The government will lift the restriction on the number of duty-free bottles of liquor that travelers can bring in from overseas to boost the duty-free shop sector and reduce the patent fees by half.
Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy and Minister of Strategy and Finance, noted at a press briefing held at the Government Complex Sejong on the 23rd that, "We will remove the two-bottle restriction on duty-free liquor, allowing them to be brought in without limits if they are under 2 liters and $400."
In the future, the restriction on the number of liquor bottles that can be brought in from abroad will be eased. Currently, travelers can bring in up to two bottles (under 2 liters) worth up to $400 duty-free, but the bottle limit will be eliminated.
Choi continued, noting that, "Considering the sluggish duty-free shop market, we will cut patent fees by 50%," and added, "As a result of this measure, patent fees in the duty-free sector will decrease from approximately 40 billion won annually to 20 billion won, beginning with payments due in April 2025."
The patent fee is a system where a certain percentage of sales is collected as a means of social contribution by duty-free shops. It is currently applied variably according to the sales scale of duty-free shops: 0.1% for annual sales up to 200 billion won, 0.5% for sales from 200 billion to less than 1 trillion won, and 1% for sales over 1 trillion won. The rate for duty-free shops operated by small and medium-sized enterprises is around 0.01%.
Considering that the domestic duty-free sector has been facing difficulties due to changes in global consumption patterns and intensifying competition with overseas duty-free shops, despite a recovery in foreign tourism following COVID-19, the government explained it had formulated this plan.