Hong Kong Abolishes Wine Tax
Author: Nicholas Pegna
At last, what all wine lovers in Hong Kong have been waiting for! We wholeheartedly welcome the Financial Secretary’s recommendation to remove wine tax.
With continuing growth in fine wine sales in China, Hong Kong is uniquely positioned to capture a growing share of the international market and people will now choose to store and exchange fine wine here.
Hong Kong now has a golden opportunity to serve as Asia’s undisputed wine hub, which can only contribute business and tourism dollars to the SAR. For consumers, the first step is ensuring that customers benefit as soon as possible. We’re implementing price reductions of 22% this week that reflect the wine tax removal and our commitment to the marketplace and our customers.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this and will be posting further information this week, so don’t forget to log back on to the blog for more details.
this is a big opportunity for BBR to capture a substantial part of the Chinese Market.Chinese are sophisticated consumers of alcoholic drinks,& the huge reduction of import duty will enable & encourage many Chinese to try out better wines & vintages, & probably try to learn more about wines.
Hi, I feel that it will indeed benefit the wine lovers in Hong Kong. However,
I am not quite sure that the wine retailer will lower the price of the Bordeuax Grand as it seem to be a opportunity to make a better out from this new tax..
I have been your customer since 2005 and thanks to the professional advice & service provided by James, my portfolio of Lafite which is held under bond in UK has proved to be a successful & stable investment. I’m just wondering if BBR would take this opportunity of tax removal to set up a storage facility here in HK so that stocks would become more readily accessible to your customers.
does the dropping of tax on wine in Hong Kong mean that wine shipped from HK to China will be tax free also?
There is indeed a great opportunity for BBR as well as other merchants. I can confirm that BBR is planning to establish a storage facility for BBR customers in Hong Kong, as an additional service to help our customers manage their collections of wine.
There has been a strong response to the news of the HK tax reduction in the world’s fine wine markets, with 2005 and 2006 Bordeaux being the main focus for purchasing.
Jancis Robinson, who graciously hosted a masterclass for BBR’s Fine Wine School with Jeannie Cho Lee last night here in Hong Kong, confirmed that in her view, Hong Kong will certainly be in good position to rival London as a centre for the Fine Wine trade in the future. Let’s hope this proves to be true.
It’s great that you are lowering prices, I wonder if other merchants will follow.
Martin, wines shipped from Hong Kong to China will still be liable to the normal China duties (which are approximately 50%) and we don’t foresee that chnaging in the near future.
The range and prices of wines available on China’s doorstep here in Hong Kong might assist in broadening the Chinese wine market and may encourage Chinese “wine tourists” to Hong Kong.
Hello,
With the abolition of the wine tax, I would like to know if there’s now no limit as to the number of bottles of wine that one can bring in through the airport custom?
I understand earlier the limit was 1.5 litre per person.
Our understanding is that there is now no limit to the number of bottles and this appears to be confirmed by the HK Customs website, which states,
“Duty-free Concessions
Removal of Duty on Wine and Certain Alcoholic Liquor
With effect from 1100 hours on 27 February 2008, a passenger may bring in the following types of alcoholic liquor free of duty if the goods are imported in his baggage:
(i) wine; and
(ii) liquor with an alcoholic strength of 30% or below by volume measured at a temperature of 20oC.”