Export spirits to Asia-Pacific: the 2026 tax guide

Spirits (HS 2208: whisky, brandy, gin, rum, vodka, liqueurs) carry far heavier taxes in Asia-Pacific than wine. The same bottle can cost less than 30% of its customs value in tax in Japan or Taiwan, and more than double its value in Singapore, Thailand or Australia. This guide gives the rates in force on 14 November 2026 for EU-origin spirits, notes UK differences, and runs one bottle through all nine markets.

The nine markets at a glance

Market	Duty, EU origin	Excise or liquor tax basis	VAT / GST	Total on worked example
Mainland China	10%; whisky 5%; EU brandy also anti-dumping 27.7% to 34.9% unless covered by a price undertaking	Consumption tax 20% (tax-inclusive base) plus CNY 0.912 per litre	13%	57% (whisky 50%)
Japan	0% (EU-Japan EPA)	Per kilolitre by category and strength: JPY 400,000 per kL at 40%	10%	27%
South Korea	0% (EU-Korea FTA)	72% of customs value plus duty, plus education tax of 30% of the liquor tax	10%	113%
Taiwan	0%	NT$2.5 per litre per degree of alcohol	5%	25%
Hong Kong	0%	Above 30% ABV: 100% of the first HK$200 of value, 10% above	None	100%
Singapore	0%	S$88 per litre of alcohol	9%	198%
Vietnam	6% in 2026 (EVFTA), 0% from 1 January 2027	Special consumption tax 65% (20% ABV and above)	10%	92%
Thailand	60% (no EU FTA)	20% of suggested retail price plus THB 255 per litre of alcohol, plus 17.5% of the excise in surcharges	7%	About 195% (depends on retail price)
Australia	5% (EU FTA concluded, not in force)	A$110.15 per litre of alcohol (brandy A$102.87)	10%	224%

Worked example: 70 cl at 40%, CIF EUR 10

One bottle holds 0.28 litres of pure alcohol. Amounts are taxes due at import, in EUR.

Market	Duty	Excise and other taxes	VAT / GST	Total	% of CIF
Mainland China (10% duty)	1.00	2.86	1.80	5.66	57%
Japan	0.00	1.58	1.16	2.74	27%
South Korea	0.00	9.36	1.94	11.30	113%
Taiwan	0.00	1.93	0.60	2.53	25%
Hong Kong	0.00	10.00	0.00	10.00	100%
Singapore	0.00	17.31	2.46	19.77	198%
Vietnam	0.60	6.89	1.75	9.24	92%
Thailand	6.00	11.64	1.88	19.53	195%
Australia	0.50	18.94	2.94	22.38	224%

Rates in force on 14 November 2026. Conversion is indicative, at ECB reference rates of 13 November 2026 (EUR 1 = CNY 7.3738, JPY 176.83, KRW 1,477.80, HKD 8.6714, SGD 1.4236, THB 37.483, AUD 1.6288) and TWD 36.2926 (ECB USD rate times the Central Bank of Taiwan close of NT$32.838 per USD); Vietnam needs no conversion as every tax there is a percentage. Customs authorities use their own exchange rates. Assumptions: China at the 10% duty (gin, vodka, rum, liqueurs, brandy under a price undertaking); Japan liquor tax paid when the goods leave the bonded area at import; Hong Kong and Australia apply duty to EUR 10 although both exclude international freight from the dutiable value; Thailand assumes a suggested retail price of THB 1,500 excluding VAT, and each extra THB 100 of retail price adds about THB 25 of tax. The China consumption tax, the Taiwan duty and the Thailand duty and surcharges come from tariff databases and trade sources that agree, not yet from the official texts: check them with your importer before you set a price.

Market by market

Mainland China

Spirits pay the 10% MFN duty, except whisky at a 5% provisional rate since 2 February 2026 (State Council Tariff Commission). Imported spirits also pay a consumption tax of 20% on a tax-inclusive base plus CNY 0.912 per litre, then 13% VAT on value, duty and consumption tax (Consumption Tax Regulations, Art. 9; GACC; VAT Law 2026). EU brandy faces anti-dumping duties of 27.7% to 34.9% from 5 July 2025 to 4 July 2030; the 34 companies whose price undertakings were accepted pay none as long as they sell at or above their minimum price (MOFCOM Announcement 2025 No. 34, still listed as in force on 6 November 2026).

