| Update: | Compliance Alert - The National Council imposes taxation on sweetened soft drinks and concentrates |
| Date: | 2024-11-05 |
On 5 October 2024, the National Council of the Slovak Republic announced the final version of the Tax Act on sweetened non-alcoholic beverages. The law imposes taxation on packaged sweetened soft drinks and concentrates as of 1 January 2025.
Food categories in scope
The act stipulates the following tax rates.
- Packaged sweetened soft drinks for direct consumption: EUR 0,15 per litre;
- Packaged beverages for direct consumption with high caffeine levels (more than 150 mg/l): EUR 0,30 per litre;
- Concentrates requiring preparation: EUR 1,05 per litre or EUR 4,30 per kilogram;
- Concentrates requiring preparation with high caffeine levels: EUR 2,10 per litre or EUR 8,60 per kilogram.
Exemptions
The food categories below are exempted from taxation.
- Packaged sweetened soft drinks that are initial infant formula or follow-on infant formula;
- Food for special medical purposes or total diet replacement for weight control;
- Packaged concentrates that are a medicine or nutritional supplement.
- Exemptions The food categories below are exempted from taxation.
Who will be liable for taxation?
- Beverage manufacturers that make the first delivery within Slovakia; or
- Beverage suppliers who make the first delivery of a sweetened non-alcoholic beverage on the territory of Slovakia purchased from abroad.
The tax liability arises on the day of the first delivery in the country.
How to fulfil the tax obligation?
- Entities with a tax identification number (TIN), must notify the tax administrator within five days of the first tax liability;
- Entities without a tax identification number must apply for tax registration within five days of the first tax liability.
Furthermore, taxpayers must keep records to the extent necessary to correctly determine the tax and correct the tax base. This includes maintaining records on the individual deliveries of sweetened non-alcoholic beverages for which the tax liability arose.
Penalty for excessive pre-stocking introduced
Selected entities will be required to inventory said beverages at the end of the year. Excessive pre-stocking will result in extraordinary tax liability in the March 2025 tax return based on the types of sweetened soft drinks and the applicable tax rate.