Tax markings for alcoholic beverages

From 1 January 2020, the Tax Agency has implemented new tax marking forms that must be attached to containers or bottles containing alcoholic beverages, in accordance with the provisions of Article 26 of the Regulation on Special Taxes.

The tax stamps applicable to derived beverages are prepared by the National Mint and Stamp Factory ( FNMT ) and incorporate improvements in security systems.

News about the new tax brands:

• A security code is entered in the tax marking, represented by a QR code.
• If you request a volume of tax markings greater than 500,000 units per year, you will receive the tax markings directly from the FNMT, upon request to the Tax Agency
• If your annual requests for tax markings are less than 500,000 units per year, you will receive the tax markings through physical delivery to the Excise Duties Management Office.
• You must communicate to the Tax Agency, through the e-office, certain information in relation to the tax markings that you have requested and received:
  • Identification of the receiving establishment 
  • Identification of the establishment and location where the tax markings are physically affixed to the drinks 
  • Production batch 
  • Capacity of bottles or containers 
  • Alcohol strength 
  • Commercial product description 
• If you are the owner of an establishment authorised as a craft distiller, you are not obliged to communicate the above information to the Tax Agency
• If you are the owner of an establishment authorised as a retail warehouse for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products located in ports and airports in the Canary Islands, mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands, or a tax warehouse authorised exclusively for the supply of alcoholic beverages for consumption or sale on board ships or aircraft, you only have to inform the Tax Agency of the number of units and the model of the tax markings attached to the bottles or containers sold
• Consumers will be able to verify the validity of the tax marking by means of applications on their mobile phones
• If you export or ship derived beverages in bottles or containers bearing the tax marking to another EU Member State, you may choose to request the electronic deregistration of the security codes, or alternatively, remove and destroy or physically disable the tax marking under the control of the Tax Agency
• You will be able to use one of the two models of tax markings provided:
  1. Large rectangular model (150x18 mm)
  2. Small self-adhesive circular model (25 mm diameter)
• If you have old tax markings in your establishment that are not affixed before 31 January 2021, you must declare the list of old tax markings in stock to your tax office, which must be handed over to the Intervention Service and destroyed under the control of the Administration before 31 March 2021
• Until 31 December 2020 old models of seals that had been requested from the Tax Agency before 1 January 2020 may continue to be affixed to bottles or packaging of beverages derived from them
• Until 31 December 2020, you may attach the new models of tax markings to containers or bottles containing alcoholic beverages without having to comply with the reporting obligation set out in Article 4 Section 1 of Order HAC/1271/2019

However, this reporting obligation must be fulfilled on a deferred basis within the first quarter of 2021.

You will also be able to provide this information during 2020 on a voluntary basis through the Tax Agency's E-Office.