Luxembourg, July 18 - Sweden has breached European Union rules by taxing beer less than wine, an adviser to the bloc's top court said on Wednesday.
The European Commission, which polices EU rules on tax and customs, had accused Sweden of using its tax system to favour beer, which is mainly produced locally, over wine, which is imported.
Paolo Mengozzi, an Advocate General to the European Court of Justice, said the tax regime could harm consumption of wine.
"...no matter what parameter is taken into consideration to make the comparison (volume, strength of alcohol or price of product), the categories of wine which compete with beer are subject to a levy that is significantly higher than what is applied to this drink," the Advocate General said.
Wine containing 12.5 percent alcohol is taxed about 20 percent more than beer, while 11 percent wine is taxed 36 percent more than beer, the adviser said in a court document.
The court backs the adviser's opinion in a majority of cases.
The Commission had argued that indirect discrimination against wine was likely to distort competition between goods produced locally and those that were imported.
Sweden has already clashed this year with the court over alcohol.
In June, the court ruled that a Swedish law banning citizens from importing alcohol themselves, to bypass a state-owned monopoly known as Systembolaget, was unjustified as it blocked the free movement of goods.