Bìznes Inform (Jul 2018)
Harmonizing the Classification of Alcohol and Alcoholic Beverages in the Context of Implementing the Provisions of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement
Abstract
The article is concerned with comparative analysis of the compliance of the Ukrainian practice of taxation of excise duty of alcohol and alcoholic beverages with the mandatory requirements of Directive 92/83 / EEC On the Harmonization of The Structures of Excise Duties on Alcohol and Alcoholic Beverages to comply with the requirements of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. In order to create a level playing field on the common European market and to implement the provisions of Directive 92/83 / EEC, the author team developed and harmonized the classification of alcohol and alcoholic beverages and generalized the requirements for their excise taxation. First, it is substantiated to amend Article 215 of the Tax Code of Ukraine regarding the division of alcohol and alcohol into four categories, such as beer, wine, fermented beverages other than wine and beer, intermediate products and ethyl alcohol. Secondly, the definition of the concepts of «ethyl alcohol» and «beer» has been clarified and it is suggested instead of the concept of «wine products» to use the following: wine: still and sparkling, fermented beverages except for wine and beer: still and sparkling, intermediate products that are in line with European practice. A draft amendment has also been prepared to clarify the existing and introduce new definitions in the Article 14 of the Tax Code of Ukraine.
