Ecuador taxes alcohol twice over — per litre of pure alcohol and on the price above a threshold — then requires a fiscal security mark on every bottle. Here is the duty, the 2026 ICE values with a worked example, SIMAR, ARCSA registration, the label and the Paraguayan angle.
For wine, beer and spirits, the customs duty is the smaller problem in Ecuador. The special consumption tax (Impuesto a los Consumos Especiales, ICE) combines a specific charge per litre of pure alcohol with a 75% ad valorem charge on the part of the price above a threshold, and it is paid at customs together with duty, the 0.5% FODINFA levy and 15% VAT. On top of that, the importer must put a tax-authority security mark on every bottle before sale, register every product with the health regulator ARCSA, and pay 5% ISD when paying the foreign supplier.
This article walks through the duty, the 2026 ICE values with a worked example, the SIMAR marking system, ARCSA’s registration, the label and what changes for goods from Paraguay. For the general tax stack, see our guide to importing into Ecuador in 2026.
| Heading | Typical duty (non-agreement origin) |
|---|---|
| 2203 Beer | 1% + US$0.25 per degree of alcohol per litre |
| 2204.10 / 2204.21 Wine, sparkling and in containers up to 2 litres | 1% + US$0.25 per degree per litre |
| 2204.22 / 2204.29 Wine in bulk containers | 30% |
| 2205 Vermouth up to 2 litres; 2206 cider and other fermented drinks | 1% + US$0.25 per degree per litre |
| 2208 Whisky, rum, gin, vodka, tequila, liqueurs | 1% + US$0.25 per degree per litre |
| 2208 Bulk concentrates for industry | 0–30% by product |
Most bottled alcoholic drinks in chapter 22 carry a mixed duty: 1% of the value plus US$0.25 for each degree of alcohol in each litre. Read literally, a 40% spirit pays US$10 per litre on top of the 1%, and a 13% wine about US$3.25 per litre, which makes the specific part far heavier than the percentage. Bulk wine pays a flat 30%. Confirm the calculation for your line with your broker, because it drives the price of anything shipped from a country without an agreement.
Trade agreements remove the duty for many origins: EU wines and spirits under the EU agreement, Scotch whisky under the Andean–UK agreement. Bourbon from the United States and tequila from Mexico pay the full mixed duty as long as there is no agreement in force.
Law and practice: Ecuador national customs tariff, chapter 22 (“1% + USD 0.25 G.A.L.”, grado alcohólico por litro); Primicias, “Impuestos y aranceles para licores” (May 2026).
| ICE 2026 | Specific rate | Ad valorem |
|---|---|---|
| Alcoholic beverages (wine, spirits, other) | US$10.41 per litre of pure alcohol | 75% of the ex-customs price above US$4.72 per litre |
| Industrial beer | US$13.62 per litre of pure alcohol | 75% above US$4.72 per litre |
| Craft beer | US$1.56 per litre of pure alcohol | 75% above US$4.72 per litre |
| Ethyl alcohol for non-beverage use | US$10.41 per litre of pure alcohol | — |
The specific ICE is charged on the volume of pure alcohol: a litre of 13% wine contains 0.13 litres of pure alcohol and pays about US$1.35. The ad valorem ICE applies only when the ex-customs price per litre — customs value plus duty and FODINFA — exceeds US$4.72, and only to the excess. Cheap bulk products pay almost none of it; premium wines and spirits pay most of their ICE through it. Both amounts are updated every January by the SRI in line with inflation, and both are part of the VAT base.
Two 2026 details are worth knowing. A new exemption of up to 5% of the ICE rewards national ingredients and applies only to new domestic brands, so it does not help importers. And Executive Decree 420 suspended ICE on industrial and craft beer, imported beer included, from 12 June to 19 July 2026 for the World Cup; the suspension was temporary.
Law and practice: LRTI arts. 76 and 82; SRI Resolutions NAC-DGERCGC25-00000040 (specific rates), -00000041 (national-ingredient exemption) and -00000042 (US$4.72 threshold); Executive Decree 420 of 12 June 2026.
| 20,000 litres of 13% wine, CIF US$100,000, agreement origin (0% duty) | US$ |
|---|---|
| Duty | 0 |
| FODINFA 0.5% | 500 |
| ICE specific: 2,600 litres pure alcohol × 10.41 | 27,066 |
| ICE ad valorem: 75% × (5.025 − 4.72) × 20,000 litres | 4,575 |
| VAT 15% on CIF + FODINFA + ICE | 19,821 |
| Total at clearance | 51,962 |
| ISD 5% on paying the supplier | 5,000 |
| Total including ISD | 56,962 |
| Per 0.75-litre bottle, including ISD (26,667 bottles) | about 2.14 |
On a typical mid-priced wine, ICE and VAT more than double the duty-free CIF value at clearance: about US$52,000 on US$100,000. The specific ICE is the largest item. For a VAT-registered importer, VAT is recoverable, so the real cost is FODINFA, ICE and ISD — about 37% of CIF before freight, warehousing, marking and margins. Without an agreement, the mixed duty comes on top and also enters the ICE and VAT bases.
Law and practice: Illustrative, assuming 0% duty and US$5 per litre CIF. The SRI defines the ex-customs price (precio ex aduana) as the customs value plus tariffs, funds and other charges collected at clearance, so FODINFA is included; the 75% applies to the excess over US$4.72 per litre, and ICE on imported alcoholic drinks is due on clearance.
Ecuador’s tax authority runs SIMAR (Sistema de Identificación, Marcación, Autentificación y Rastreo), a track-and-trace system for goods subject to ICE. Every bottle of an alcoholic drink sold in Ecuador must carry an activated componente físico de seguridad (CFS) — a code fixed to or printed on the cap, container or packaging, with visible and covert security features. Imported alcoholic beverages are inside the system; imported industrial beer is excluded (“exceptúese a la cerveza industrial importada”), while domestic industrial beer must be marked.
