Key Takeaways
- Excise Tax in Seychelles applies to specific goods such as alcohol, tobacco, fuel, motor vehicles and lubricants, with additional levies including a sugar tax on drinks.
- Rates may be charged on a specific or ad valorem basis, and the tax can fall at local manufacture, on import, or when goods leave bonded warehouses.
- Businesses acting as excise manufacturers or warehouse operators face licensing and registration requirements alongside declaration, record-keeping and payment obligations.
- Relief is available through exemptions, remissions, rebates and refunds for cases such as exports, travellers and diplomats, with the regime subject to ongoing change.
Understanding Excise Tax in Seychelles
Excise tax in Seychelles, known locally as excise tax, is a consumption charge applied to specific categories of goods that are either manufactured within the country or brought in across its borders. It applies to alcohol, tobacco, motor vehicles, fuel, lubricants, and sugar-sweetened drinks, whether produced domestically or imported, and is administered by the Customs Division of the Seychelles Revenue Commission.
The regime is far from notional. A working excise framework has operated since 2009 and was recast in full by Act 27 of 2022, sitting alongside the 15% Value Added Tax and customs duties as a separate component of the indirect-tax system.
This article explains the legal foundation, the goods covered, how rates are calculated, the point at which the charge arises, and the registration and reporting duties that fall on businesses dealing in excisable goods. It will be most useful to foreign owners and investors importing into or manufacturing within the islands, and to advisers assessing the cost of bringing dutiable goods to market there.
Legal Basis: The Excise Tax Act and Its Regulations
The governing statute is the Excise Tax Act 2022 (Act 27 of 2022), which came into force on 30 December 2022 and replaced the original 2009 enactment. It provides a consolidated foundation for imposing and collecting the charge across all excisable categories.
Rates themselves are not set in the Act. Instead, they live in statutory instruments, which lets the Minister adjust them without returning to primary legislation.
The principal subsidiary rules in force include SI 110 of 2023 (the Excise Tax (Rates) Regulations 2023), SI 111 of 2023 (Remission, Rebate and Refund Regulations 2023), and SI 55 of 2023 (Imposition of Sugar Tax on Drinks Regulations 2023). A later amendment, SI 56 of 2024, revised the rate schedule and was gazetted on 14 August 2024.
Because excise rates are fixed through statutory instruments, they can change at short notice. Verify the prevailing figures against the SRC legislation register before pricing any import.
Earlier fuel-specific rules trace back to SI 26 of 2010 and the later fuel exemption regulations. A Glass Bottle Levy was added by SI 59 of 2018. Cabinet approved further amendments to both the customs tariff regulations and the rate schedule in July 2024, confirming how actively the amendment mechanism is used. The full register is published on the SRC legislation page.
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Goods Subject to Excise Tax (Alcohol, Tobacco, Fuel, Motor Vehicles & Lubricants)
The Customs and Excises unit confirms five core categories, covering both locally made and imported items. Each has its own treatment under the rate schedule.
- Alcohol: spirits including whisky, wine, beer, and other alcoholic beverages, charged on a per-litre basis.
- Tobacco: cigarettes, cigars, cheroots, snuff, and smoking and chewing tobacco.
- Fuel and lubricants: petroleum products carry specific per-litre charges, while lubricating oils attract an ad valorem rate.
- Motor vehicles: private and commercial passenger vehicles, with rates differentiated by cylinder capacity and an Environmental Levy added for most non-electric models.
- Sugar-sweetened drinks: handled as a distinct sub-category, addressed separately below.
The underlying purpose is twofold: to regulate consumption of these goods and to raise revenue. For a foreign business, the practical point is that the charge attaches to the product, regardless of where the importer is based.
How Excise Tax Rates Are Set: Specific vs. Ad Valorem Charges
Two methods of calculation operate side by side. A specific charge is a fixed sum per unit of product; an ad valorem charge is a percentage of the taxable value.
The contrast is easy to see in practice. Whisky carries a specific charge of SCR 268.40 per litre, while lubricating oil is taxed at 5% of taxable value.
Motor vehicles draw on both logic and a fixed Environmental Levy, with engine capacity driving the bands. The 2024 changes reshaped these figures, particularly to favour cleaner vehicles.
| Vehicle type | Engine capacity | Excise rate | Environmental Levy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-hybrid | Up to 1,600 cc | 50% | SCR 70,000 |
| Non-hybrid | 1,600–2,000 cc | 75% | — |
| Full hybrid | Below 1,600 cc | 10% (from 12.5%) | None |
| Full hybrid | 1,600–2,000 cc | 50% (from 75%) | SCR 50,000 (from 100,000) |
| Full hybrid | 2,000–2,500 cc | 75% (from 100%) | SCR 75,000 (from 175,000) |
| Full hybrid | Over 2,500 cc | 75% (from 100%) | SCR 100,000 (from 175,000) |
| Electric-motor chassis | — | 0% | — |
The electric-vehicle reform deserves emphasis. By a Cabinet decision of 25 July 2024, customs duty and excise tax on chassis fitted with electric motors were both cut to zero, leaving only the 15% VAT; previously such chassis bore 25% duty and 100% excise. The most recent amendment to the rate schedule is SI 56 of 2024.
