensure that any reduced rates they may introduce apply equally to wine delivered into their territory from independent small wine producers situated in other Member States. In particular they shall ensure that no individual delivery from another Member State ever bears more duty than their exact national equivalent.

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Article 10

Subject to such conditions as they shall lay down to ensure the straigthforward application of this Article, Member States may exempt from excise duty wine produced by a private individual and consumed by the producer, members of his family or his guests, provided no sale is involved.

SECTION III

FERMENTED BEVERAGES OTHER THAN WINE AND BEER

Scope

Article 11

1.

Member States shall appaly an excise duty to fermented beverages other than beer and wine (other fermented beverages) in accordance with this Directive.

2.

Member States shall fix their rates in accordance with Directive 92/84/EEC.

Article 12

For the purposes of this...