VAT and excise duties

VAT rate on agricultural goods and services

Certain agricultural goods such as straw, seeds and propagating material are taxed at the reduced VAT rate (9%). In view of the discontinuation of the agricultural scheme, the government proposes that the general VAT rate of 21% should also be applied to the supply of certain agricultural goods as of 1 January 2025.

Increase in excise duty on alcohol

The government proposes to increase the rates of excise duty on alcoholic products by 16.2%. This applies to beer, wine and other beverages. The aim is to generate additional revenue and to encourage the reduction of alcohol consumption.

Diesel fuel-replacing heating oil

The government proposes to discourage the use of diesel fuel-replacing heating oil and to eliminate the tax advantage by equating the rates of excise duty with that of diesel fuel. This is an increase in the rate of excise duty from € 41.31 to € 595.57 per 1,000 litres of heating oil as of 1 January 2024.

Increase in tobacco duty

The government proposes an additional increase in the excise duty on cigarettes and smoking tobacco by 1 April 2024, with € 0.60 per packet of 20 cigarettes and € 3.60 per packet of 50 grams of fine-cut tobacco respectively.

Filling the tank is becoming even more expensive

On 1 April 2022, the government introduced a temporary reduction in excise duty to compensate for the sharp rise in fuel prices. This compensation ultimately continued until 1 July 2023. As of that date, the changes in excise duty have partially been reversed. The plan is to end the remaining part of the 2022 excise duty reduction by 1 January 2024.

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