The KRG currently levies an 80 percent tariff on alcohol imports, Samal Abdulrahman, director general of KRG's customs, told Rudaw.
He said they will not amend this to match Baghdad’s 200 percent tariff until the central and regional governments reach an agreement on customs fees.
Control over customs is one of the issues to be hammered out between Erbil and Baghdad. The KRG has control over its international borders and has its own customs authority. As part of efforts to exert federal control over the region in the wake of Kurdistan’s independence vote, Baghdad has sought control of the borders.
An initial proposal would see joint administration of customs with the two governments adopting a single tariff system. The matter of who should receive revenues, however, remains a key issue.
Iraq recently passed legislation to impose a 200 percent tariff on alcohol imports.
"A tariff of 200 percent of the value of the imported goods is imposed on imported alcoholic drinks and to be charged at the border crossing," read a section of the Iraqi law that was published this month in Waqia al-Iraqiya, the official gazette of Iraq.
Baghdad sent a copy of the law to the Iraqi finance ministry, customs commission, and to the Kurdistan Region's representative in the Council of Ministers.
Masoud Haider is a Gorran MP from Kurdistan on Iraq's finance committee. He explained that the 200-percent tariff has been the norm over the past two years and it was previously 300 percent.
"The law should be applied throughout Iraq in all the border points," he told Rudaw English on Tuesday. "The Kurdistan Region can also benefit from the law."
He explained that the KRG understands smuggling or bootlegging alcohol does occur, while discouraging such activities.
The high tariff was slammed as a move against Iraq’s minorities by the executive director of Yezidi activist group Yazda.
On Twitter, Murad Ismael described the tax as “a stunning violation of Iraqi constitution & laws. While the country does not tax cigarettes, toxic food, unsafe cars, and all terrible products getting in. They are going after this industry that is already suffering."
He argued that Iraq is not a Muslim country and that minorities who do not prohibit alcoholic drinks should not be taxed for practicing their freedom.
"Iraq should fight terrorism with modernization not with [applying] religious codes to people's life. Beer won't kill people," he tweeted.
In 2017, Iraq "officially" banned alcohol; however, it can be found in the country's two largest cities — Baghdad and Mosul.
Licensed alcohol shops and restaurants are prevalent in Kurdish cities, especially in Christian areas.
Haider noted that if the federal and regional governments have a disagreement on a law, the parliament in the Kurdistan Region has constitutional authority to pass their own laws.
"The parliament has the authority under the [Iraqi] constitution. It can be different than the federal government," said Haider. "They don't consider it a part of a federal state. They don't have control on the borders."
Public intoxication is illegal in the Kurdistan Region. Last May, police in Kirkuk publicly shaved the hair of more than 70 people for allegedly drinking alcohol in public places and harassing pedestrians.
Several wineries have cropped up in the Kurdistan Region, including one in Rawanduz, where the vintner aims to produce 10,000 liters of wine per year.
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