Wine goes through the INV and pays no excise; beer and spirits follow the food rules and pay impuestos internos of 14% to 26%. Here is the tariff, the excise mechanics, a worked example, the 2025 INV rules, labelling and the Paraguayan angle.
Argentina is one of the world’s large wine producers, and its rules show it. Wine falls under a specialised regulator, the Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura (INV), and pays no national excise. Beer and spirits are treated as foods under the Código Alimentario Argentino (CAA) and pay excise (impuestos internos) of 14% to 26% on top of the ordinary import taxes.
Both sides were simplified in 2025. The INV dropped the requirement for a laboratory certificate for bottled wine from countries with technical agreements, and food rules now let reference-country and Mercosur products enter on a sworn declaration. What remains heavy is the tax at clearance — duty, statistics fee, VAT and three prepayments explained in our Argentina customs guide — and, for spirits, the excise.
Alcoholic beverages sit in NCM chapter 22. Wine carries the Mercosur common external tariff of 20%, both bottled and in bulk, after a 2022 Mercosur cut. Beer and most spirits are also at 20%. Argentina’s 2025 tariff cuts did not touch alcohol.
| Product (NCM) | Extrazone duty |
|---|---|
| Wine, bottled (2204.21) and bulk | 20% |
| Beer (2203.00) | 20% |
| Gin (2208.50), vodka (2208.60) | 20% |
| Whisky (2208.30) | 6–20% by line |
Confirm the rate on your exact NCM line with your broker; whisky has more than one line.
Mercosur origin
0% duty and no statistics fee: Brazilian, Paraguayan and Uruguayan drinks with a certificate of origin.
Chile
Chilean wine and spirits enter with preference under the Mercosur–Chile agreement (ACE 35).
Statistics fee
3% of the customs value, capped by value band; waived for Mercosur goods.
Law and practice: Mercosur common external tariff (2022 reduction), applied rates reported by Argentina (WTO/World Bank TRAINS); Decree 1140/2024 (statistics fee).
| Product | Excise (impuestos internos) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Wine, including sparkling | None | Not subject to the national excise |
| Beer | 14% | 8% for craft beer from micro, small and medium enterprises; up to 1.2% ABV exempt |
| Whisky | 26% | |
| Cognac, brandy, gin, pisco, tequila, vodka, rum | 26% | |
| Other spirits and liqueurs, 10–29% ABV | 20% | |
| Other spirits, 30% ABV and above | 26% |
The importer pays the excise before the goods are cleared, and when it later sells them the sale is taxed again, with the amount paid at import credited against it. Two features make it heavier than the nominal rate suggests. First, for imports article 7 sets the base at 130% of the customs value plus all import taxes, including the excise itself. Second, the tax may not be deducted from its own base, so a 26% rate amounts to about 35% on a price before tax (26/74). Model the cost with your broker before setting a retail price.
Wine is excluded from the definition of taxed beverages in Law 24,674, and the separate chapter on sparkling wines has been repealed. The 2026 tax reform (Law 27,802) repealed the excise on insurance, mobile telephony, luxury goods, vehicles, boats and aircraft from 1 April 2026, but left the chapters and rates on alcohol in place.
Law and practice: Law 24,674, arts. 4 (base), 7 (import base), 23 (spirits) and 25 (beer), as amended; Law 27,802 (Boletín Oficial, 6 March 2026).
| Bottled wine, CIF US$100,000 | Non-Mercosur origin (duty 20%) | Mercosur origin |
|---|---|---|
| Import duty | 20,000 | 0 |
| Statistics fee 3% | 3,000 | 0 (exempt) |
| Excise | 0 | 0 |
| VAT 21% | 25,830 | 21,000 |
| Additional VAT prepayment 20% | 24,600 | 20,000 |
| Income tax prepayment 6% | 7,380 | 6,000 |
| Turnover tax prepayment 2.5% | 3,075 | 2,500 |
| Total paid at clearance | 83,885 (84% of CIF) | 49,500 (50% of CIF) |
| Of which pure cost | 23,000 | 0 |
Wine is the easy case: no excise, so the pure cost for a registered importer is the 20% duty and the 3% statistics fee, and a Mercosur product saves both. For spirits, add the excise on the grossed-up base; on a whisky at 26%, the excise alone can exceed the duty and statistics fee combined.
Law and practice: Illustrative: base for VAT and prepayments taken as CIF plus duty and statistics fee, as in our general Argentina guide.
Wine, sparkling wine, grape must and other grape products are governed by the wine law (Ley 14.878) and controlled by the INV, based in Mendoza. Since June 2025, INV Resolution 20/2025 sets the import rules. Imported products must meet the same composition limits as Argentine wine.
Bottled wine
A certificate from the origin country’s authority reporting alcohol, sugars, acidity, methanol and sulphur dioxide — not needed for countries with enological-practice and certification agreements with Argentina, unless health is at stake.
Sworn declaration
An electronic import declaration (declaración jurada de importación) to the INV for each operation; the INV authorises the import on that basis.
No certificate
The importer can file a sworn free-circulation analysis or ask the INV to take a control sample.
