Based on the currently published information of the Customs Administration, anyone buying alcoholic beverages from another EU member state via an Internet shop may be obliged to declare and pay excise tax. Alcoholic beverages purchased in this way are not exempt from excise tax. 

In the case of purchase of alcoholic beverages (via an e-shop from another EU member state) for business purposes, a legal entity or an entrepreneurial natural person is obliged to register as an excise tax payer before receiving the purchased alcohol. It is also necessary to declare to the Customs Office the quantity of alcoholic beverages purchased via the e-shop from another member state and to provide excise tax security. The taxpayer is also obliged to file tax return within the deadline and pay the tax. 

If the e-shop where the alcohol is purchased does not specify a representative to pay the tax for it in the Czech Republic, the above-mentioned obligations may also apply to non-entrepreneurs. The Customs Office therefore recommends that non-entrepreneurial persons verify, whether the foreign online shop, where the alcoholic beverages are purchased, has a designated agent for the shipment of alcoholic beverages, who will declare and pay the relevant tax in the Czech Republic. If the representative does not do so, or no representative is appointed, the obligation passes to the natural person, who purchased the alcoholic beverages in question, and for this reason this non-entrepreneurial natural person may also become an excise tax payer. 

Author: Lukáš Pflug