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The Sugar Tax on Drinks and Other Special Levies
A sugar tax sits within the excise framework, first introduced in April 2019 and updated by SI 55 of 2023. It applies to drinks with sugar content above 5 grams per 100 ml, including flavoured milk, at a rate of SCR 4 per litre.
Importers of drink products must lodge a declaration of sugar content at the point of importation so the charge can be assessed. Fresh local fruit drinks without additives, and plain milk, fall outside it.
Two further levies sit alongside the main categories. The Glass Bottle Levy was introduced by SI 59 of 2018 as an amendment to Schedule 1 and applies to glass-bottled products. The Environmental Levy on motor vehicles is a fixed sum added at importation on top of the percentage excise rate, with amounts varying by engine capacity and vehicle type.
These levies were among the measures announced in the 2024 budget address delivered by Finance Minister Naadir Hassan on 3 November 2023.
The Point of Charge: Local Manufacture, Imports and Bonded Warehouses
The charge arises early. Most excisable goods become liable as soon as they are produced or imported, but payment can be deferred under a tax-suspension arrangement until the goods are released for consumption.
This deferral runs through the bonded-warehouse mechanism. Tax becomes payable on anything removed from, or consumed within, the bonded area.
Certain movements do not trigger the charge while goods remain under suspension:
- From the customs entry point to a bonded warehouse.
- Between two tax warehouses owned by the same operator.
- Between tax warehouses owned by different operators.
- From a tax warehouse to the customs exit point.
A registered manufacturer or warehouse operator may not remove excisable goods without first paying the tax. The only exceptions are where the Commissioner of Customs permits removal without payment, where bond security has been increased with the Commissioner's agreement, or where the tax is settled before the goods leave customs control. For imports outside any suspension arrangement, excise is assessed and collected at the seaport, airport, or post office together with customs duties.
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Licensing and Registration for Excise Manufacturers and Warehouse Operators
Anyone intending to manufacture excisable goods, or to store them for supply to ships, aircraft chandlers, or for export under tax suspension, must register with the SRC at the Excise Tax Unit of the Customs Division to obtain a licence. A dedicated brochure, "Registration of Excise Manufacturer", is available from the SRC downloads page.
Licensed operators carry detailed record-keeping duties. These cover an inventory register tracking goods exported, sold domestically, placed in duty-free shops, transferred, or destroyed; a sales register noting price, quantity, and customer details; a raw-materials register; and a production register recording start and end times, equipment used, raw-material types and quantities, and batch numbers.
Moving goods between warehouses is not automatic. Transfers require prior written approval from the Excise Tax Unit, supported by details of source and destination, estimated movement time, product information and quantities, and copies of purchase orders or invoices.
A separate Concessions unit verifies and monitors duty-free goods and oversees concessions for sectors such as education, tourism, health, the diplomatic corps, agriculture, and fisheries.
Compliance Obligations: Declarations, Record-Keeping and Payment
Imported goods must arrive with a customs declaration form that allows officers to establish the description, value, and intended use, and from there the duty and taxes due. For sugary drinks, the importer must additionally declare sugar content at importation.
Payment timing follows the point of charge. Excise on imports falls due at entry alongside customs duties; for registered manufacturers, it falls due when goods leave the warehouse or manufacturing area, unless a bond-based suspension applies. The SRC operates an e-payment system, with import payments made at the customs offices located at the seaport, airport, or post office.
Records must be retained for seven years, in English, French, or Creole, and include books, sales ledgers, expense and asset records, receipts, purchases, and banking data. Warehouse-to-warehouse movements under suspension require an approved application before any goods move.
The SRC imposes financial penalties on returns filed after the deadline, and interest accrues on unpaid tax from the due date until settlement. Where no return is received, the Commissioner General may issue an estimated assessment.
For business taxes generally, the filing deadline is 31 March of the year following the tax period. No separate excise return deadline distinct from import clearance applies to importers.
Exemptions, Remissions, Rebates and Refunds (Exports, Travellers and Diplomats)
Goods leaving the country are relieved of the charge. Excisable goods exported outside the islands are exempt, and the exporter must report the exported quantity within total production as proof of actual export.
Travellers aged 18 and over may bring in limited quantities free of excise for personal or household use:
- 200 cigarettes or 250 grams of tobacco.
- 2 litres of alcoholic beverages and 2 litres of wine.
- 200 ml of perfume or eau de toilette.
Goods imported by post for personal use, excluding tobacco and alcohol, carry a duty-free allowance of SCR 3,000 on customs value. Passengers under 18 may bring SCR 8,000 worth of other goods, plus 200 ml of perfume and one electronic item such as a tablet, telephone, or laptop.
