The Saudi Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) will introduce a revised 4-tier methodology for calculating excise tax on sweetened beverages, effective from Thursday, Jan. 1. This system, which is shifting from a flat 50 percent rate to a system based on sugar content (grams per 100ml), with tax rates increasing for higher sugar levels and exemptions for sugar-free or low-sugar drinks, aiming to promote public health and encourage sugar reduction in alignment with GCC health initiatives. The ZATCA Board of Directors has approved amendments to some provisions of the executive regulations of the Excise Goods Tax Law in this regard. The approved amendments include modifying the methodology for calculating excise tax on sweetened beverages to be based on the total amount of sugar content in the sweetened beverage. The authority explained that the revised methodology for calculating the excise tax on sweetened beverages is based on a tiered tax bracket system. This system calculates the tax value according to the total sugar content per 100 ml of the ready-to-drink sweetened beverage that falls within that bracket. The authority divided the brackets into three categories: the first bracket includes beverages sweetened with only artificial sweeteners and no added sugar; the […]