lb.bev-cuvee.org · AS OF 2026-11-10
Lebanon
The business-to-business (B2B) hub for beverage alcohol: the trade rulebook for beverage alcohol, country by country, each section with its official sources.
As of 2026-11-10
Market status
Licensed. Private operators may trade beverage alcohol, but import and commercial movement are controlled through customs, Ministry of Economy and Trade visa controls and indirect-tax transport permits. Beer, wine, other fermented beverages including cider, and spirits appear in Chapter 22 of the Lebanese tariff. Alcoholic energy drinks are prohibited, and customs restrictions also identify a prohibited arak category when made from non-grape or non-vinous alcohol or anethole. This is a private licensed/restricted market, not a state-monopoly channel.
Sources
Who can trade
Import: Imported and exported goods must be covered by a detailed customs declaration. The Customs Law allows declarations by licensed customs clearance agents, or by traders or their authorised agents who have proof of ownership, custody or shipping rights. Beer under heading 2203, wine under 2204, other fermented beverages under 2206 and spirits under 2208 are listed as requiring Ministry of Economy and Trade fraud-repression visa control on import.
Wholesale and distribution: Commercial movements of beer, wine, other fermented beverages and spirits are subject to an indirect-tax transport licence when the moved quantity exceeds the personal threshold stated in the customs control circular. Customs warehouse and free-zone handling is available only under the customs regimes and approvals in the Customs Law. Detailed domestic wholesale licence and premises permissions: Not yet sourced.
Tax registration: Ministry of Finance value added tax registration procedures apply where the operator meets the conditions for taxable or export/import activity. Importers and exporters should verify current tax registration status before trading.
Business-to-business (B2B) online sale: Law No. 81 of 2018 on electronic transactions is listed by Banque du Liban and the Lebanese legislation database; its electronic-commerce rule allows electronic commerce within the prohibitions and restrictions set by law. Therefore an online B2B order does not remove customs, visa, transport-licence or tax conditions. Specific online alcohol platform, agency and payment-intermediary permissions: Not yet sourced.
Sources
- https://www.customs.gov.lb/Files/Laws/law_en.pdf
- https://www.customs.gov.lb/Files/Government_Controls/Circular_No1_01-06-2021.pdf
- https://www.finance.gov.lb/en-us/Taxation/Companies/VAT/Pages/Registration-in-VAT.aspx
- https://www.finance.gov.lb/en-us/Minister_News/Minister%20News/Arabic/2026/%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%86%2012-05-2026.pdf
- https://bdl.gov.lb/laws.php
- https://legallaw.ul.edu.lb/Law.aspx?language=ar&lawId=278573
Customs and duty
Tariff headings: Beer: 2203. Beer made from malt. Wine: 2204. Wine of fresh grapes, including fortified wine; certain grape must. Cider: 2206. Other fermented beverages, including cider, perry, mead, sake and mixtures. Spirits: 2208. Undenatured ethyl alcohol below 80% alcohol by volume; spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages.
Import duty: Lebanon publishes an integrated customs tariff through Lebanese Customs. The payable treatment depends on the full tariff line, customs value, origin and any applicable agreement or restriction. The tariff table shows customs duty, value added tax, complementary notes, restrictions, agreements and classification texts. A four-digit heading alone is not enough to calculate duty for a shipment. Exact customs duty for a specified product/origin: Not yet sourced.
Excise: The tariff table applies an internal consumption duty to alcoholic drinks. Beer is shown separately from wine, other fermented beverages and spirits; spirits have subcategory treatment within heading 2208. Duty amounts are not reproduced here.
Territorial treatment: Customs warehouses are a duty-deferring status. Free trade and industrial zones may be treated as outside the customs territory for entry, storage, export and re-export, but goods sent from a free zone into the customs zone for local consumption are subject to applicable duties. Other local border, municipal and environmental charges: Not yet sourced.
Sources
Labelling
Required language(s): Arabic is the default language for information required on labels, packaging and general offers of goods or services. The Minister of Economy and Trade may specify cases where English or French can be used instead of Arabic.
