Advertisement

Labels
Posted by

Finance Minister: INCREASE In Duties On Alcohol, Tobacco, Luxury Electric Vehicles

The Honourable Davendranath Tancoo, M.P., Minister of Finance, announced substantial increases in Customs Duties on alcohol and tobacco products, which he said will account for 80% of projected revenue growth in the coming fiscal year. The announcement was made in Parliament a short while ago this afternoon (Monday 13th October, 2025) during his highly-anticipated National Budget 2026 presentation.

According to Minister Tancoo, under the new rates, duties on rum and spirits will rise from $79.25 to $158.50 (per % of alcohol); beer from $5.14 to $10.28 (by gravity); and cigarettes from $5.26 to $10.52 (per pack of 20). These increases take immediate effect.

Additional fee adjustments, including the doubling of Container Processing Fees from $525 to $1,050 and Customs Declaration Fees from $40 to $80, will come into effect on 1st January, 2026. Together, these measures are expected to generate an extra $1 billion in revenue.

The Minister also moved to curb abuse of concessions for electric vehicles, revealing that high-end models have been imported tax-free. Effective from 1st January, 2026, luxury EVs valued over $400,000 will attract 10% duty, 12.5% VAT, and a tiered Motor Vehicle Tax based on motor size. The measure should yield $40 million annually.

Also, to support environmental protection, a new 5% tax will be applied on single-use plastics at the point of importation. Proceeds will fund national recycling and waste management programmes from January 2026.

If you missed the National Budget 2026 presentation, you can watch it in its entirety here.

More on this as it becomes available. 

This is a developing story - refresh this page for updates.

[Source: CNC3]

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment