Customs Science: How to “return” fine wine and coffee to customs

Recently, the co-branded coffee 'Sauce Latte' has appeared on the market and has swept the social media, arousing widespread attention and heated discussion.So, if you want to taste imported 'wine and coffee', how should you determine its commodity classification in actual international trade?

Take a certain liqueur originated in Ireland as an example. This product is blended with fresh Irish cream, pure Irish whiskey, coffee and Irish craft spirits. It has an alcohol content of about 17% and is suitable for drinking with ice.

Judging from the ingredients, this drink is likely to fall into two tax categories - 22.02 or 22.08 - in the 'Import and Export Tariffs of the People's Republic of China' (hereinafter referred to as 'Import and Export Tariffs'). How should we distinguish them correctly?

The provisions of tax heading 22.02 are: water with added flavor, sugar or other sweet substances, including mineral water and soda, and other non-alcoholic beverages, but does not include fruit juice or vegetable juice of heading 20.09.The provisions of heading 22.08 are: unmodified ethanol, with an alcohol concentration of less than 80% by volume; distilled spirits, liqueurs and other alcoholic beverages.

Here comes the key point. There is an important note in Chapter 22 of the 'Import and Export Tariffs', namely Chapter Note 3: ''Non-alcoholic beverages' as mentioned in tax item 22.02 refer to beverages with an alcohol concentration not exceeding 0.5% by volume. 'That is to say, whether the alcohol concentration exceeds 0.5% is an important indicator for distinguishing non-alcoholic beverages and alcoholic beverages in international trade.

The alcohol content of this liqueur is higher than 0.5%, so it falls under tax heading 2208.7000 (liqueurs and cordials) under tax heading 22.08.

In the traditional cocktail recipe, 'Irish coffee' is a typical combination of coffee and wine. It is made by mixing hot coffee, Irish whiskey, cream and sugar.

Therefore, the popular 'sauce latte' is actually a liquor-flavored coffee drink. Its raw materials include liquor-flavored thick milk (a prepared milk-containing drink), espresso, pure milk and diluted milk. Cream, according to the merchant, the alcohol content of 'sauce latte' does not exceed 0.5%.Therefore, if it is an import and export commodity, it should be classified as tax code 2202.9900 (others) under tax item 22.02. If the alcohol content exceeds 0.5%, it should be classified as tax code 2208.7000 (liqueurs and liquors) under tax item 22.08. Cordial).

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