- Original Poster
- #1
Hi all, hope you are well.
I own a business in Malta, Europe, whereby I have exclusive rights from the manufacturer to import into the country a beer that is manufactured in Spain and very well known worldwide.
The manufacturer pay for the shipping of the beer to Malta. I have a licence to import the goods from the Customs Department. For each 40 foot container of beer that I bring into Malta I have to pay Excise Duty, VAT and fees for the Agent to deliver the goods from the port to my warehouse. It ends up costing me on average about €6,000 per container in taxes which i find to be a rip off.
The Excise Duty is calculated based on the Plato of the alcohol - which is quite a complex calculation, which is not relevant to be discussed on this post.
I am having a bit of trouble. I am paying no more from the manufacturer for beer than my competition. I have a very good price from the manufacturer. However, by the time the beers arrive in Malta, once all Excise Duty and VAT etc has been paid, the beer becomes considerably expensive. So much so that I cannot sell my beers alongside competing brands for the same or similar price. My competitors beers are far cheaper for similar products. Despite the fact that the cost of the product from the manufacturer is the same.
So this leads me to believe that there is some kind of loop hole to avoid paying so much money in taxes upon importing the goods into Malta.
Both countries are obviously part of the European Union.
Can anyone with industry knowledge advise me?
I own a business in Malta, Europe, whereby I have exclusive rights from the manufacturer to import into the country a beer that is manufactured in Spain and very well known worldwide.
The manufacturer pay for the shipping of the beer to Malta. I have a licence to import the goods from the Customs Department. For each 40 foot container of beer that I bring into Malta I have to pay Excise Duty, VAT and fees for the Agent to deliver the goods from the port to my warehouse. It ends up costing me on average about €6,000 per container in taxes which i find to be a rip off.
The Excise Duty is calculated based on the Plato of the alcohol - which is quite a complex calculation, which is not relevant to be discussed on this post.
I am having a bit of trouble. I am paying no more from the manufacturer for beer than my competition. I have a very good price from the manufacturer. However, by the time the beers arrive in Malta, once all Excise Duty and VAT etc has been paid, the beer becomes considerably expensive. So much so that I cannot sell my beers alongside competing brands for the same or similar price. My competitors beers are far cheaper for similar products. Despite the fact that the cost of the product from the manufacturer is the same.
So this leads me to believe that there is some kind of loop hole to avoid paying so much money in taxes upon importing the goods into Malta.
Both countries are obviously part of the European Union.
Can anyone with industry knowledge advise me?
