SA: Spirits duty rises by 10%

The South African government has increased excise duty on spirits by 10% and wine by 8%.

In the 2011 budget, the duty rate on spirits rose from R84.57 per litre of absolute alcohol to R93.03, equating to a rise of R2.73 per 750ml bottle of spirits.

Wine was dealt duty hikes of 8.41% for unfortified, 7.44% for fortified and 4.5% for sparkling wine.

The rise will mean the duty on a litre of unfortified wine is R2.32, fortified is R4.33 and sparkling is R6.97.

Malt beer incurred a 7.51% increase, equating to an average rise of 6.4c per 340ml can, while duty on traditional beer remains at 7.82c per litre.

Ciders and alcoholic fruit beverages received an increase in excise duty of 7.54% from R2.52 per litre to R2.71, leaving an average 340ml can costing 92.14c.

According to the budget report, the tax burden - which is excise duties plus VAT – is now 23% of the cost of wine, 33% of clear beer and 43% of spirits.