Diplomatic relief operates under the Vienna Conventions of 1961 and 1963. Members of diplomatic missions and international organisations may import items free of duty for official and personal use according to rank, and may claim a refund of excise on fuel at SCR 8.50 per litre consumed, requested by Note Verbale or official letter. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sets out the procedure.
Remissions also reach specific cases: vehicles for persons with disabilities, and motor vehicles imported under an agreement with the Government. Any organisation seeking a remission or refund must apply in writing to the Commissioner, attaching a copy of the relevant agreement. The remission, rebate, and refund rules are consolidated in SI 111 of 2023.
Outlook and Recent Changes to Seychelles Excise Tax
The legislative base was rebuilt in two stages. Act 27 of 2022 provided a modernised primary framework from 30 December 2022, and the 2023 statutory instruments consolidated rates, remissions, and the sugar tax into fresh regulations.
Motor vehicle policy has become the most visible area of change. The 2024 budget reduced excise and the Environmental Levy on hybrid cars, and a July 2024 Cabinet decision cut duty and excise on electric-motor chassis to zero, leaving only VAT. SI 56 of 2024, gazetted on 14 August 2024, gave effect to these vehicle-related revisions.
Pick-up trucks were also reworked. Excise on twin-cab pick-ups, previously 50% to 100% depending on engine size, was reduced to a flat 40% across all capacities, with the Environmental Levy fixed at SCR 40,000.
The direction of travel is clear: the regime functions increasingly as a green-policy lever, cutting rates for cleaner vehicles while holding or raising them for high-emission, high-capacity ones. Because changes flow through statutory instruments, adjustments can be made quickly. Foreign importers should check the SRC legislation register and the Official Gazette for any instrument published after SI 56 of 2024 before committing to a shipment.
Conclusion
For a foreign business owner whose Seychelles operations touch any of the covered product categories, the real exposure is not the headline rate structure but the point-of-charge rules: where and when liability crystallises determines cash flow, bonded warehouse strategy, and whether relief mechanisms are even reachable. Getting that sequence wrong at entry is far harder to correct than anticipating it before incorporation or first shipment.
The exemption and refund provisions exist but carry conditions, and the regime continues to change, so the single most productive next step is confirming with local counsel whether your specific goods and trade flows qualify for relief before committing to an operational structure in Seychelles.
How Expanship Can Help Your Business in Seychelles
Expanship advises foreign-owned businesses on the excise treatment of goods they intend to import or manufacture, from confirming the applicable rate band to handling excise registration and warehouse-related obligations. That work fits within a wider set of services for an entity operating in the jurisdiction.
- Company formation and structuring for foreign owners
- Registered agent and registered office services
- Excise, VAT, and business tax registration and filing
- Ongoing compliance management and statutory reporting
- Accounting and bookkeeping, including record retention
- Introductions to banking partners
To discuss your situation, contact Expanship Seychelles for a tailored assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. A working excise regime has operated since 2009 and was recast by Act 27 of 2022, applying to alcohol, tobacco, motor vehicles, fuel, lubricants, and sugar-sweetened drinks. It is administered by the Customs Division of the Seychelles Revenue Commission.
It depends on the goods. Some items carry a specific charge, a fixed amount per unit, such as SCR 268.40 per litre on whisky, while others carry an ad valorem charge, a percentage of taxable value, such as 5% on lubricating oil. Motor vehicles combine a percentage rate with a fixed Environmental Levy keyed to engine capacity.
For imports, the charge is assessed and collected at the point of entry, at the seaport, airport, or post office, together with customs duties. Payment can be deferred only where the goods enter a bonded warehouse under a tax-suspension arrangement, in which case it falls due when they are released for consumption.
No. Excisable goods exported outside the country are exempt from the charge. The exporter must report the quantity of exported goods within total production as evidence that the export actually took place.
The sugar tax is an excise charge of SCR 4 per litre on drinks containing more than 5 grams of sugar per 100 ml, including flavoured milk. Fresh local fruit drinks without additives and plain milk are excluded, and importers must declare the sugar content of their products at importation.
A Cabinet decision of 25 July 2024 cut customs duty and excise on chassis fitted with electric motors to zero, leaving only the 15% VAT. Full hybrids also saw reductions, with sub-1,600 cc models falling to 10% excise and no Environmental Levy, reflecting the use of excise as a green-policy instrument.
Legal Disclaimer
The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or professional advice. While we strive to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of the content, laws and regulations are subject to change, and the application of laws can vary widely based on specific facts and circumstances.
Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel tailored to their individual situation. Expanship and its authors disclaim any liability for actions taken or not taken based on the content of this article.
For specific advice regarding your business setup, compliance requirements, or any legal matters, please consult with qualified legal and tax professionals in the relevant jurisdiction.
