Legal compliance checklist - wine import in india

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Querist : Anonymous

Querist : Anonymous (Querist)

12 December 2013 Would request someone to help me out to get legal compliance checklist to import wines from France/Italy/Australia to India.

Purpose of this checklist to ensure 100% compliance of laws related to Customs, Excise and VAT in India

RAMESH KUMAR VERMA

RAMESH KUMAR VERMA (Expert)
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16 December 2013 Import Procedures. All alcoholic beverages may be imported into India under an Open General Licence (OGL) which means no specific licence is required to import wines into India. However, for any general imports, the import company must get an Import Export Code (IEC) issued by the Director General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce.

It is not necessary to pay custom duties immediately on import. Wine can be stored in a Customs Bonded Warehouse (CBW) for up to three months without having to pay customs duty or interest on it. To get a customs bond, an importer is required to provide a bank guarantee for double the value of the duty. Imported wines may be sold either duty free (against duty free licences typically held by hotel, restaurants or embassies or duty free shops in airports) or duty paid (to licensed trade), after paying the customs duty applicable and removing the stocks from customs bond (de-bonding).

State licences to sell liquor. In New Delhi, the annual licence fee to sell imported alcoholic beverages is Rs 6,00,000 per year (USD 10000 per year). Processing charges are extra.

Annual Brand/Label registrations in each state:
All brands (whether imported or produced in India) have to be registered with the Excise Department of each state. Formalities may include submitting a cost-card of prices proposed to be charged down to the MRP (Maximum Retail Price) and payment of registration fees ranging from nil to Rs 20,000 per year depending on the state.

There are several levels of taxes. The main taxes on wines in India are:
A. Custom duties on imports
Custom duties are imposed on the CIF value and are roughly 160%. There are some additional fees like a Government education tax and as mentioned in the import note above, there is also interest payable.

B. State taxes
EXCISE PERMITS: State taxes (Excise duty) payable to obtain a permit to transport and consume wine within that state. Alcoholic beverages are a state subject in India, so each state has its own rules and regulations and duties & taxes on wine.

Written permission ("Permits") need to be obtained from the concerned excise authority for movement of wines from winery or CBW to the trade. Such permission is generally issued after payment of the state excise duties applicable; in case goods are being moved between two states, this would entail paying an Import Fee (for the state to which goods are being sold) and an Export Pass Fee (the state from which goods are being sold).

Excise duties vary from state to state, with Rs 300 per bulk litre in Karnataka (Bangalore), similarly in Maharashtra (Mumbai) and nil in Haryana (Gurgaon). Taxes were 30% of final MRP in Delhi (this is roughly 150-200% of CIF) in 2010-2011.

The new tax rates, announced on 7 June 2011 will be effective from 1 July, 2011. The tax rate in Delhi has now been revised to 65% of the importers wholesale price (WSP) up to Rs 1000 and 50% on the additional value. Wholesale Price, WSP has been defined as the duty-free import price plus importer's margin. It does not include Custom Duty, Duty, VAT and other levies, if any. It does, however, include CIF (cost, insurance and freight), margins and all other charges of the importers/L-1F Licencee.

must read:

http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/india-offers-to-slash-import-duty-on-wines-spirits-to-40-113061700046_1.html

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