NEWS

Greek top court repeals wine tax

Greek top court repeals wine tax

Greece's top administrative court cancelled a widely contested excise tax on wine introduced by the government in 2016, the Greek Wine Federation (GWF) announced on Tuesday.

The tax had been challenged at the Council of State by the Greek Wine Federation, the National Interprofessional Organization of Vine and Wine of Greece (EDOAO), and other wine associations at the start of 2016.

The special consumption tax had been in place since January 2016 and sees 0.15 euros added to the cost of a 750 ml bottle of wine or 0.20 euros to a 1-liter bottle.

The move was welcomed by the country's wine industry. “We worked hard and we succeeded in being heard by the Greek courts, for the sake of the entire wine industry,” Giorgos Skouras, a winemaker in Nemea and the head of GWF said in a press release.

GWF's Director, Theodoros Georgopoulos, said the court ruling is “a great moment of vindication for the wine sector in a case with many legal aspects that will constitute a milestone in the future.”

“If we had been asked in advance, the sector would havce avoided this unbearable, unjust and eventually illegal predicament,” he added.

The court's ruling, which has not been made public yet, means the tax will be automatically cancelled and no decision has to be issued by the finance ministry.

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