Shipping wine, beer or spirits internationally is different from shipping most consumer goods because alcohol is regulated three times over. First, the parties usually need permits or licences to export, import or hold the goods. Second, alcohol carries excise, a tax charged on volume or alcohol content rather than on invoice value, and it sits alongside customs duty and VAT rather than replacing either. Third, the cargo is physically awkward: wine is sensitive to heat, bottles break, and stronger spirits can count as flammable dangerous goods. The key takeaway is to settle the permits and the tax position before you book space, because a shipment that arrives without them is held at the border, not simply fined. For the equipment and documents side, see our guides to specifying temperature-controlled freight and IMDG and IATA dangerous goods rules.
What permits do you need to import or export alcohol?
The rules are national, and often regional within a country, so there is no single global alcohol permit. What stays constant is that the importer, and often the exporter, must be an approved or registered trader before the goods move. A freight forwarder or customs broker can file the entry, but it cannot supply a permit that the importer does not hold. Three examples show the pattern (all as of October 2026; confirm each with the issuing authority).
United States: TTB permit and COLA
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) says anyone who intends to import distilled spirits, wine or malt beverages needs a Federal Basic Importer's Permit, applied for on TTB Form 5100.24. TTB states it charges no fee for the permit. It also says the importer must maintain and staff a business office in the United States, and that the alternative is to contract with an existing licensed importer.
The second requirement is label approval. Each unique product and label needs a Certificate of Label Approval (COLA), and TTB says the importer must hold it at the time of importation. TTB's import pages also list further items that may apply depending on the product, including alcohol dealer registration, a wine cellar-treatment certification, a certificate of age or origin for certain wines and spirits, and FDA prior notice for food, which includes alcohol beverages. State and local rules can add their own requirements, so the state alcohol authority matters as much as the federal one.
European Union: excise status and the e-AD
Inside the EU, alcohol can move between excise warehouses and registered traders under duty suspension, meaning the excise has not yet been paid. Each such movement is recorded in the Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS) on an electronic Administrative Document, the e-AD. According to the European Commission, the consignor files it, the dispatch Member State validates it, and it receives an Administrative Reference Code (ARC). When the goods arrive, the consignee files a report of receipt, and the consignor can then close the movement and recover the financial guarantee. Duty-paid movements are documented differently, with an electronic simplified document (e-SAD). National derogations exist for some wine and some movements within one country, so check the destination country's rule rather than assuming the e-AD is always required.
United Kingdom: duty status and AWRS
UK alcohol duty is charged when products are produced in, or imported into, the UK, and HMRC's guidance describes goods being held or moved in duty suspension between approved premises and excise warehouses. Separately, the Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme (AWRS) applies to businesses that sell alcohol to other businesses. HMRC's guidance says trade buyers can face civil and criminal sanctions for buying from an unapproved wholesaler, and that alcohol found on an unapproved business's premises may be seized whether or not the duty has been paid. If your customer is a UK trade buyer, ask for their wholesaler's AWRS reference before you rely on the sale.
How is excise charged on wine, beer and spirits?
Excise on alcohol is a volume tax. HMRC's guidance states plainly that UK Alcohol Duty is "based on the amount of pure alcohol in the alcoholic product": you take the litres of product, use the strength (ABV) to work out litres of pure alcohol, and apply the rate for that strength band. Other jurisdictions use different systems (per litre of product, per litre of pure alcohol, or by product category), but the principle is the same. A bottle's price is irrelevant to the excise on it.
| Charge | What it is based on | Who normally settles it |
|---|---|---|
| Customs duty | Classification, origin and customs value (rates vary widely, check the tariff) | Importer of record at entry |
| Excise | Volume or alcohol content, by product type and strength | Importer, or the party that releases goods from suspension |
| VAT or sales tax | Usually value plus duty and excise, depending on the country | Importer or end buyer under local rules |
| State or local alcohol taxes and fees | Set locally (important in the US) | Per state or local law |
Two practical points follow. First, duty suspension is a deferral, not an exemption. HMRC's guidance says under suspension "you do not pay duty but always remain liable to duty", and the EU's e-AD process exists so that authorities can follow suspended goods until they are released or exported. Second, the party liable at the moment goods leave suspension is whoever holds them then, so a clear handover is part of the contract, not an afterthought. In the US, TTB says importers are responsible for the applicable federal excise taxes and duties, and CBP collects them at entry. For bonded storage in general, see foreign trade zones vs bonded warehouses.
Does "duty paid" mean all taxes are paid?
No, and this is one of the most common and costly misreadings in alcohol quotes. In the drinks trade, "duty paid" typically means the excise has been settled in the destination market, as opposed to "in bond" or "duty suspended". It does not tell you that import VAT or sales tax has been paid, that customs duty was cleared, that state or local alcohol taxes are covered, or that the buyer is permitted to hold the goods. It also does not cure a missing permit: HMRC says goods from an unapproved business can be seized even when the duty has been paid.
