In virtue of Act No. VII of 2019 - An Act to Implement Budget Measures for the financial year 2019 and other administrative measures - dated 22nd March 2019, kindly be informed of the following: Part B – Alcohol and Alcoholic Beverages Regulations Article 11 (1) of the Excise Duty Act (Chapter 382) was amended accordingly: ‘No person may manufacture, process, prepare for sale, expose or offer for sale, sell or otherwise dispose of any ethyl alcohol as defined in the Second Schedule with an actual alcoholic strength by volume of 10% vol. or more and in containers of 50 centiliters capacity or above unless a band or stamp has been affixed as provided for in regulation 12.’
In addition, Article 12(2): ‘The said bands or stamps shall be of a round shape and continue in a rectangular shape in a way that the round part is affixed on the cap and the rectangular part is affixed going down onto the container, in such a way that when the container is opened, the destruction of the band or stamp is ensured. The bands or stamps shall be approved by the Commissioner and shall be supplied at the Custom House or at any other place to be appointed by the Minister through a notice in the Gazette.’
Therefore, as from 1st of September 2019, on all of those containers of 50 centilitres or more, which contain alcohol and/or alcoholic beverages of 10% volume or more, irrespective of whether the container is made of glass, carton or any other material, an alcohol excise stamp must be affixed.
Kindly also note that Article 12 (4) of the same Regulations states that: ‘The band or stamp shall be affixed to the container by not later than five days after it was bought.’ Hence, as from the 1st of September 2019, if Enforcement and/or Excise Officers, on inspection, find that the above-mentioned containers do not have the required tax stamp affixed, these will then be immediately confiscated and the relevant penalties would be adhered to according to the Excise Duty Act (Chapter 382).
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