Council Directive 92/83/EECShow full title

SECTION V U.K. ETHYL ALCOHOL

Scope U.K.

Article 19 U.K.

1. Member States shall apply an excise duty to ethyl alcohol in accordance with this Directive.

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

Article 20 U.K.

For the purposes of this Directive the term ‘ethyl alcohol’ covers:

• all products with an actual alcoholic strength by volume exceeding 1,2 % volume which fall within CN codes 2207 and 2208, even when those products form part of a product which falls within another chapter of the CN,

• products of CN codes 2204, 2205 and 2206 which have an actual alcoholic strength by volume exceeding 22 % vol.,

• potable spirits containing products, whether in solution or not.

Establishment of the duty U.K.

Article 21 U.K.

The excise duty on ethyl alcohol shall be fixed per hectolitre of pure alcohol at 20°C, and shall be calculated by reference to the number of hectolitres of pure alcohol. Subject to the provisions of Article 22, Member States shall charge the same rate of duty on all products chargeable with the duty on ethyl alcohol.

Article 22 U.K.

1. Member States may apply reduced rates of excise duty to ethyl alcohol produced by small distilleries within the following limits:

• the reduced rates, which may fall below the minimum rate, shall not be applied to undertakings producing more than 10 hectolitres of pure alcohol per year. However, Member States which applied reduced rates on 1 January 1992 to undertakings producing between 10 hectolitres and 20 hectolitres of pure alcohol per year may continue to do so,

• 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 ‘small distillery’ shall mean a distillery which is legally and economically independent of any other distillery and which does not operate under licence.

3. Member States shall ensure that any reduced rate they may introduce applies equally to ethyl alcohol delivered into their territory from independent small producers situated in other Member States.

4. Member States may lay down provisions whereby the alcohol produced by small producers shall be released for free circulation as soon as it is obtained (provided the producers have not themselves carried out any intra-Community transactions) without being subjected to the tax warehousing arrangements, and be taxed definitively on a flat-rate basis.

5. Member States may apply reduced rates of duty to products falling within CN code 2208 which have an actual alcohol strength by volume not exceeding 10 % vol.

[F1 6. Bulgaria and the Czech Republic may apply a reduced rate of excise duty, of not less than 50 % of the standard national rate of excise duty on ethyl alcohol, to ethyl alcohol produced by fruit growers' distilleries producing, on an annual basis, more than 10 hectolitres of ethyl alcohol from fruit supplied to them by fruit growers' households. The application of the reduced rate shall be limited to 30 litres of fruit spirits per producing fruit growers' household per year, destined exclusively for their personal consumption.]

[F1 7. Hungary, Romania and Slovakia may apply a reduced rate of excise duty, of not less than 50 % of the standard national rate of excise duty on ethyl alcohol, to ethyl alcohol produced by fruit growers' distilleries producing, on an annual basis, more than 10 hectolitres of ethyl alcohol from fruit supplied to them by fruit growers' households. The application of the reduced rate shall be limited to 50 litres of fruit spirits per producing fruit growers' household per year, destined exclusively for their personal consumption. The Commission will review this arrangement in 2015 and report to the Council on possible modifications.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Treaty between the Kingdom of Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Estonia, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, Ireland, the Italian Republic, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic, the Republic of Finland, the Kingdom of Sweden, the United Kingdom of Great Britain And Northern Ireland (member states of the European Union) and the Republic of Bulgaria And Romania, Concerning the Accession of the Republic of Bulgaria And Romania To the European Union.

Article 23 U.K.

The following Member States may apply a reduced rate, which may fall below the minimum rate but not be set more than 50 % below the standard national rate of duty on ethyl alcohol, to the following products:

1.

the French Republic, in respect of rum as defined in Article 1 (4) (a) of Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89 and produced from sugar cane harvested in the place of manufacture as set out at Article 1 (3) (1) of that Regulation, having a content of volatile substances other than ethyl and methyl alcohol equal to or exceeding 225 grams per hectolitre of pure alcohol, and an actual alcoholic strength by volume equal to or exceeding 40 % vol.;

2.

the Hellenic Republic, in respect of those aniseed flavoured spirit drinks defined in Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89 which are colourless and have a sugar content of 50 grams or less per litre, and in which at least 20 % of the alcoholic strength of the final product is composed of alcohol flavoured by distillation in traditional discontinuous copper stills with a capacity of 1 000 litres or less.