Executive Government Meeting has been held on November 19, 2015 to discuss the Draft Law of Georgia On Amendments to the Tax Code of Georgia, which implies excise tax increase on tobacco and alcoholic beverages from January 1, 2016.
Draft Law aims to tighten control measures on tobacco to get approximated with EU Directives and to optimise the excise tax rate on alcoholic beverages.
In line with the Draft Law on Amendments to the Tax Code of Georgia, fixed rate of excise will increase on the following commodities from January 1, 2016:
Filtered cigarettes (20 sticks) - with 0.20 GEL;
Non-filtered cigarettes (20 sticks) – with 0.05 GEL;
One stick of cigarette and 20 sticks of cigarillos – with 0.4 GEL;
1 kg of pipe-smoked, chewed or inhaled tobacco - with 5 GEL.
Filter and non-filter cigarettes (20 sticks) proportionate excise will increase from 5 to 10 per cent.
Also, excise tax rate will increase on whisky, rum and tuffy, gin and juniper liquor from 10 to 15 GEL, while other alcoholic beverages and ethyl spirit (except for grape wine or grappa distillate-born spirit beverages, liquors and some other low content alcohol) excise tax rate will increase to 10 GEL.
After the scrutiny of the Draft Law on Amendments to the Tax Code at the Executive Government Meeting, it will be submitted to the Parliament of Georgia.