nz.bev-cuvee.org · AS OF 2026-11-10

New Zealand

The business-to-business (B2B) hub for beverage alcohol: the trade rulebook for beverage alcohol, country by country, each section with its official sources.

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As of 2026-11-10

Market status

Licensed. New Zealand uses a licensing model for sales to the public, with active licences recorded through the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority (ARLA) register and local district licensing committees. Trade-only sales by makers, importers, distributors and wholesalers to other trade operators or licence holders are separately exempted in the alcohol statute. Some legacy licensing-trust districts retain local monopoly rights for specified on-licences and off-licences until a competition proposal is carried.

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Who can trade

Import: Commercial importers use Customs clearance arrangements, including client-code and Trade Single Window processes where applicable. Food and beverage importers must be registered as food importers. Wine and beverage imports must meet biosecurity, Food Act, Food Regulations and Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code requirements.

Wholesale and distribution: The Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act exempts sales or supply, in the course of business as a maker, importer, distributor or wholesaler of alcohol, to another maker, importer, distributor or wholesaler, or to a licence holder. Sales to the public require the relevant alcohol licence. Wine businesses that make, blend, store, bottle or package wine usually need a registered Wine Standards Management Plan (WSMP), subject to exemptions. Excise manufacture or storage before home consumption may require a Customs-controlled area (CCA) licence.

Business-to-business (B2B) online sale: Trade-only electronic ordering can rely on the same underlying wholesale exemption if the parties and sale fall within it. If the seller uses an off-licence remote-sale model, remote-sale requirements apply, including licence information display, age-verification steps and delivery restrictions. Independent B2B online platform, broker and payment-intermediary treatment: Not yet sourced.

Local licensing trusts: In affected trust districts, the statutory monopoly provisions can restrict hotel or tavern on-licences and some off-licences to the licensing trust unless changed by competition poll.

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Customs and duty

Tariff headings: Beer: 2203. Beer made from malt. Wine: 2204. Wine of fresh grapes, including fortified wine and certain grape must. Cider: 2206. Other fermented beverages, including cider, perry, mead and mixtures. Spirits: 2208. Undenatured ethyl alcohol of less than 80% alcohol by volume, spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages.

Import duty: New Zealand Customs Service publishes the Working Tariff Document (WTD), including downloadable Chapter 22 pages and the Excise and Excise-equivalent Duties Table (EEDT). The payable treatment depends on the full tariff item, statistical key, origin, preference and whether the product is for further manufacture in a licensed manufacturing area. A four-digit heading alone does not determine the duty treatment.

Excise: Alcohol made and consumed in New Zealand is subject to excise duty; imported alcohol is subject to excise-equivalent duty. The EEDT lists alcohol item numbers and units. Depending on the product class, duty units use litres of product or litres of alcohol. Customs guidance explains litres of alcohol as product volume multiplied by alcoholic strength. Exported excise goods are not charged duty.

Territorial treatment: Customs and excise sources reviewed are national New Zealand Customs Service instruments. Duty suspension or control is handled through Customs-controlled areas and licensed manufacturing areas rather than provincial alcohol-licensing regions. Customs treatment for Realm territories or other territorial departures: Not yet sourced.

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Labelling

Required language(s): Food labels for New Zealand sale must be in English, easy to read and meet the Food Act, Fair Trading Act and Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. Over-labelling may be used to correct imported labels if the new label is in English, easy to read and firmly attached.

Mandatory warnings: Retail alcoholic drinks containing more than 1.15% alcohol by volume need the prescribed pregnancy warning label if labelled after 1 August 2023. Product-dependent warning or advisory statements can also apply, including for specified ingredients.

Alcohol strength and standard drinks: Drinks containing 0.5% alcohol by volume or more must state alcohol content and the approximate number of standard drinks. Drinks at or below 1.15% alcohol by volume use the required wording for low-strength alcohol content; drinks above that threshold state alcohol content as a percentage or millilitres per 100 millilitres.

Allergen lines: Required allergen declarations apply to alcoholic drinks where relevant, including added sulphites. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) guide notes exemptions for cereals containing gluten in beer and spirits, fish used as isinglass in beer or wine, and milk where alcohol is distilled from whey.

Origin and wine particulars: Country-of-origin labelling is generally voluntary except for wine. New Zealand grape wine labels must meet extra country-origin and 85% rules for vintage, variety and area claims; imported wine must still meet the Food Standards Code. Bulk wine treatment and export labels can differ.

Label registration: Pre-market label registration or approval for ordinary domestic sale: Not yet sourced.

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Age and sale limits

Legal purchase age: 18. The Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act defines purchase age as 18 for sales or purchases on licensed premises, and official guidance states that minors cannot purchase alcohol.

Sale-hour limits: National maximum trading hours are 08:00–04:00 for on-licences and clubs, and 07:00–23:00 for off-licences. A licence can set shorter hours. Local councils may set different maximum hours through a local alcohol policy, which licensing bodies consider in applications.

Remote sale: Remote sales may be made at any time, but delivery is restricted overnight and on specified public-holiday periods, subject to licence conditions and any local alcohol policy.

Channel limits: Supermarket and grocery off-licences are limited to qualifying beer, mead, fruit or vegetable wine, grape wine and certain culinary flavourings at the statutory strength limit; spirits are outside that channel. Wholesale-only delivery-hour treatment: Not yet sourced.

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Protected names

Protection framework: The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) maintains the geographical indication (GI) register. It covers New Zealand and foreign wine or spirit GIs, and European Union (EU) free trade agreement GIs for wines, spirits and other goods, including beer. A registered GI may be used only where the product meets the relevant criteria; wine GI use generally requires the prescribed link to grapes from the named place.

Verified wine examples: New Zealand, North Island and South Island are enduring GIs. Marlborough, Hawke’s Bay and Central Otago are registered wine GIs. These examples are not exhaustive.

Verified spirit examples: Scotch Whisky is a registered spirits GI. Armagnac and Grappa are EU GI terms with specific New Zealand treatment.

Verified beer examples: Bayerisches Bier and Münchener Bier have phase-out treatment; České pivo and Českobudějovické pivo have Czech-language-specific protection.

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GTIN authority

Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) member organisation: GS1 New Zealand. It identifies itself as the local GS1 member organisation and provides GS1 Company Prefix and GTIN barcode licensing options.

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Not yet sourced

Independent B2B online platform, broker and payment-intermediary treatment; customs treatment for Realm territories or other territorial departures; pre-market label registration or approval for ordinary domestic sale; wholesale-only delivery-hour treatment: Not yet sourced.

Library catalogue: bev-cuvee.org · this page as data: mcp.bev-cuvee.org/mcp (get_rulebook, code nz)

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