When running a business, you must be guided primarily by profitability. When looking for goods for your store, you need to be sure that you are buying the highest quality at the best price. If you run a business abroad, you may want to consider importing products from other countries.

Today we are discussing the issue of importing alcohol from a Polish wholesaler to the European Union. What is worth knowing? What are the procedures? Is it worth it?

Importing alcohol from Poland - is it worth it?

The short answer is yes, it's worth it. Poland is famous for its alcohol and it is definitely not a reason to be ashamed. However, the qualitative aspect is not the most important factor in buying products from Polish wholesalers. After all, other countries also have outstanding drinks.

Business is all about buying cheap and selling expensive. You can buy cheap in Poland. According to Eurostat data from 2018 (the European Statistical Office has not yet published the results for 2019), we will pay the highest price for alcohol in Iceland. Among the EU countries, the highest price was in Finland, followed by Ireland, Sweden and Greece. Where is Poland in this ranking? 6th place from last. Alcohol prices in our country are approximately 15% lower than the European average.

Bringing alcohol from a Polish wholesaler

Now that we've established that buying alcohol on the Vistula makes sense if you do business abroad, now a handful of legal and regulatory information.

As is well known, alcohol is subject to excise duty. This one deals with the sale of alcohol almost all over the world. In the European Union, however, the matter is a bit more complicated, because there are additional customs procedures.

Each country, as soon as it joins the EU, also becomes a member of the customs union. This means that goods transported within the territory of the European Union are not subject to customs duties. On the other hand, alcohol products are subject to excise duty.

Excise, Flow Reporting, and the UK Affair

The excise tax covers all alcohol products, while there are countries with reduced tax amounts, and there is also the possibility of excise exemption. A full list of EU excise duty rates can be found here.

The recipient of excise goods in the territory of the European Union may be legal entities which:

  • they are not in liquidation
  • they do not have public and legal obligations
  • are not represented by persons who have gone bankrupt or have had a conflict with the law
  • have access to the excise tax settlement system

There is also a valid declaration of the movement of goods in the EU. This occurs when goods are imported or exported for an amount exceeding the threshold set by the country. In Poland, this threshold is PLN 4 million (EUR 914,600) for 2020.

It is also worth remembering that the United Kingdom is no longer a member of the EU, but until the end of this year, there is a transitional period in which all EU agreements still have legal force.

Being part of the EU greatly facilitates the trade in alcohol products between member states. Thanks to this, the purchase and import of alcoholic products to other EU countries in our warehouse simply pays off!