27.09.2013

Tobacco products and bottled alcoholic beverages will be sold with new excise labels as from 1 January 2014. In accordance with Article 64, paragraph 6 of the Excise Duties and Tax Warehouses Law, the new samples have been approved by the Minister of Finance three months before their entering into force, with the orders affirming the new samples of excise labels being promulgated in issue No 84/ 27.09.2013 of the State Gazette.  The unit price of the excise label for tobacco products changes from BGN 0.012 to BGN 0.013, and for alcohol from BGN 0.030 to BGN 0.032.

Here you can see a sample of the new excise label for tobacco products, i.e. cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos and smoking tobacco (for pipe and cigarettes) intended for the domestic market.

Here you can see a sample of the new excise label for bottled alcoholic beverages within CN code 2208 having alcoholic strength equal to and exceeding 15% vol intended for the domestic market.

In accordance with Article 20, paragraph 1 of the Duty Free Sales Law, bottled alcoholic beverages within CN code 2208 having alcoholic strength equal to and exceeding 15% vol intended for retail sites, licensed for duty free sales, shall be sold only with an excise band affixed to the consumer packing, on which "Duty Free" shall be printed: see here.

The current legislation envisages that in the event changing excise labels the available quantities of excisable goods affixed with the old excise duties should be sold no later than six months from the introduction of the new samples.

Having made an analysis of the influence of the deadline for sale of the excisable goods cleared for consumption and affixed with an old excise label on budget revenue and on retail and wholesale traders in tobacco products and bottled alcoholic beverages and after a public discussion with representative of the producers and importers of these excisable goods, a proposal has been made for the excisable goods affixed with the old excise labels to be sold within a period of 12 months after the entry into force of the new samples of excise labels, i.e. until 31 December 2014.

For the excisable goods affixed with old excise labels and cleared for consumption by 31 December 2013 the excise tax due was paid upon their clearance for consumption and the longer sale period will not affect the excise duty revenue. The 12-month period for the sale of excisable goods affixed with old excise labels will provide better opportunities for retail and wholesale traders to sell the excisable goods and avoid any sale-related losses.

The owners of excise warehouses should return the unused excise labels to the customs authority from which they received them within 30 days from entry into force of the new samples.

Excise labels are a government security proving the payment of the excise duty due for the excisable goods cleared for consumption. They are issued by the Ministry of Finance under an affirmed draft and are affixed on the packaging of excisable goods in such a way that opening the packaging is impossible without breaking the packaging. The samples of excise labels include a combination of security features in the graphic design, the paper, the inks, the hologram and the various printing techniques. Each label has certain requisites: series, number, litres and alcoholic strength (for alcoholic beverages) and price (for tobacco products).