All citizens Montenegro who want to brew brandy, even for their own needs, from entering the European Union they will have to register. Before the neighborhood competition, whose brandy better this year, small producers will first have to go to the Customs Administration and apply.
In the new draft of the law on excise taxes, which was put up for public debate, and which would be applied from the time Montenegro joined the EU, it is written that all private producers of strong alcoholic beverages, and those who produce minimal quantities only for personal use, will have to obtain an excise permit and provide information about the cauldron in which they roast brandy. Excise duty will not be paid by those who produce up to 50 liters per year, while Montenegrins will pay a duty to the state for every liter above that.
A producer of domestic vines from Montenegro tells "Vreme" that he will certainly register with the Customs Administration, but that he will reduce production to 50 liters for personal use, because even now he has large stocks that he cannot sell.
The draft stipulates that the amount of excise duty will remain the same as in the existing law. For strong alcoholic beverages, the excise duty will be paid per hectoliter of pure alcohol in the amount of 1250 euros, which is 12,5 euros per liter of pure alcohol, or 6,25 euros for, for example, 50-degree brandy.
How is it now?
The current law allows small producers to produce strong alcoholic beverages for their own needs in quantities prescribed by the Ministry of Finance in consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture, and every liter sold must be registered and excise duty calculated.
According to sources from Montenegro, the previous control over the sale of home-made brandy was not rigorous. The market is liberal, the competition is strong, and the only criterion is a good lineage.
What do European laws bring?
Upon entry into the European Union, the law will become stricter for Montenegrin households that produce brandy. Although according to the new draft law there will still be no excise duty for small quantities, anyone who produces strong alcoholic beverages will have to enter the system.
If the producer wants to produce more than 50 liters per year for his own needs or for sale, he will have to register as a small distillery. The Ministry of Finance will prescribe the method of application and the documents to be submitted with the application for business in the status of a small distillery, the peculiarities of obtaining the status of a small distillery, the conditions for verifying the application and the method of approving the status of a small distillery, accompanying documents on sales and the way of reporting to state institutions on production and sales, the draft law states.
The draft also provides that, if it is determined that a small producer of strong alcoholic beverages is selling or if he has produced a quantity of strong alcoholic beverages greater than the prescribed amount, and has not submitted a notification, the competent customs authority will delete the small producer from the register of excise duty payers, confiscate, and sell or destroy the strong alcoholic beverages and calculate excise duty on the entire quantity produced.
In that case, it will be considered that the entire quantity was illegally produced, and interest will be added to the calculation and payment of the excise duty. If it is proportionate to the purpose to be achieved, the customs authority will seal or confiscate the devices and other production equipment.
Montenegro continues to harmonize its laws with European ones and in other areas in the process of joining the European Union.
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