# Council Directive 92/84/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the approximation of the rates of excise duty on alcohol and alcoholic beverages, Article 3

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

1. As from 1 January 1993, the minimum rate of excise duty on alcohol and alcohol contained in beverages other than those referred to in Articles 4, 5 and 6 shall be fixed at ECU 550 per hectolitre of pure alcohol.
However, Member States which apply to alcohol and alcoholic beverages a rate of duty not exceeding ECU 1 000 per hectolitre of pure alcohol may not reduce their national rate. In addition Member States which apply to the said products a rate of duty exceeding ECU 1 000 per hectolitre of pure alcohol may not reduce their national rate below ECU 1 000.
2. The Kingdom of Denmark may, however, maintain its existing system of taxing alcohol and the alcohol contained in other products until 30 June 1996, provided that the application of that system never results in the application of a charge which falls below that which would arise from the application of paragraph 1 in accordance with the rules laid down in Directive 92/83/EEC.
3. The Italian Republik may, however, maintain its existing system of taxing alcohol and the alcohol contained in other products, which provides a reduced rate for some categories of alcohol, until 30 June 1996, provided that the application of that system never results in the application of a charge which falls below that which would arise from the application of paragraph 1 in accordance with the rules laid down in Council Directive 92/83/EEC.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudr/1992/84/article/3 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/eu-directive-1992-84/article-3
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.