Slovak Financial Law News 2004

New Act on Wine Excise Tax

Act No. 104/2004 Coll. on Excise Tax on Wine

With effect from 1 March 2004 the new Act on Excise Tax on Wine (the ``Act'') fully repeals and replaces the previously valid Act No. 309/1993 Coll. on Excise Tax on Wine, as amended and also related Decree of the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic No. 20924/2001-73 stipulating specimens of tax returns to certain excise taxes.

The purpose of the new Act is to harmonise the legislation in force with respective directives of the European Union regulating the position of warehouse operators, authorized recipients, rules of wine transport between the Member States and also in different tax regimes, import and export in business relationships with third countries, implementation of a uniform accompanying document to be used upon the transfer of wine within the territory of the Community and forwarding business.

The Act regulates the taxation of wine which is subject to excise tax within the tax territory which is, similarly to other excise taxes, the territory of the Slovak Republic.

The subject of tax is wine produced in the tax territory, supplied to the tax territory from any other Member State of the European Union, or imported into the tax territory from a third country. Terms, such as still wine, sparkling wine and intermediate product, are deemed to be wine and are further specified in Section 4 of this Act.

Tax administration is carried out by the customs office. Territorial jurisdiction of the customs office shall be governed by the registered office in case of a legal entity, or the permanent residence in case of a natural person.

The tax base is the quantity of wine expressed in hectolitres. The tax shall be calculated as a multiplication of the tax base and particular tax rate. The tax rate is set separately for still wine, sparkling wine with alcohol content not exceeding 8.5% of volume and for intermediate products.

Unless the Act stipulates otherwise, the tax duty arises by release of the wine for tax free circulation.

The taxation period is essentially one calendar month. The Act also regulates a time period for filing a tax return and the tax maturity.

The Act further regulates conditions for exemption of wine from tax, tax refund and it also defines several important terms, such as an enterprise for wine production, tax warehouse, wine warehouse, authorized recipient and tax representative.

The Act also regulates in detail the issues related to the transfer, import and export of wine as well as the issue of wine forwarding business.

The customs office may impose a penalty on a legal entity or natural person for breach of its duties in the disposal of wine up to the amount of tax pertaining to the quantity of dispatched wine, however at least in the amount of SKK 10,000.

This Act came into force on 1 March 2004, save for certain provisions which became effective on 1 May 2004.

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