Intermediate products

Classification follows the Combined Nomenclature, not the product name. A liqueur wine under heading 2204 at 18 percent by volume is an intermediate product, while a liqueur under heading 2208 at the same strength is an alcohol product (section 29 SchaumwZwStG). The commodity code therefore decides both the duty and which warehouse the goods may enter at all.

The rate is 153 euro per hectolitre, and 102 euro per hectolitre where the alcoholic strength does not exceed 15 percent by volume (section 30 SchaumwZwStG). The basis of assessment is the volume of the beverage, not the pure alcohol it contains. That is the second fundamental difference from alcohol duty, which is charged per litre of pure alcohol.

Above 22 percent by volume the category ends: the product is then an alcohol product, even if the bottle looks like wine. What counts is the actual strength of the product, which is why a figure taken from a trade catalogue is not enough.

The most common mistake: the commodity code comes from the supplier's catalogue rather than from the customs tariff. Where that catalogue shows 2208 for a port, the consignment is declared as an alcohol product, the duty is calculated wrongly and the goods go into a warehouse whose authorisation does not cover them.

The second mistake concerns mixed consignments of spirits and liqueur wine. They fall under two different excise duties with two separate duty returns, and the warehouse needs an authorisation for both groups of goods. Noticing this only at unloading leaves the warehouse holding goods it is not allowed to accept.