The supreme court of the EU decided that people who buy wines and spirits on the net are due to pay taxes where they live and not where they buy their goods.
A Dane who buys champagne online and directly at the producer's must pay the luxury taxes of Denmark instead of the ordinary tax of France. Too bad for those first-movers who have been fast to use what until the other day was a grey zone rather than illegal.
Personal or online purchase
In its decision the court distinguished between personal purchase and transport of the wine and purchases where a third party deal with the delivery of the bottles.
According to the legislation of the EU a tax is normally due to be payed in the final destination country. There is one exception however, and that is products, bought by private persons for their own personal use which they carry home themselves.
The last condition is not met if you order wines on the net. You also don't meet the requirements if you buy your wines in France personally but arrange with a carrier to deliver them.
The EU-commission, who wanted a settlement in this fundamental case describes the decision as "restrictive", says EU-Observer.
Money at stake
The strict decision on the other hand secures the Treasuries of several EU-countries that in many years have used special taxes on wine and alcohol as a money machine. Lots of money were at stake in countries such as Great Britain, Ireland, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden.
And the British tax authorities are happy about the settlement, Decanter writes. The collegues in other countries are likely to be pleased as well.
More at Dow Jones.
From grey zone to black as the night
The loosers are the consumers who had a chance to get a bigger selction at a lower price, wine merchant's on the net such as 1855.com, and then of course the small winegrowers who could have sold their products directly to the customer without other expensive intermediaries than freight.
Instead winegrowers who keep an eye on a possibly glorious future of net trade must challenge the authorities themselves or wait for better times. Even the decision is not definitive, an interesting saleschannel that until last thursday still dwelled in a legislative grey zone now has moved into the deparment of forbidden.
Personllay I watch this from the side. We only sell champagne to people who picks it up themselves anyway. But the decision remains annoying when you keep an open eye on the possibility of establishing sales of champagne via the net some day.
The decision includes tobacco as well.
På dansk
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