Alcohol regulations in Armenia

Licensing, import, labelling and tax rules for spirits. Researched July 2026.

Research guide, not legal advice. Compiled in July 2026 from the public sources listed at the bottom of this page. Duty rates, fees and rules change often: confirm with the regulator, a customs broker or local counsel before you act. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

Status: Legal
Legal drinking age: 18
Legal purchase age: 18

Licence to make spirits (distillery and bottling)

Licences needed: Record-registration via mandatory Notification of Implementation of Activities for distilled spirits production, plus Food Safety Inspection Body (FSIB) facility compliance and EAC Declaration of Conformity.
Authority: Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia
Documents: Electronic notification stating organisation name, state registration number, registered office, exact address of production facility, type of notified activity, and receipt of annual state duty payment.
Fees: Annual state duty under the Law on State Duty (base duty = 1,000 AMD); for example, 50-fold of the base duty (50,000 AMD) for brandy/cognac spirit production without the right of sale, and tiered multiples of the base duty for commercial spirits distilling.
Time to obtain: Record-registration takes effect 5 working days after submitting the notification (3 working days for location modifications); full facility and equipment compliance approvals take up to 23 days.

Import licence and registration

Who can import: Any legal entity or individual entrepreneur registered in the Republic of Armenia with the State Register Agency and the State Revenue Committee (SRC). Foreign cognac/brandy spirits cannot be imported to produce 'Armenian' cognac/brandy.
Licences or registrations: Business registration, EAEU Declaration of Conformity (EAC), import notification/permit for volumes exceeding 100,000 litres, and prior registration with the SRC to obtain mandatory excise stamps and electronic traceability codes.
Authority: State Revenue Committee (SRC), Ministry of Economy, and Food Safety Inspection Body (FSIB).
Documents: Commercial invoice, foreign supply contract, transport/shipping documents, Certificate of Origin, EAC Declaration of Conformity, laboratory test reports, and application for excise stamps with a report on previously used stamps.
Fees: Customs clearance state processing fee of 3,500 to 5,000 AMD; excise stamps cost 100 AMD per label for imported ethyl alcohol and alcoholic beverages.
Time to obtain: 5 working days for SRC approval of excise stamp applications (stamps are valid for 90 days); 2 to 5 business days for customs clearance; 7 to 14 business days for standard import permits and laboratory certification.

Product and label registration

Required: yes
Process: Mandatory conformity assessment in the form of an EAC Declaration of Conformity registered in the unified EAEU database under Technical Regulations TR CU 021/2011, TR CU 022/2011, and TR EAEU 047/2018. Novel or specialized alcoholic products require State Registration (SGR).
Authority: Food Safety Inspection Body (FSIB) and accredited EAEU certification bodies/laboratories (such as Armexpertiza).
Documents and samples: Technical specifications, ingredient list, product samples for chemical and microbiological laboratory analysis, label layout in Armenian and Russian, and supply contract.
Fees: not confirmed
Renewal: Valid per batch or for serial production (typically 1 to 5 years depending on the declaration scheme).
Time to obtain: 7 to 14 business days including laboratory testing.

Import rules

There is no state import monopoly. Goods must be imported by a locally registered importer of record. Imports from EAEU member states (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan) move free of customs duties. Prior to importing bottled spirits for domestic distribution, importers must obtain and affix Armenian excise stamps (and EAEU DataMatrix digital tracking codes where applicable). A quality/safety certificate and EAC mark are mandatory for customs release. Importing foreign cognac spirit for use in Armenian cognac production is prohibited by law.

Import duty on spirits (HS 2208)

Under the EAEU Common External Tariff, spirits (HS 2208) imported from non-EAEU countries are generally subject to an ad valorem customs duty of 10% to 15% of the CIF customs value, or specific rates per litre of 100% alcohol depending on the exact 10-digit CN FEA subheading. Imports from EAEU member states are 0% (duty-free).

Excise and taxes

Value Added Tax (VAT) is 20% calculated on the customs value plus customs duty and excise tax. Under Article 88 of the Tax Code of Armenia (as amended by Law HO-474-N), effective 1 January 2026, specific excise tax rates are: (1) Ethyl spirit (HS 2207): 7,600 AMD per litre of 100% spirit (up from 6,300 AMD in 2024 and 6,900 AMD in 2025); (2) General distilled spirits under HS 2208 (including vodka, gin, liqueurs, excluding 2208 20, 2208 30, 2208 40) and fruit/berry vodkas: 4,600 AMD per litre (up from 3,800 AMD in 2024 and 4,200 AMD in 2025); (3) Cognac, brandy, whisky, and rum (HS 2208 20, 2208 30, 2208 40): taxed per litre of 100% spirit on a tiered scale by age (ranging from 3,300 AMD for 1–3 years old, 3,800 AMD for 4–5 years, 6,500 AMD for 6–10 years, 9,300 AMD for 11–15 years, 15,300 AMD for 16–19 years, up to 24,000 AMD for 20+ years). Minimum alienation (sale) prices also apply to bottled brandy and spirits under Article 88.

