Bars closed, trade fairs and major events canceled. Many breweries are also affected by the Corona crisis. The deferral of the beer tax is intended to give brewers the opportunity to improve the liquidity situation. The association warns of a chain reaction.
Berlin / Düsseldorf (dpa) - Export decline, event freeze and pub closings: the deferral of the beer tax should give breweries better financial scope in the Corona crisis.
The beer tax is due to the federal states and, according to the Federal Ministry of Finance, totaled around 650 million euros in 2019.
"In order to improve the liquidity of breweries and protect jobs in the current difficult situation, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the state finance ministries have agreed that the beer tax can also be deferred," said a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Finance at the request of the German press Agency with.
Deferral applications could be made until December 31, 2020 for taxes already due or due at the main customs offices. "The main customs offices should help the breweries to avoid unreasonable hardship. There is usually no need to charge deferred interest," said the spokesman.
With the deferral of the beer tax, the federal and state governments flanked "the comprehensive package of measures put in place by the federal government to protect the health of citizens, support jobs and companies and preserve our social cohesion".
The German Brewers Association called the deferral option an important signal for the industry, which is under great pressure. "It will now be important for the breweries to be able to take advantage of the tax deferral quickly and without red tape," said managing director Holger Eichele. He emphasized that these were not grants. Many breweries have had their backs to the wall since export has largely ceased, events have been canceled and restaurants have had to close.
According to information from the "Lebensmittel Zeitung", which reported on the option to defer beer tax for breweries, the standard tax rate per hectoliter is 0.787 euros per degree Plato - the measure of the original wort content. A commercial box with 20 bottles of 0.5 liters of beer would therefore be charged 0.94 euros beer tax.
For the largest German private brewery Krombacher, the deferral of the beer tax is currently not an issue. "We will pay on time," said spokesman Peter Lemm. Warsteiner says: "We are currently examining this possibility."
"It is not canceled, it is only postponed," said Veltins spokesman Ulrich Biene about the possibility of deferring the beer tax. Every brewery has to think about it carefully. Despite the changed market situation, Veltins sees no need to make use of this possibility. For the private brewery in the Hochsauerland region, beer tax accounts for an average double-digit million amount per year. A deferral could mean an additional liquidity gain for the company.
According to industry circles, smaller breweries, which are heavily dependent on the event business, are particularly hard hit by the current restrictions against the rapid spread of the corona virus.
According to the latest Brauer-Bund survey on the effects of the corona crisis, almost all companies (97 percent) expect sales to decrease. Almost 80 percent would feel affected by cancellations or deferrals of rents and leases. 70 companies participated in the survey of breweries of all sizes. But it is not representative.
"The fact is: The chain reaction that threatens the hospitality, tourism and event business is highly explosive. Many restaurants and breweries will not survive this crisis without government aid. Here, help must be provided quickly," Eichele said in an interview with the industry portal "Beverage News" said.