Japan

Spirits enter duty free from the EU and the UK (Japan Customs tariff, April 2026). Liquor tax for whisky, brandy and spirits is JPY 370,000 per kL below 37%, plus JPY 10,000 per degree above 37; liqueurs start at JPY 120,000 and add JPY 10,000 per degree above 12, so both reach JPY 400,000 per kL at 40% (Liquor Tax Act, Art. 23; NTA rate table from 1 October 2026). Consumption tax of 10% applies to value plus liquor tax (NTA). Imports also need a food sanitation notification (Japan Customs).

South Korea

EU spirits enter at 0% under the EU-Korea FTA. Distilled spirits pay a 72% liquor tax on customs value plus duty, and an education tax of 30% of that liquor tax (Liquor Tax Act, Art. 8; Education Tax Act, Art. 5). VAT of 10% is charged on the total. A volume-based tax for whisky has been proposed, not adopted.

Taiwan

Brandy, whisky, rum, gin, vodka and liqueurs carry 0% duty for all WTO origins (Customs Administration tariff, 2026). Distilled spirits pay NT$2.5 per litre per degree; compounded liquors above 20% ABV, which can include liqueurs, pay NT$185 per litre (Tobacco and Alcohol Tax Act, Art. 8). Business tax of 5% applies to value, duty and alcohol tax, and the usual low-value exemption does not apply to alcohol (Customs Administration).

Hong Kong

Liquor at 30% ABV or less is duty free, but spirits above 30% pay 100% on the first HK$200 of value and 10% on the rest, per bottle up to one litre (Dutiable Commodities Ordinance; Customs and Excise Department). Value is the transaction value without freight and insurance. Importing liquor above 30% needs a licence and a permit, which wine and other zero-rated liquor do not (C&ED guidebook).

Singapore

There is no customs duty on these spirits, but excise is S$88 per litre of alcohol, the same for every category (Singapore Customs, List of Dutiable Goods, 2026). GST of 9% then applies to value plus duty (IRAS). Any 70 cl at 40% pays S$24.64 of excise.

Vietnam

Under the EVFTA, duty on EU spirits is 6% in 2026 and 0% from 1 January 2027 (Decree 116/2022/ND-CP, Appendix II); the UK schedule mirrors it. Special consumption tax on drinks of 20% ABV and above is 65% in 2026 and rises by five points a year to 90% in 2031 (Law on Special Consumption Tax No. 66/2025/QH15). VAT of 10% applies on top. Trading spirits needs a licence, and imported bottles must carry an import stamp and a label (Decree 105/2017/ND-CP).

Thailand

Spirits pay 60% duty on CIF, with no EU or UK agreement in force. Excise on imported spirits is 20% of the suggested retail price plus THB 255 per litre of pure alcohol (Excise Tariff Ministerial Regulation No. 2, 2017), plus a 10% local tax and 7.5% of fund levies, both calculated on the excise. VAT is 7%. Because the importer files the retail price, the tax depends on positioning, not only on the invoice. Bills to redirect the fund levies were under public consultation in October 2026.

Australia

EU spirits pay a 5% customs duty plus an excise-equivalent duty of A$110.15 per litre of alcohol (brandy A$102.87), the rates indexed on 3 August 2026 (Commonwealth Gazette C2026G00508). The EU-Australia FTA concluded in March 2026 removes the 5%, but it is not yet in force (DFAT). UK spirits already enter without the 5%. GST of 10% is charged on customs value, duty, freight and insurance (Australian Border Force).

