Brussels, 28/08/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 28 August, the European Commission announced that it is launching a public consultation to assess whether some of the rules on excise duty on beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages should be changed to fight tax fraud and reduce the sale of counterfeit alcohol. The public consultation also wants to look into whether small and home producers of alcohol could benefit from simpler rules and lower excise duties. It will also assess whether EU citizens are well-informed about the drinks they drink.
European Taxation Commissioner Pierre Moscovici explained: “Current rules on the classification and excise structure of alcoholic beverages can be open to interpretation, so that some producers can exploit tax loopholes by producing and selling counterfeit alcohol.”
The public consultation will end on 27 November 2015. (Élodie Lamer)