Alcohol regulations in New Caledonia

Licences needed

Excise warehouse/distiller permit (régie d'alcools / entrepositaire agréé) and provincial environmental operating permit (ICPE).

Authority

Direction régionale des douanes de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Direction des Services Fiscaux (DSF), and relevant Provincial Environmental Directorate.

Documents

Company registration (RIDET/Kbis), site blueprint, technical description of distillation and storage equipment, ICPE declaration/authorization, and security bond.

Fees

Annual alcohol license duty (droits de licence) and standard administrative processing fees.

Time to obtain

not confirmed

Who can import

Any registered commercial entity possessing a valid New Caledonian RIDET identification number and registered customs clearing account.

Licences or registrations

Customs declarant registration with the New Caledonia Customs Directorate; no separate statutory spirit import monopoly.

Authority

Direction régionale des douanes de Nouvelle-Calédonie

Documents

Commercial invoice, bill of lading/air waybill, RIDET certificate, certificate of origin (e.g., EUR.1 for EU preferential tariff), and packing list.

Fees

No specific import license fee; standard customs clearance handling fees apply.

Time to obtain

A few days to establish a customs account for an active local business.

Required

no

Process

No pre-market brand or label registration system (such as US COLA) exists. Goods are cleared upon customs declaration; labels must comply post-market with New Caledonian and French consumer protection regulations enforced by economic/fraud authorities.

Authority

Direction des Affaires Économiques (DAE) - Service de la régulation des marchés et de la protection du consommateur

Documents and samples

not applicable

Fees

None

Renewal

not applicable

Time to obtain

not applicable

Customs declaration via the local automated customs system; proof of preferential origin for EU exemption; sanitary certificates where applicable; sea freight port toll (taxe de péage of 1% on maritime cargo). Commercial imports must be declared by a registered importer of record or licensed customs broker.

Customs duties (droits de douane) on HS 2208: 0% for goods of EU/French and PTOM preferential origin. For non-preferential third countries, duties range between 0% and 20% ad valorem.

Taxe Générale sur la Consommation (TGC) at the higher rate of 22%; health and social sector tax on alcohol (Taxe sur les alcools et les tabacs en faveur du secteur sanitaire et social - TAT3S / TSPS); internal consumption excise (Taxe de consommation intérieure - TCI); plus 1% maritime toll (taxe de péage).

Requires a beverage retail license issued by the municipality and province (categorized into classes: on-premise bars/restaurants and off-premise take-away). Off-premise retail (supermarkets, bottle shops) is subject to strict statutory sales windows; sales are routinely prohibited on Wednesday afternoons, Friday afternoons, weekends, and public holidays, and are subject to frequent temporary bans by the High Commissioner.

Restricted. Local delivery of alcohol requires explicit authorization from municipal licensing authorities (e.g., Brigade des débits de boissons in Nouméa); delivery is bound by off-premise sales time windows and strict mandatory ID age checks. Cross-border direct-to-consumer online sales are effectively restricted by import and excise controls.

Labels must be in French (supplementary stickers accepted). Mandatory items include product name/category, alcoholic strength by volume (% vol), net quantity, lot number, country of origin, and name/address of the EU/local importer/packer. Health warning pictogram or text against drinking while pregnant ('logo femme enceinte') is mandatory.

Strictly restricted under Loi du pays n° 2018-6. Commercial advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of alcoholic beverages are banned across television, cinema, radio, print, social media, and digital services targeted at New Caledonian consumers. Volume discounts, short-term promotional price slashes, and multipack discounts below the single unit rate are prohibited.

Follows French and EU definitions under Regulation (EU) 2019/787 (e.g., whisky/rum/gin/vodka minimum 37.5% ABV, whisky minimum 40% ABV, brandy minimum 36% ABV).

Widespread periodic territory-wide bans on takeaway sales enacted by the High Commission during holidays, elections, or civil unrest; tribal councils and customary Kanak authorities may also enforce localized alcohol bans within specific customary areas.

• Recurring territory-wide bans and severe restrictions on off-premise alcohol sales imposed by the Haut-commissaire following the May 2024 unrest and during sensitive civic periods through 2025 and 2026.
• Intensified controls and licensing monitoring by municipal beverage brigades (Brigade des débits de boissons) concerning takeaway authorizations and delivery services.
• Consolidation of fiscal measures under the TGC higher bracket (22%) and continued enforcement of the anti-alcohol advertising framework established under Loi du pays n° 2018-6.

Opportunities exist primarily for premium French and EU spirits (cognac, premium rum, whisky) which enter duty-free under PTOM preferential arrangements. However, exporters face a highly restricted retail landscape with recurring sales moratoria, a 22% TGC rate, heavy specific excise taxes, and a comprehensive advertising ban.

• Direction régionale des douanes de Nouvelle-Calédonie
• Direction des Affaires Économiques de Nouvelle-Calédonie (DAE)
• Haut-commissariat de la République en Nouvelle-Calédonie
• Direction des Services Fiscaux (DSF)

1. Direction des Douanes de Nouvelle-Calédonie - Tarif des douanes
2. Les services de l'État en Nouvelle-Calédonie - Arrêtés vente d'alcool
3. Direction des Affaires Économiques NC - Fiche pratique lutte contre l'alcoolisme (Loi 2018-6)
4. Ville de Nouméa - Démarche autorisation permanente de vente d'alcool
5. Direction des Services Fiscaux de la Nouvelle-Calédonie