Contract a provider
An authorised marking provider, not related to the importer, supplies the CFS.
Create ICE-SKU codes
One 40-character code per product, encoding brand, presentation, capacity, alcohol content and country.
Apply and activate
CFS must be on the product and activated before sale; the provider reports activations to the SRI weekly.
New presentations
A new size, brand or alcohol content needs a new code request, with a current ARCSA document attached.
The SRI rules do not fix the exact point in the import process at which the marks must be applied — only that they are on the product and activated before sale. Agree with the provider early whether they go on at origin or in Ecuador: it changes packing, labour cost and lead times. The SRI and police seize unmarked stock in the market; one operation in Loja took more than 6,000 bottles.
Law and practice: SRI Resolution NAC-DGERCGC21-00000019 (traceability rules), amended by NAC-DGERCGC21-00000048 and NAC-DGERCGC23-00000024.
Alcoholic beverages are processed foods for ARCSA, so each product needs a notificación sanitaria before it can be imported and sold. The holder must have an Ecuadorian tax number; it is usually the importer or the brand’s distributor. The fee for a foreign-made product is US$904.34, and the notification is valid five years. Wine is on the COMEX list of goods under prior import control, so the declaration does not clear without the ARCSA document.
Producer’s authorisation
Apostilled, allowing the holder to register and sell.
Free sale certificate
From the origin country’s authority, apostilled.
Analysis
For wine, routine analysis plus free sulphur dioxide, chlorides, glycerol and ash.
Alcohol content
A change of more than one percentage point in declared alcohol needs a new notification.
Label artwork
The Ecuadorian label, checked against the INEN standards.
Law and practice: Resolution ARCSA-DE-2022-016-AKRG; COMEX Resolution 009-2022 (prior import controls).
Labels follow the general food standard NTE INEN 1334-1 and the alcoholic-beverage labelling standard NTE INEN 1933. A Spanish sticker over the original label is accepted. Alcoholic drinks are outside the traffic-light nutrition label.
Main panel
Brand, type of drink, net content in SI units (for example 750 ml) and alcohol content as “Alc. 13 % (Vol.)”.
Back panel
Producer and importer names and addresses, country of origin, lot, ARCSA notification code, ingredients and allergens such as sulphites.
Health warning
The Ministry of Public Health warning beginning “Advertencia. El consumo excesivo de alcohol…” and “Venta prohibida a menores de 18 años”.
Wine sweetness classes
Dry, semi-sweet and sweet by grams of sugar per litre; brut, extra dry and similar for sparkling wine.
Alcoholic drinks are not among the main goods Paraguay sells to Ecuador, where pharmaceuticals dominate. Under ACE 59, Ecuador grants preferences on about 98% of tariff lines, and Argentina’s wine institute reports that Argentine wine enters at 0% under the same agreement; confirm the preference for your exact Paraguayan line, since some lines keep only partial margins. A preference removes only the duty: ICE, SIMAR marking, ARCSA notification, the health warning and ISD apply in full.
One technical point for caña (cane spirit): bulk spirit and concentrates fall into different lines from bottled aguardiente, with different duties. Classify before you quote, and send a sample certificate of origin with the first offer.
Law and practice: ALADI fact sheet for ACE 59; see our ACE 59 guide.
Chapter 22 line, mixed duty or agreement rate, ICE specific and ad valorem.
Notificación sanitaria per product and alcohol content.
Marking provider, ICE-SKU codes, where the marks are applied.
Spanish, alcohol content, health warning, importer details.
EU, UK or ACE 59 certificates to remove the duty.
ICE and VAT at clearance, ISD on paying the supplier.
SRI — Impuesto a los Consumos Especiales · SRI — Marcación y trazabilidad fiscal (SIMAR) · NMS Law — ICE 2026 resolutions · EY Ecuador — ICE tax alert 2026 · Primicias — duties and taxes on liquor · Primicias — Decree 420 on beer ICE · Ecuador national tariff, headings 2203–2206 · Ecuador national tariff, heading 2208 · ARCSA — notificación sanitaria · Argentina INV — Ecuador wine market requirements
US$10.41 per litre of pure alcohol for wine, spirits and other alcoholic drinks (US$13.62 for industrial beer, US$1.56 for craft beer), plus 75% of the ex-customs price above US$4.72 per litre.
Yes. For imported alcoholic drinks, ICE is paid at clearance together with duty, FODINFA and VAT, and it is part of the VAT base.
The SRI’s track-and-trace system. Every bottle of an alcoholic drink sold in Ecuador must carry an activated fiscal security component supplied by an authorised provider.
Yes. Each product needs a notificación sanitaria held by an Ecuadorian company; the 2026 fee for a foreign product is US$904.34.
Without an agreement, most bottled spirits pay 1% plus US$0.25 per degree of alcohol per litre. EU and UK goods enter duty-free under their agreements.
Only temporarily: Decree 420 suspended it from 12 June to 19 July 2026 for the World Cup.
Yes. ACE 59 can remove the customs duty, but ICE, VAT, SIMAR marking and ISD apply in full.
Tariff, FODINFA, VAT, ISD and ACE 59 in one guide.
Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador compared.
Tell us the product, its origin and who will import it. We check tariff, ICE, marking and labelling and set up the importer — fixed quote within one business day.
We use Google Analytics to see which pages help visitors, only if you agree. Security cookies and your choice are always stored. Cookie policy
Tell us what you need. We’ll reply within one business day.
We’ll reply within one business day, by email or WhatsApp.
or message us on WhatsApp