Mistakes to avoid

Reading only the duty. Five of the nine markets charge 0% duty, yet Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore still tax our example at 100% or more.
Pricing a cheap spirit for a per-litre market. In Singapore, Australia and Taiwan the tax is fixed per litre of alcohol, so it weighs most on entry-level bottles.
Assuming wine rules apply. Hong Kong taxes spirits above 30% ABV but not wine, and Thailand cut wine duty and excise in 2024 but not those on spirits.
Shipping EU brandy to China without checking the undertaking list. Outside it, the anti-dumping duty applies on top of the 10% duty.
Missing the origin proof. The EU rates in Japan, Korea and Vietnam need a valid origin statement; without it, Vietnam applies 45% instead of 6%.
Planning Vietnam and Australia on today's numbers. Vietnam's duty falls to 0% in 2027 while its consumption tax rises to 70%; Australia indexes excise every February and August.

How we work on spirits

We work for distilleries as well as wineries, the same way: importer prospecting market by market, samples, tastings, negotiation and follow-up, with one lead per office you can write to directly. Spirits on your export plan? Tell us which markets.

Sources

MOFCOM Announcement 2025 No. 34: final ruling on EU brandy anti-dumping, Ministry of Commerce of the PRC, link (primary)
Trade remedy measures in force (updated 6 Nov 2026), MOFCOM Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau, link (primary)
Announcement on adjusting import tariffs on whisky (30 Jan 2026), State Council Tariff Commission / Ministry of Finance, link (primary)
Whisky provisional import rate of 5% from 2 Feb 2026, Guangming Daily (CCTV report), link (official, secondary)
Provisional Regulations on Consumption Tax, State Taxation Administration, link (primary)
GACC Announcement 2006 No. 15 on import consumption tax, General Administration of Customs of China, link (primary)
China HS 2208200090 tariff and taxes, HTS Hub, link (secondary)
Japan Tariff Schedule, Chapter 22 (1 April 2026), Japan Customs, link (primary)
Liquor tax rate table from 1 October 2026 (Sake no Shiori 2026), National Tax Agency of Japan, link (primary)
Liquor Tax Act (Act No. 6 of 1953), e-Gov Japan, link (primary)
Tax Answer No. 6563: consumption tax on imports, National Tax Agency of Japan, link (primary)
Liquor Tax Act (English translation, amended 31 Dec 2024), Korea Legislation Research Institute, link (official, secondary)
Education Tax Act (English translation), Korea Legislation Research Institute, link (official, secondary)
Customs import tariff open data (dataset 80871), Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance, Taiwan, link (primary)
How much tax is levied on alcohol?, Taxation Administration, Ministry of Finance, Taiwan, link (primary)
Tobacco and alcohol: duties and taxes on imports, Taipei Customs, Customs Administration, link (primary)
NTD/USD interbank closing rate, Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan), link (primary)
Types and duty rates of dutiable commodities, Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department, link (primary)
Reduction of duty on liquor with alcoholic strength of more than 30 per cent, Hong Kong SAR Government, link (primary)
User Guidebook for Dutiable Commodities, Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department, link (primary)
List of Dutiable Goods, Singapore Customs, link (primary)
Current GST rates, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, link (primary)
Decree 116/2022/ND-CP, Appendix II: EVFTA special preferential import tariff 2022 to 2027, Government of Vietnam (via VCCI WTO Center), link (primary)
Special consumption tax schedule under Law No. 66/2025/QH15 from 1 Jan 2026, Government of Vietnam policy portal, link (primary)
Higher special consumption tax on alcohol, beer and tobacco from 1 Jan 2026, LuatVietnam, link (secondary)
Vietnam HS 22085000 tariff (EVFTA and UKVFTA by year), HSCIQ, link (secondary)
Ministerial Regulation on the Excise Tariff (No. 2) B.E. 2560, Royal Thai Government Gazette, link (primary)
Tax policy on alcohol (Thailand), Regask, link (secondary)
Comments regarding foreign trade barriers for the 2025 NTE report, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, link (secondary)
Excise Department chief on sin tax restructuring (5 Oct 2026), MGR Online, link (secondary)
Commonwealth of Australia Gazette C2026G00508: excise indexation from 3 August 2026, Australian Government, link (primary)
Australia-European Union Free Trade Agreement (not yet in force), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, link (primary)
GST and other taxes when importing, Australian Border Force, link (primary)
Euro foreign exchange reference rates, 13 November 2026, European Central Bank, link (primary)

This guide summarises official texts for exporters; it is not legal or tax advice. Rules change: check with your importer or with us before shipping.