Alcohol regulations in Comoros

Licences needed

Industrial and commercial establishment permits; not confirmed for spirits distillation

Authority

Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Industrie et des Investissements / Ministère des Finances

Documents

not confirmed

Fees

not confirmed

Time to obtain

not confirmed

Who can import

Registered commercial importers possessing an official alcohol import license

Licences or registrations

Licence d'importation sur les boissons alcoolisées (non-automatic import licensing system under HS 2203 to 2208)

Authority

Direction Générale des Impôts / Ministère des Finances, du Budget et du Secteur Bancaire

Documents

Commercial register entry (RCCM), tax identification number (NIF), importer patent/registration, formal application to the Ministry of Finance

Fees

10,000,000 KMF per year for wholesale importers; 15,000,000 KMF per year for combined wholesale and retail importers (Code Général des Impôts, as amended by Loi de Finances 2024)

Time to obtain

not confirmed

Required

no

Process

There is no independent brand or label registration system (such as US TTB COLA); imported spirits must comply with general customs declarations, sanitary inspections, and health labeling rules upon arrival

Authority

Direction Générale des Douanes / Ministère de la Santé

Documents and samples

Commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin, and certificate of analysis/conformity

Fees

None specifically for label approval

Renewal

not applicable

Time to obtain

Cleared during standard customs clearance (typically 3–7 business days)

Alcohol import is non-automatic and strictly restricted to licensed quota holders. Shipments require customs declarations (SAD) with registered customs clearing agents (commissionnaires en douane agréés), bill of lading, commercial invoices, certificates of origin, and health/phytosanitary certificates. No physical excise stamp system is currently enforced. In 2024, border collection of the advance corporate tax (Acompte sur Impôt) and import patent (Patente d'Importation) was abolished under WTO accession commitments.

20% ad valorem (Taxe Unique d'Importation - TUI) under national tariff; bound tariff under WTO accession schedule is up to 32% for HS 2208.

Taxe Spéciale sur les Alcools (TSA / Droit d'accise) of 200% to 250% ad valorem calculated on CIF customs value plus customs duties; Taxe de Consommation (TC) of 10%; Administrative Fee (Redevance Administrative - RA) of 5%; regional cooperation and chamber levies totaling 2%. General VAT has not yet been introduced.

Regulated under annual retail alcohol licenses (Licences des débits de boissons alcoolisées: 3,000,000 KMF for general merchants; 1,500,000 KMF for bars/restaurants). Retail sale is restricted to approved foreign-operated merchant stores, licensed hotels, and restaurants catering primarily to tourists and non-Muslim expatriates. Sales are prohibited in the vicinity of mosques, schools, and healthcare facilities. Sale to Comorian nationals is prohibited during Ramadan, and public consumption or public intoxication is criminalized nationwide.

banned

Under Article 103 of the Public Health Code (Loi N° 11-001/AU as amended), packaging of alcoholic beverages must visibly carry the mandatory warning 'Dangereux pour la santé' in both French and Comorian (written in Arabic script), covering at least 50% of the surface of the package, and must state the alcoholic strength by volume (ABV).

Strictly prohibited; Article 102 of the amended Public Health Code bans all forms of advertising and commercial sponsorship for alcoholic beverages.

No dedicated national standards of identity codified for spirits categories; relies on general international Harmonized System (HS 2208) definitions and Codex Alimentarius guidelines.

Public consumption of alcohol and public drunkenness are strictly prohibited by law nationwide (punishable by fines and imprisonment). Consumption is strictly confined to private quarters or licensed enclosed venues. Local village and religious community authorities on Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Mohéli enforce strict bans within residential quarters.

• August 2024: The Union of Comoros formally acceded to the World Trade Organization (WTO) as its 165th member, agreeing to bound tariff ceilings of up to 32% on alcoholic beverages and reforms to import border charges.
• 2024: Article 15 of the 2024 Budget Law abolished customs-cordon collections of the advance income tax (Acompte sur Impôt) and import patent (Patente d'Importation) to comply with WTO non-tariff barrier elimination commitments.
• 2024–2025: License fees for importing and retailing alcoholic beverages were maintained at revised rates under Article 196 of the General Tax Code (10,000,000 KMF for wholesale importers, 15,000,000 KMF for wholesale/retailers, and 1,500,000 KMF for bars/restaurants).

The commercial market for spirits in Comoros is extremely small and restricted to luxury resorts, international hotels, and foreign expatriates. Exporters face high compounding taxes exceeding 250%, advertising prohibitions, and steep importer licensing fees.

• Direction Générale des Douanes des Comores
• Direction Générale des Impôts (Ministère des Finances)
• Ministère de la Santé, de la Solidarité, de la Protection Sociale et de la Promotion du Genre
• Ministère de l'Intérieur, de l'Information, de la Décentralisation et de l'Administration Territoriale

1. Assemblée de l'Union des Comores - Loi portant Loi de Finances de l'année 2024 (Art. 196 CGI, Art. 15 OMC)
2. Journal Officiel des Comores / Invest in Comoros - Tarif des Douanes des Comores (HS 2208)
3. Al-Watwan - Nouveau code de la Santé: Tabac et boissons alcoolisées (Art. 101-103)
4. UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) - Foreign Travel Advice: Comoros (Local Laws and Customs)
5. International Monetary Fund (IMF) - Selected Issues on Comoros: Tax and Trade Reforms Post-WTO Accession (2024-2026)