Retail and distribution

Alcoholic beverages are sold by private supermarkets, grocery stores, specialized liquor shops, restaurants, and bars; there is no state retail monopoly. There are no national curfews on off-premise or on-premise sale hours (24-hour sales are permitted), though retailers must hold local municipal trade permits and strictly enforce the 18+ age limit.

Online sale and delivery

Allowed. Retailers and domestic producers may sell alcoholic beverages online and via delivery platforms, provided they hold proper retail/tax registrations, issue fiscal receipts with digital tracking codes, and verify that the purchaser/recipient is at least 18 years old.

Labelling

Under EAEU Technical Regulations (TR CU 022/2011 and TR EAEU 047/2018) and Armenian law, all alcoholic beverages sold in Armenia must carry a label (or supplementary sticker) in Armenian (and Russian for EAEU circulation). Mandatory items include: product name and type, ABV (% vol.), net volume, name and address of manufacturer and Armenian importer, country of origin, batch number, date of manufacture/bottling, storage conditions, EAC conformity mark, health warning on the dangers of alcohol consumption, ingredients list (exempt for single-raw-material spirits like whiskey, rum, cognac, brandy, and unflavored wine; vodkas must state the class of rectified ethanol used), and age of distillate for cognac, brandy, whisky, and rum. Physical excise stamps and DataMatrix traceability codes are mandatory on retail containers.

Advertising

Governed by the Law on Advertising (1996) and the Law on Production, Consumption, Use, Advertising of Alcoholic Beverages and Provision of Information about their Health Damage. Advertising of strong alcoholic beverages (except cognac and brandy) is prohibited on television and radio, and electronic media alcohol ads are banned between 07:00 and 21:00. Ads are prohibited on the front/back covers of print media; on public transport, stops, and metro; and inside or within 30 meters of schools, preschools, medical facilities, and cultural/historical monuments. Ads must not depict persons under 25 years old (or minors in animation), show the act of consuming alcohol, claim healing, stimulating, relaxing, or thirst-quenching properties, or portray high ABV as a positive attribute. Armenian text must predominate and be in larger script than foreign languages, and ads must include health warnings.

Legal definitions of spirits

Defined by EAEU Technical Regulation TR EAEU 047/2018 (effective 1 July 2026) and Armenian national laws: Rectified ethyl alcohol must be at least 96.0% ABV from edible raw materials. Vodka is a colorless spirit of 37.5% to 56.0% ABV (37.5% to 45.0% ABV for special vodkas) made from rectified ethanol and purified water treated with activated charcoal/sorbents. Whiskey must be at least 40.0% ABV, distilled from fermented cereal grain mash/malt to no more than 94.8% ABV, and aged at least 3 years in wooden barrels not exceeding 700 litres. Rum must be at least 37.5% ABV produced from sugarcane/molasses rum distillate. Gin and distilled gin must be at least 37.5% ABV with a predominant juniper (Juniperus communis L.) flavor. Brandy must be at least 37.5% ABV (cognac at least 40.0% ABV) aged in oak; under Armenian law, 'Armenian Cognac/Brandy' must be produced exclusively from domestic grape distillates using specified local grape varieties.

Dry or restricted areas

None. Alcohol is legal nationwide, though sales and advertising are restricted inside educational, medical, and youth recreational institutions.

Recent changes

Under Law HO-474-N (adopted December 2024), statutory excise taxes on spirits increased on 1 January 2025 and again on 1 January 2026 (reaching 7,600 AMD/litre for ethyl alcohol and 4,600 AMD/litre for general HS 2208 spirits).
In June–July 2026, the Armenian Government and Parliament approved further tax reforms introducing annual 3% inflation indexation on alcohol excise taxes, unifying the brandy excise rate at 4,000 AMD per litre of 100% alcohol regardless of age, and reducing the excise tax on domestic fruit/berry vodkas by 33%.
EAEU Technical Regulation TR EAEU 047/2018 'On the Safety of Alcoholic Products' officially entered into force across Armenia and all EAEU member states on 1 July 2026 (following amendments in EEC Council Decisions No. 21 of February 2025 and No. 85 of September 2025).

Opportunities for exporters

Armenia's vibrant hospitality and tourism sectors in Yerevan drive growing demand for imported premium spirits such as single malt whisky, gin, rum, and tequila, which face little domestic competition compared to local brandy and vodka. Furthermore, achieving EAEU conformity (TR EAEU 047/2018) for the Armenian market allows exporters to utilize harmonized technical standards and duty-free movement across the wider Eurasian Economic Union.

Regulators

Sources

Selling into Armenia or buying from it?

Find producers Post a requirement