Contract Distillation Of Pálinka In Hungary Drops By 80%
- 15 Oct 2015 5:00 AM
Distilleries in Hungary have produced 2 million litres of fruit brandy pálinka this year, less than 20% of the amount distilled in 2014; the drastic drop largely resulted from the elimination of tax exemption for home distillation of spirits from January 2015, daily Magyar Idők said. Legislation in force since the autumn of 2010 allowed Hungarian households to distil for personal consumption an equivalent of 50 litres of pálinka containing 86% alcohol exempt of tax every year.
But an EU directive allows only a 50% reduction on the normal excise rate for such distillates.
To comply with the decision, Hungarian lawmakers raised the excise tax on pálinka distilled for private consumption by contract distillers to 50% of the normal rate, while introduced a flat tax of just 1,000 forints (EUR 3.21) per year for Hungarians who distil pálinka at home.
The cost of contract distillation for private consumption has increased from about 700 forints per litre last year to about 1,500 forints per litre due to the spirits tax, the paper said.
At the same time, the number of home distilling equipment has been increasing steadily, exceeding 11,000 in early October, the paper said, citing tax office data based on municipal figures.
Source www.hungarymatters.hu - Visit Hungary Matters to sign-up for MTI’s twice-daily newsletter.
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