Mandatory particulars: The Consumer Protection Law requires label or packaging information determined by the competent administration according to the product’s nature, characteristics and applicable standards. Examples include the nature and type of the goods, composition or ingredients, net weight or volume or number, durability, country or place of origin, manufacturer or professional name and address, and risks or warnings from use.
Alcohol-specific customs particulars: Beer, wine, other fermented beverages and many spirits must bear labels or marks clearly showing the true type or content, the full name of the manufacturer or responsible export agent, and the country of origin.
Alcohol strength: Mandatory physical-label alcohol-strength line: Not yet sourced.
Allergens: Allergen label lines: Not yet sourced.
Mandatory warnings: A mandatory alcohol-health or pregnancy warning: Not yet sourced.
Origin and wine particulars: Origin is required under the consumer-law and customs alcohol-labelling rules described above. Detailed wine label particulars beyond origin: Not yet sourced.
Label registration: Import visa control is sourced, but a separate label registration or pre-approval requirement: Not yet sourced.
Sources
Age and sale limits
Legal purchase age: Legal purchase age stated as a purchase rule: Not yet sourced.
Service and public-place supply: Penal Code Article 625 penalises serving spirituous drinks to a minor under 18 when it leads to intoxication. Article 626 penalises the owner of a tavern or another place open to the public, and the owner’s employees, if they serve spirituous drinks to a visibly intoxicated person or to a minor under 18. Repeat offences under Articles 626 and 627 can lead to permanent closure under Article 628.
Sale-hour limits: Not yet sourced.
Regional or municipal age and sale layers: Not yet sourced.
Sources
Protected names
Protection framework: The Ministry of Economy and Trade states that the 1924 trademark law does not explicitly protect geographical indications, but that geographical indications are protected through Lebanon’s treaty commitments and through customs, fraud-control and criminal-law mechanisms. The Ministry’s geographical-indications project describes a registration framework intended for agricultural, artisan and agro-food products, including wine and spirits, but a current enacted beverage geographical-indication register or official protected-name list: Not yet sourced.
Wine names: Ministry material on Law No. 216/2000 describes wine appellation of origin by geographic production region or defined place, with administrative governorates used pending the agricultural cadastre. Specific recognised wine appellation names: Not yet sourced.
Spirit names: Ministry material states that the 1937 arak law reserves Arak to alcohol obtained by fermenting grape and distilling it with anise seed. Customs controls also prohibit arak made from non-grape or non-vinous alcohol or anethole.
Beer and cider protected names: Not yet sourced.
Sources
- https://economy.gov.lb/en/what-we-provide/intellectual-property-right/trademark/
- https://www.economy.gov.lb/en/projects/protection-of-geographical-indications
- https://www.economy.gov.lb/public/uploads/files/9791_4027_6145.pdf
- https://www.customs.gov.lb/Files/Government_Controls/Circular_No1_01-06-2021.pdf
GTIN authority
Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) member organisation: GS1 Lebanon. GS1 guidance states that a business must join a GS1 Member Organisation to obtain a GS1 GTIN, and GS1 Lebanon identifies itself as the Lebanon office for GS1 standards and barcodes.
Sources
Not yet sourced
Detailed domestic wholesale licence and premises permissions; specific online alcohol platform, agency and payment-intermediary permissions; exact customs duty for a specified product/origin; other local border, municipal and environmental charges; mandatory physical-label alcohol-strength line; allergen label lines; mandatory alcohol-health or pregnancy warning; detailed wine label particulars beyond origin; separate label registration or pre-approval; legal purchase age stated as a purchase rule; sale-hour limits; regional or municipal age and sale layers; current enacted beverage geographical-indication register or official protected-name list; specific recognised wine appellation names; beer and cider protected names: Not yet sourced.
Library catalogue: bev-cuvee.org · this page as data: mcp.bev-cuvee.org/mcp (get_rulebook, code lb)