Nepal: Excise Duty Stickers On Beer
Beer producers will be required to put excise duty stickers on beer bottles, according to a recent amendment in the Excise Duty Rules 2002. Currently, the alcohol industry only puts the stickers on the cartons.
The Nepalese Inland Revenue Department (IRD) is set to publish a notice to all beer producers asking them to implement the new arrangement about excise duty. The beer producers will be mandated to put the sticker on the bottle caps at the time of manufacturing.
This new arrangement is for ensuring excise duty compliance on all beer bottles and for protecting against possible attempts of tax evasion, according to the agency.
This will eliminate chances of a single bottle coming out of the cartoon knowingly or unknowingly,” said Deputy director general of the department, Chandra Kala Paudel.
It will control revenue leakage.”
Big Alcohol dominates Nepal amidst suspicions of tax evasion
The rate of excise duty for a liter of beer is Rs 115. There are half a dozen beer producers in Nepal producing different brands. However, the beer market is dominated by multinational corporations like Carlsberg and Heineken.
Likewise, all liquor producers except beer, wine and cider have to wrap the excise duty stickers with plastic-made shrink cap to protect the sticker, according to the 17th amendment to the Excise Duty Rules published on Nepal Gazette on Wednesday. The rules will only come into effect from Mid-January 2018.