Litre of pure alcohol

The formula is short; gathering the data is the work. Three figures per article are needed: bottle size, bottles per case and alcoholic strength in percent by volume. Together they give the litres of pure alcohol per case, and only then can a consignment be valued for duty.

The figure carries more than the duty calculation. The stock ledger records receipts and removals on the officially prescribed form (section 10 (2) AlkStV), the monthly duty return self assesses the duty from it (section 19 (1) AlkStG), and the electronic administrative document shows the quantity next to gross mass and net mass. If one of these documents counts differently from another, the gap surfaces during an audit.

The strength that counts is the one at 20 degrees Celsius, and the binding figure is the one for the specific product, not a rule of thumb for the category. If the producer changes the recipe, the tax base changes without anything visible happening to the case or the label.

The most common error sits in the master data, not in the formula. The same brand arrives in 0.7 and in 1.0 litres, or a product moves from 40 to 35 percent by volume, and the old value stays in the system. Duty is then miscalculated on every release until the difference shows up in the stock ledger.

The second error is confusing litres of goods with litres of pure alcohol. 1,000 litres of spirits at 40 percent by volume are 400 litres of pure alcohol. Declare the 1,000 and you pay two and a half times too much.