Bulk wine
Still needs a certificate, which must list the grape varieties; bulk imports are controlled at an authorised facility.
The importer must be identified with its INV number on the label. In practice, an Argentine importer of wine therefore needs an INV registration number before the first shipment.
Law and practice: Law 14,878; INV Resolution 20/2025 (Boletín Oficial, 6 June 2025), repealing Resolutions C.121/93, C.36/2012 and C.30/16.
Beer, cider, spirits and liqueurs are beverages under the CAA, so the food import rules apply. Since Decree 35/2025, products certified by a reference country (the EU, the US, the UK, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel) and Mercosur products can enter on an import notice — a sworn declaration with a free-sale certificate from the origin authority. Other origins need an establishment registration (RNE) and a product registration (RNPA) first. Since August 2026, Decree 697/2026 has concentrated food registration and control in SENASA; existing registrations remain valid.
Our guide to importing food into Argentina explains both routes in detail.
Law and practice: Decree 35/2025; ANMAT Disposición 537/2025; Decree 697/2026.
Language and content
Spanish label meeting the CAA (or the wine rules for wine): product name, alcohol content, net volume, origin, importer, lot.
Wine
Same requirements as Argentine wine, plus the importer’s name, INV importer number and lot number.
Health warnings
Under the alcohol law (Ley 24.788), labels carry Beber con moderación and Prohibida su venta a menores de 18 años.
Front-of-pack seals
The black octagons of Ley 27.642 apply to packaged foods and non-alcoholic drinks, not to alcoholic beverages.
Spanish stickers over the original label are standard for imports; they must be complete and must not cover mandatory information on the original.
Law and practice: Law 24,788; INV Resolution 20/2025, art. 8; CAA chapter V.
Customs and the national regulators are only half the picture. Retail sale of alcohol is regulated by the provinces and municipalities: opening hours, licences and age checks. Buenos Aires province, the largest market, keeps its own registry of alcohol sellers. Advertising is restricted under Ley 24.788 and must not target minors.
For an exporter, these rules matter mainly through the distributor: choose one that already holds the INV registration for wine, the food registrations for beer and spirits, and the provincial licences in the markets you want to reach.
Paraguayan drinks that meet Mercosur origin rules — for example Paraguayan caña (sugar-cane spirit) or beer — enter Argentina with 0% duty and no statistics fee. The excise is not a customs charge and applies to Mercosur goods as to any other: a Paraguayan spirit pays 20% or 26% impuestos internos like a Scotch whisky. VAT and the prepayments also apply. Volumes are small so far: by Paraguay’s figures reported to UN Comtrade, its exports of all beverages to Argentina were about US$110,000 in 2025, mostly beer.
Origin
Mercosur certificate of origin issued in Paraguay; up to 60% non-Mercosur content allowed until 2038 under Paraguay’s special regime.
Sanitary route
Mercosur beverages can use the food import notice rather than full registration.
Wine
Paraguayan or Brazilian wine follows INV Resolution 20/2025; ask the INV whether a certificate is needed for your origin.
Transport
Road freight via Clorinda–Puerto Falcón or Posadas–Encarnación avoids ocean freight and port costs.
Law and practice: CMC Decision 06/23; Law 24,674.
NCM line, duty, excise rate and alcohol band.
INV for wine and grape products; SENASA food rules for beer and spirits.
CUIT, ARCA importer register, INV registration for wine, approved warehouse.
Analytical certificate or sworn analysis for wine; free-sale certificate for reference-country beer and spirits.
Spanish, importer data, INV number for wine, Ley 24.788 warnings.
Grossed-up rate on the 130% import base, before pricing.
INV Resolution 20/2025 · Law 24,674 (impuestos internos), ARCA · Ministry of Economy: excise rate history · Ámbito: excise after the 2026 reform · Decree 35/2025 · ANMAT: food import procedures · MDZ: Mercosur tariff on wine · World Bank WITS: Argentina applied tariff data · Arancely: beer and spirits lines · UN Comtrade: Paraguay exports to Argentina
No. Wine, including sparkling wine, is not subject to the national excise. Beer pays 14% and spirits 20% or 26%.
An electronic sworn import declaration and, for bottled wine from countries without a technical agreement, an analytical certificate from the origin authority; bulk wine always needs a certificate listing grape varieties.
At import, on 130% of the customs value plus all import taxes including the excise itself (Law 24,674, art. 7). Because the tax cannot be deducted from its own base, 26% is about 35% of a price before tax.
The Mercosur common external tariff of 20%, and 0% for Mercosur-origin wine with a certificate of origin.
20% on beer and on most spirits, such as gin and vodka, from outside Mercosur; whisky lines range from 6% to 20%. Mercosur-origin drinks pay 0%.
No. Front-of-pack seals apply to packaged foods and non-alcoholic drinks. Alcohol labels carry the Ley 24.788 warnings instead.
Yes. Mercosur origin removes the duty and statistics fee, not the excise, VAT or prepayments.
An Argentine company registered with ARCA as importer; for wine, also registered with the INV.
Statistics fee, VAT and three prepayments; FX payment.
Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador compared.
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