Czechia extends the reduced VAT rate to serving all non-alcoholic drinks from 1 January 2027
This page records one dated change. For the rules in Czech Republic as they stand today, see the Czech Republic guide →
- Jurisdiction
- Czech Republic
- Tax
- VAT
- Change type
- Rate change
- Status
- Enacted
- Impact
- Action required
- Announced
- 17 September 2026
- Effective
- 1 January 2027
- Authority
- Poslanecká sněmovna Parlamentu České republiky
- Systems
- POS, Tax engine, Invoicing, ERP
- Verified
- Fetched from official source · high confidence
Czech restaurants, cafés and other caterers serving non-alcoholic drinks.
Restaurants/caterers and POS/ERP vendors: remap non-alcoholic drinks served in catering to the reduced-rate code for supplies from 1 January 2027.
POSTax engineInvoicingERP
Part Three of the Czech act on sales records (Sněmovní tisk 189, signed by the President on 17 September 2026 and sent for publication in the Sbírka zákonů on 1 October 2026) amends Annex 2 of the VAT Act so that the reduced-rate catering item covers the serving of non-alcoholic drinks generally (alcoholic drinks excluded), replacing the previous limitation to drinking water and defined 'selected drinks' (milk-type and similar non-alcoholic drinks). The act takes effect on 1 January 2027. The Sbírka zákonů number had not been located at capture.
What changed in detail
Part Three of the Czech act on sales records (Sněmovní tisk 189) was signed by the President on 17 September 2026 and sent for publication in the Sbírka zákonů on 1 October 2026. The Sbírka zákonů number had not been located at capture.
It amends Annex 2 of the VAT Act so that the reduced-rate catering item covers the serving of non-alcoholic drinks generally. Alcoholic drinks are excluded. This replaces the previous limitation to drinking water and defined “selected drinks” (milk-type and similar non-alcoholic drinks).
The act takes effect on 1 January 2027.
What it means
The practical change is that soft drinks, coffee and similar non-alcoholic drinks served in catering move to the reduced rate, while alcoholic drinks stay out of it. Caterers with mixed menus should expect to re-map drinks tax codes from 1 January 2027.
Drinks supplied before that date stay on the old treatment, so the switch applies by date of supply rather than date of invoice.
Proof
V příloze č. 2 v položce 56 se slova „nápojů jiných než pitné vody a vybraných“ nahrazují slovem „alkoholických“ a slova „podávání pitné vody a vybraných“ se nahrazují slovy „podávání jiných než alkoholických“.In Annex 2, item 56, the words "drinks other than drinking water and selected" are replaced by the word "alcoholic" and the words "serving of drinking water and selected" are replaced by the words "serving of other than alcoholic".
Archived from the official distribution · Sněmovní tisk 189 — text of the act as adopted (t018905.docx) · www.psp.cz