VAT rates on food and beverages
Verified 09 March 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
The sale of food and beverages, in commerce, restaurants, cafes, bars, on-site or take-away, etc., is subject to different VAT (value added tax) rates. There is a reduced rate of 5.5%, an intermediate rate of 10% and the full (or normal) rate at 20%.
In order to determine the VAT rate applicable to a food or beverage product, it is necessary to determine whether it is sold for a immediate consumption or if it can be preserved.
It exists 3 rates of VAT for food products:
- 5.5% on a product packaged in a container allowing its preservation, therefore for a consumption which may be deferred. The container must be airtight with a shelf life.
- 10% on a product sold for a immediate consumption
- 20% : only on alcoholic drinks, regardless of the type of consumption, immediate or deferred.
Example :
A small bottle of water sold for consumption on site or to take away is sold at a rate of 5.5%. Indeed, the product can be kept for a deferred consumption, even if the customer chooses to open it immediately after the purchase.
Drinks
Alcoholics
All alcoholic beverages are sold at the normal rate of 20%.
This rate applies regardless of the type of sale, to take away or on the spot, in a hermetically sealed container or to be consumed immediately.
Non-alcoholic
Glass, cup, etc.
The intermediate rate of 10% applies to non-alcoholic beverages served in non-shelf-stable containers: cups, plastic glasses, etc.
These drinks are intended for immediate consumption.
Bottle, can, drum, etc.
The reduced rate to 5.5% applies to water and non-alcoholic beverages served in sealed containers: bottle, can, drum, brick, etc.
These beverages may be stored and intended for deferred consumption.
Foods
1 - Dishes served in the restaurant
All meals served in the restaurant are charged at the intermediate rate of 10%.
The following types of restores are involved:
- Traditional restaurant
- Bar, cafe, indoor or at the counter
- Fast food, fast food to eat on site
- Fast food at the seller's premises, e.g. bakery, supermarket, shopping center
Example :
A bakery that offers small catering on-site invoice the products concerned (coffee, salad, croissants, yogurt, crisps, fruit per unit, etc.) at the intermediate rate of 10%.
2 - Catering service by a caterer "outside the walls" (family celebrations, etc.)
All the products served by a caterer at a family party, professional gathering, etc., are charged at the intermediate rate of 10%.
This service is considered traditional on-site dining.
3 - Dishes and food delivered (home, office, etc.)
Pizzas, sushi, ready meals, etc. delivered for immediate consumption are sold at the rate of 10%.
4 - Dishes and food sold for take-away
Immediate consumption
The sandwiches, quiches, pizzas, pancakes, chips, kebabs, burgers, salads, desserts, ready meals, etc. sold for a take-away meal are charged at the rate of 10%.
This rate applies equally whether the food is sold hot or cold.
Example :
One cooked dish to go to a caterer, for example an Asian caterer, is sold at an intermediate rate of 10%. However, if the caterer doesn't have a restaurant on site, the take-away dish is charged at a reduced rate of 5.5%.
The ice cream sold individually for immediate consumption, in jars, sticks, horns, etc. are charged at the intermediate rate of 10%.
Warning
Yogurt, chips and fruit per unit sold at a takeaway are charged at a reduced rate of 5.5%.
Retail mouth trade
All food sold in a retail trade, such as a butcher, a delicatessen, a baker, a fishmonger, etc. and all the food sold in supermarket shall be charged at the reduced rate of 5.5%.
This rate applies in the same way if the products are hermetically packaged (preserved, frozen, etc.) or sold in the fresh department.
These foods are considered to be intended for deferred consumption.
Example :
Bread, pastries, pastries, meats, cooked meats, prepared delicatessen, fish, cheese, grocery, frozen (ice cream and other), preserved foods, yogurts, cream, butter, vegetables, fruit, etc. are charged at the reduced rate of 5.5%.
Please note
The pastries containing alcohol (e.g. rum babas) are also sold at a reduced rate of 5.5%and chocolate topping and glazing products considered as desserts.
Meals prepared by a caterer, if there is no restaurant on site, are also charged at a reduced rate of 5.5%.
5 - Confectionery, chocolate and chocolate products, caviar, margarines
In-store
Confectionery, chocolate products, margarines and caviar have a 20% when sold in containers suitable for storage.
They are intended for deferred consumption.
In the restaurant
The intermediate rate at 10% applies to confectionery, chocolate products, margarines and caviar when sold as part of the catering.
They are intended for immediate consumption.
6 - Seafood platter
Seafood served for immediate consumption, i.e. open seafood, is charged at the intermediate rate of 10%.
Example :
These are seafood platters served in traditional restaurants but also during a takeaway or even sold by a food truck. On the other hand, seafood bought from a fishmonger or at a supermarket's fish shop is charged at the reduced rate of 5.5%.
- Traditional restaurant, bar, cafe, brasserie
- Fast food on site
- Take-away catering
- Food-truck, pizza truck, street vendor
- Food market
- Large food area
- Retail food trade: butcher, delicatessen, baker, grocery store, cheese maker, fishmonger, small supermarket, etc.
- Caterer with table service (family celebrations, weddings, seminars, etc.)
- Restaurant space located in a performance establishment (theater, cabaret, cinema, circus, etc.), a museum, a sports space, a shopping center, a service station, a disco, etc.
- Vending machine for drinks or food products
- Catering service on board trains or boats
- Board and half-board hotel, including breakfast included in the price of the night (bed and breakfast, hotel-restaurant, etc.)
The trader has the choice between 2 methods of rate allocation, each of which is accepted by the tax authorities.
If the same sale involves more than one VAT rate, the seller can apply to each product sound corresponding rate.
We're talking about breakdown of revenue.
But if he chooses not to apply the distribution, then the entire invoice is subject to the VAT rate highest.
So the seller has interest to be broken down the rates on its various products.
Example :
If a food truck sells a sandwich accompanied by an alcoholic beverage without making any ventilation, the VAT charged on that sale will be the highest, that is to say that of the alcoholic beverage, at the full rate of 20%. If it distributes its VAT rates, it will apply the intermediate rate of 10% on the sandwich and the normal 20% on the drink.
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