Alcohol regulations in Greece

Licences needed

Distillery / spirit-making operating licence (Άδεια λειτουργίας αποσταγματοποιείου / ποτοποιείου), Suitability Report / Technical Approval of stills and workshop premises from the General Chemical State Laboratory (GCSL), and Tax Warehousekeeper Authorisation (Άδεια εγκεκριμένου αποθηκευτή / φορολογικής αποθήκης) from Customs.

Authority

Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE / GCSL and Customs) and the Regional Directorate of Development.

Documents

Application / solemn declaration, facility layout blueprints detailing distillation equipment/stills and storage tanks, environmental/fire approvals, operating licence from the Regional Directorate of Development, ownership/lease deeds, criminal record clearance, tax clearance, and bank financial guarantee for the tax warehouse.

Fees

Statutory administrative application/inspection fees plus mandatory bank guarantee securing excise duty liability (exact administrative fee not confirmed).

Time to obtain

not confirmed (typically 3 to 6 months depending on facility inspections and bonding)

Who can import

Any business enterprise registered in Greece or the EU holding an active Greek tax/VAT number (AFM) and EU Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number; for holding duty-suspended goods, entity must be an Authorised Warehousekeeper or Registered Consignee.

Licences or registrations

EORI number, registration in the Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS / SEED database) for intra-EU duty-suspended movement, and registration of the operator and products in the AADE electronic alcohol tracking system (EMOP / LOTify).

Authority

Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE / IAPR) - Directorate General of Customs and Excise.

Documents

Single Administrative Document (SAD) for non-EU imports, commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading / CMR, electronic administrative document (e-AD) for intra-EU excise goods, Certificate of Origin, and chemical certificate of analysis if requested.

Fees

No specific statutory import license fee; standard customs broker, clearance processing, and cargo handling fees apply.

Time to obtain

EORI registration takes 1 to 3 business days; routine customs clearance takes 1 to 3 business days upon arrival.

Required: yes Process: Greece does not operate a pre-approval label certification scheme (such as US COLA), but legally mandates pre-market product traceability registration: under Greek tax and anti-contraband law, all producers…

Spirits imported from non-EU countries require customs clearance by an Importer of Record holding an EORI number via a Single Administrative Document (SAD). Commercial shipments must enter an authorised excise warehouse or be…

0% for distilled spirits under HS heading 2208 (under the European Union Common Customs Tariff / TARIC MFN rate, spirits such as whisky, vodka, gin, rum, and brandy enter free of customs duty, though excise duty and VAT apply).

Excise duty: €2,450 per hectolitre of absolute ethyl alcohol (€24.50 per litre of pure alcohol, equivalent to ~€6.86 per 700ml bottle at 40% ABV). A 50% reduced excise rate of €1,225/hl pure alcohol applies specifically to ethyl…

Private retail model: supermarkets, grocery stores, and licensed specialty beverage stores ('kava' / κάβα) sell spirits for off-premise consumption. On-premise sales occur in restaurants, bars, cafés, and entertainment venues…

allowed, but subject to stringent age-verification controls: e-commerce retailers must verify that purchasers are 18 or older using the national digital verification protocol (such as Gov.gr Wallet QR code verification) during…

Complies with EU Regulation 2019/787 and EU Regulation 1169/2011: mandatory items include the legal sales name, net volume in metric units (standard fill sizes per Directive 2007/45/EC), alcoholic strength by volume (% vol),…

Regulated under the Audiovisual Media Services Presidential Decree, Law 5216/2025, and the Greek Advertising Code of Conduct (SEE / ENEAP / SEAOP rules): advertising targeting minors or portraying minors consuming alcohol is…

Governed by EU Regulation (EU) 2019/787: minimum ABV is 40% for whisky/whiskey; 37.5% for rum, gin, and vodka; 36% for brandy; 37.5% for ouzo; 40% for tsipouro/tsikoudia; and 96% for agricultural neutral ethyl alcohol.

No dry municipalities exist in Greece. However, the Mount Athos autonomous monastic region maintains distinct religious governance (the avaton) prohibiting entry by females and imposing strict monastic community rules that ban…

Enactment of Law 5216/2025 in July 2025 establishing comprehensive bans on alcohol sales, supply, delivery, and entertainment venue entry for minors under 18, introducing €500–€10,000 fines and criminal liability for servers.…

Greece's massive inbound international tourism and expanding cocktail culture offer prime commercial opportunities for premium craft spirits, aged rums, super-premium gins, and whiskies. Overseas exporters succeed best by…

1. Gov.gr - Alcohol and Alcoholic Beverages Subject to Excise Duty
2. Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) - General Chemical State Laboratory
3. EU Single Market EUGO Greece - Pure Alcohol & Spirits Licensing
4. WHO - Greece Enacts Law 5216/2025 to Protect Minors from Tobacco and Alcohol
5. Euronews - Greece Launches Digital Age Verification System to Curb Alcohol Sales to Minors
6. US TTB - International Alcohol Regulations: Greece / EU Requirements