Khaberni - Bandar Alkhorayef, the Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, revealed that the new tax policy concerning sugar in beverages will be implemented starting from January 1, 2026, noting that this issue was among the most prominent raised by industrialists in the past period and has been resolved.
Quoting the newspaper "Okaz", Alkhorayef explained that addressing the sugar tax on beverages was a good experience in negotiation among various entities, including the Ministry of Finance, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, and the Ministry of Health.
He stressed that the objective was to establish a policy that achieves a balance between preserving public health and reducing sugar consumption, while allowing the industry room for innovation and product development.
He added that the changes in tax policy came after reaching a comprehensive consensus among the concerned parties, pointing out that the issue was more complex due to also involving coordination at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) level.
He mentioned that the industrial sector in Saudi Arabia, like other countries around the world, faces ongoing challenges due to numerous variables and crises, saying: "I was once an industrialist, and I know that the problems of the sector do not end, but the Kingdom has proven its complete seriousness over the past years in cooperating with the private sector to face these challenges."
In October last year, the Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries adopted a decision to modify the methodology for imposing excise tax on sweetened beverages to be based on the total sugar content in the drink.
This methodology is known as the progressive volumetric approach, which calculates the tax value by identifying tiered brackets for sweetened beverages based on the total sugar content in every 100 ml of the ready-to-drink sweetened beverage falling within that bracket, instead of the current method of imposing excise tax on sweetened beverages which is done based on a fixed rate of 50% calculated from the retail price of the taxed sweetened beverage.
Sweetened beverages refer to any products to which a source of sugar or artificial sweeteners or other sweeteners has been added for the purpose of consumption as a drink, including beverages in various forms; such as ready-to-drink beverages, concentrates, powders, gels, extracts, or any form that can be converted to a drink.
