Carbonated drinks
A taxable category under Article 3 of the Excise Tax Law. A trade name alone is not enough; check the product description and NBR list entry.
Illustrative exampleTax base BHD 0.800 → Excise Tax BHD 0.400.
Last checked: 26 August 2026
Is my product taxable, and at what rate?
Start with the category, then verify the exact product in the NBR list. A name or package can mislead; the official product record is the practical checkpoint.
Currently published rates
Three categories in Bahrain's Law
These rates are stated in Article 3 of Law No. 40 of 2017 and are published by the National Bureau for Revenue in its FAQs and Excise overview.
Energy drinks
Taxed at 100%. Classification depends on the product's nature and data, not merely whether the pack uses the word “energy”.
Illustrative exampleTax base BHD 1.000 → Excise Tax BHD 1.000.
Tobacco and its derivatives
The category covers officially listed tobacco products and derivatives; NBR examples include cigarettes, shisha, molasses tobacco and electronic-smoking products.
Illustrative exampleTax base BHD 2.000 → Excise Tax BHD 2.000.
Examples assume the stated amount is the correct tax base before Excise Tax and VAT; they are not pricing for a real product.
Verification method
Do not decide from the trade name alone
The legal category is the starting point, but the practical answer is completed through the official product list, which is updated periodically for current products and prices.
1. Identify the possible category
Review the description, ingredients, marketing and use. Similar packaging does not determine classification.
2. Search for the exact product
Use the Excise Goods List and search by brand, product name and unique code; the list carries the rate, price and product data.
3. Resolve a missing product before import
If the product is excisable by nature but absent from the list, it must be registered with NBR before import. No search result does not automatically mean non-taxable.
Decision boundaries
What does the search result mean?
The product appears in the NBR list
Treat it as excisable using the category, rate, price and validity dates shown in its record.
The product is absent but appears to fall within a category
Do not infer exemption. Propose adding or amending the product through official channels before import or release.
The product resembles a category but its description is unclear
Stop at “verification required”. Review the label, ingredients and customs classification, and obtain NBR confirmation where needed.
How does calculation begin?
The rate alone is not enough — the correct tax base matters
Under the current approach, tax uses the rate and retail selling price excluding Excise Tax and VAT. For imports, the higher of the listed price and the price declared in the customs declaration is used.
Tax base×Category rate=Excise Tax
For details and examples, open the “Value and tax calculation” workstream; this page focuses on category and rate.
Important legislative notice
What did the 2026 Law change — and what did it not change?
Law No. 35 of 2026 ratified the GCC Agreement Amendment Annex, allowing tax to be set as a percentage of value, an amount per unit, or both. Ratifying that framework does not by itself set new operational product amounts in Bahrain. Madar therefore does not present proposed bands or amounts as effective and keeps the current rates above until an effective national instrument is published and NBR updates its operational data.
Sources used by this page
Law No. 40 of 2017, NBR's Excise overview, FAQs, Excise Goods List and customs-declaration guidance.