Coca-Cola warns higher excise tax will encourage tap water consumption in Romania

Representatives of the local Coca-Cola bottler said that Romanians would migrate to other categories of drinks and even resort to drinking more tap water if the government levies excise duty on sugar.

If the government goes ahead with plans to levy an excise duty on sugar, the shelf price of the carbonated drinks with sugar may rise by 15%-25% compared to current prices, depending on the size of the bottle, according to Jovan Radosavljevic, General Manager, Coca-Cola HBC Romania, quoted by Economica.net.

According to the fiscal package endorsed by lawmakers but not promulgated yet, the Ministry of Finance will levy an excise tax of RON 40 (EUR 8) per hl for non-alcoholic drinks with added sugar for which the total sugar level is between 5g - 8g/100 ml and RON 60 (EUR 12) per hl for non-alcoholic beverages with added sugar for which the total sugar level is over 8g/100 ml.

According to the substantiation note, the excise duties are aimed at diminishing the consumption of such drinks and are being harmonised with the recommendations at the level of the European Union.

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