Wine traders have proposed a uniform excise tax on imported spirits and wines that is three times higher than the tax imposed on local alcoholic produce stressing the current tax on foreign brands is 10 times higher than the local produce and is ground enough for the European Commission to sue the Philippines before the World Trade Organization on discrimination charges.

This was the position of the International Wine and Spirits Association, which is composed of 8 wine importing firms, in light of the pending bills in Congress seeking to restructure the excise tax on sin products (alcohol and cigarettes) and the case filed by the EU against the Philippines.

The first round of consultations of the case filed by the EC will take place in the first week of October with the United States also joining the consultations as an interested WTO member.

“What the WTO wants is equal taxation so if the local is P15 per then the imported should at least be P15 but we cannot be fair because we have to protect our local produce so we suggest that the tax on imported brands should at least be 3 times of the tax on the local wines or P45 pesos,” an industry official said.

The industry has pushed for a uniform tax per bottle regardless of alcohol content and value of the product. At the current taxation system, taxes on imported spirits can reach as much as 10 times higher than the tax meted on local products.

“The the current gap in tax rates between the local and imported is so wide that it becomes so glaring before the WTO, which is espousing fair playing field,” the official said.

For instance, for a $1 product, the importer would end up paying the Bureau of Customs an estimated P192 per bottle in taxes alone (10 percent duty, excise tax and e-VAT) or a total of P202 per bottle with freight and brokerage fee included.

“The EC and the U.S. have reasons to complain,” an official said.