Vero restates soft-drinks excise rules after April 2026 changes

Soft-drinks excise in Finland follows the rules Verohallinto restated on 28 September 2026Vero in Swedish and Finnish (Punktskatt på läskedrycker / Virvoitusjuomavero), consolidating the amendments to the soft-drinks excise act (lagen om punktskatt på läskedrycker 1127/2010)Vero that entered into force on 1 April 2026Vero. The duty falls on manufacturers and importers — breweries, shops, restaurants, cafésVero — with operating reliefs for on-site drinks, small producers, and tax-free usesVero.

The duty is paid on equal grounds for imported and domestically produced goodsVero. The taxation procedure is governed by the excise procedure acts (punktskattelagen 182/2010; lagen om beskattningsförfarandet beträffande skatter som betalas på eget initiativ 768/2016)Vero. Taxable products are defined by the annexed tax table through customs tariff headingsVero, generally at four-digit precision: lemonadesVero, mineral watersVero, juicesVero, protein and sports drinksVero, flavoured milks and plant-based drinksVero, drink-manufacturing inputsVero, cider up to 1.2 percent alcoholVero and beer up to 0.5 percentVero. The duty is graded into six bands by the finished drink's sugar contentVero — drinks up to 0.5 percent sugar are fiscally sugar-free at the lowest bandVero; above that, five bands applyVero, with sugar defined as mono- and disaccharidesVero, so artificially sweetened drinks always fall in the sugar-free groupVero while naturally occurring fruit sugar countsVero.

Drinks made and sold at the same outlet for direct sale — cafés, restaurants, juice and smoothie bars, shops — are not ready-packed and are taxed at the lowest band with no sugar-content investigation, provided manufacture and handover happen at the same placeVero. Using an already-taxed concentrate according to its instructions, or blending already-taxed drinks, is not manufactureVero and triggers no further dutyVero. Shop juice presses and musteries are manufacture outside a tax warehouse unless small-scale production appliesVero; a must pressing a customer's own fruit still manufacturesVero, though where a consumer rents the premises and equipment and makes juice from own fruit for own needs, no excise is levied on the finished drinkVero.

Producers legally and economically independent of others in the sector whose output is at most 70,000 litres of finished drink per calendar year are exemptVero — a de minimis aid under Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2831VeroVero. The exemption covers the whole production only below the ceilingVero; above it, duty falls on the entire volume, not just the excessVero, and volumes across outlets under one business ID aggregateVero, and dependence between the outlet operator and the host business is examined separatelyVero; the cited HFD:2021:126 precedent concerns excise liability for smoothies manufactured at the retail stage and their classification under CN heading 2202. Small producers must register in MinSkatt before startingVero, confirm data each FebruaryVero, and report de minimis aid received from all other authorities during the current and the two preceding yearsVero, so that Verohallinto can verify before granting the aid that the maximum amount of 300,000 euros is not exceeded during any period of three consecutive yearsVero; neglect can mean a negligence feeVero and recovery as unlawful aidVero.

Drink-manufacturing inputs are taxed on the finished-drink volume the mixing ratio yieldsVero, at most 15 percent sugar or equivalent sweetnessVero; home-brewing kits under tariff 2106 are covered regardless of the end drinkVero. Unflavoured plant-based milk substitutes escape only within strict bounds — sugar at most 4.8 g per 100 ml and calcium at least 119 mg per 100 mlVero — and special-diet foods, supplements, coffee, tea and cocoa stay outside where their own legislation's conditions are metVero.

Legal basis: Verohallinto guidance Punktskatt på läskedrycker / Virvoitusjuomavero, updated 28 September 2026, applying lagen om punktskatt på läskedrycker (1127/2010) as amended 1 April 2026Vero, punktskattelagen (182/2010)Vero, and Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2831.