The same word trap exists in Incoterms. A DDP sale puts the import clearance burden on the seller, but the seller still has to be able to meet the destination's alcohol rules, and many sellers cannot act as importer for alcohol. Write down, line by line, which of customs duty, excise, VAT and permits each party is covering. Our UK customs declarations guide explains how import VAT sits apart from duty.
How do you handle wine, beer and spirits physically?
Temperature and heat damage
Wine is the temperature-sensitive one. Heat can push corks, cause seepage and degrade the wine, and the damage often only shows when the buyer opens cases at destination. There is no single official temperature limit that applies to all wine, so ask the producer for the range they will stand behind, state it in the booking, and consider a reefer or insulated container for long or warm-season transits. Whether you need controlled temperature at all depends on the wine, the route and the season: a short winter move of everyday wine is a very different risk from fine wine crossing the tropics. Load pre-cooled where a reefer is used, and see pre-cooling and loading a reefer and data loggers and temperature excursions for the monitoring side. Data loggers matter commercially: without a record, a heat damage claim is hard to prove.
Stowage and breakage
Glass is heavy and unforgiving. Palletise and strap cases so that weight is carried by the pallet, keep the load tight against movement, and avoid floor-loading loose cartons unless the packaging is designed for it. Check carton ratings for stacking, protect corners and tops, and photograph the load before the doors close. Breakage disputes turn on evidence of how the cargo was packed and stowed.
Spirits as dangerous goods
Alcoholic beverages can be classified under the IMDG Code as UN 3065, Class 3 flammable liquids. According to the BAM dangerous goods database entry for Amendment 42-24, the entry for beverages above 24% and up to 70% alcohol by volume is Packing Group III, with a 5 litre limited-quantity limit for inner packagings. The same entry lists special provisions that matter for ordinary bottled drinks: SP 144 says an aqueous solution with no more than 24% alcohol by volume is not subject to the Code, and SP 145 says Packing Group III alcoholic beverages in receptacles up to 250 litres are not subject to it. These are summarised from a secondary database, so confirm the current wording in the edition of the IMDG Code that applies to your sailing. Products above 70% by volume fall outside that entry and should be classified and declared accurately for what they are. Air freight has its own rules under the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations that do not simply mirror the sea exceptions, so ask the carrier before assuming a bottled spirit ships as ordinary cargo by air. Our dangerous goods declaration guide covers what to put on the paperwork if the cargo is regulated.
Bulk wine in flexitanks
Wine shipped in bulk is often moved in a flexitank, a bag fitted inside a container, and bottled at destination. That changes the excise and permit picture as well as the equipment: the receiving plant may need its own approved status to take in bulk wine, so check with the destination authority. Read tank containers and flexitanks for how the equipment works and what to inspect.
Cargo insurance
Carrier liability is limited and rarely covers a heat claim in full. Confirm that your cover includes breakage and temperature-related damage for alcohol, because exclusions are common, and agree the insured value up front. See what cargo insurance does not cover and how much cargo insurance to buy.
Wine and spirits shipping checklist
- Importer holds the required permit or licence, or uses a licensed importer, and the number is ready for the entry.
- Label approval or product registration is in place where the destination requires it (the US COLA, for example).
- Excise status is agreed in writing: in bond or duty paid, and who pays at the moment of release.
- Movement document is arranged for suspended goods (EU e-AD, or the local equivalent).
- Strength (ABV) and litres per case are on the invoice and packing list.
- Dangerous goods status confirmed for spirits, by sea and by air separately.
- Temperature requirement stated in the booking, with loggers for high-value wine.
- Palletised, strapped and photographed at loading; carton ratings checked.
- Cover confirmed for breakage and heat, and the claim process understood.
- Each party's tax responsibility (customs duty, excise, VAT, state tax) listed.
What to do next
- Ask the buyer which permits and registrations they hold, and get the numbers before quoting.
- Agree the excise status and the Incoterm in writing, and list who pays each tax.
- Classify the product (ABV, packing, dangerous goods status) and choose the equipment, reefer or ambient, based on the producer's stated range.
- Confirm insurance wording for breakage and heat, then book with a forwarder who handles alcohol regularly.
If you need a freight company with alcohol experience, more than 29,300 logistics companies are searchable by country and service in the CargoLinked directory, and the public requests board lists freight that shippers have posted for forwarders to quote on directly.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Alcohol permits, excise rules and dangerous goods classifications change and differ by country and product. Confirm the current requirements with the issuing authority (TTB, the relevant EU Member State tax authority, HMRC or your national equivalent) or a licensed customs professional before you ship.
