
Article 1 
By way of derogation from Article 90 of the Treaty, Portugal is hereby authorised to apply a rate of excise duty lower than the full rate on alcohol laid down in Article 3 of Directive 92/84/EEC in the autonomous region of Madeira, to locally produced and consumed rum and liqueurs, and in the autonomous region of the Azores, to locally produced and consumed liqueurs and eaux-de-vie.
Article 2 
The derogation referred in Article 1 shall be confined:

1.. in Madeira

((a)) to rum as defined in category 1 of Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2008 on the definition, description, presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of spirit drinks, having the geographical indication ‘Rum da Madeira’ referred to in category 1 of Annex III of that Regulation,
((b)) to liqueurs and ‘crème de’ as defined in categories 32 and 33 respectively of Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 produced from regional fruit or plants;
2.. in the Azores

((a)) to liqueurs and ‘crème de’ as defined in categories 32 and 33 respectively of Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 produced from regional fruit or raw materials,
((b)) to eaux-de-vie made from wine or grape marc having the characteristics and qualities defined in categories 4 and 6 of Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008.
Article 3 
The reduced rate of excise duty applicable to the products referred to in Article 1 may be lower than the minimum rate of excise duty on alcohol set by Directive 92/84/EEC, but may not be more than 75 % lower than the standard national excise duty on alcohol.
Article 4 
By 31 December 2011 at the latest, Portugal shall send the Commission a report to enable it to assess whether the reasons which justified the granting of the reduced rate still exist.
Article 5 
This Decision shall apply from 1 January 2009 until 31 December 2013.
Article 6 
This Decision is addressed to the Portuguese Republic.
Done at Brussels, 10 November 2009.
For the Council
The President
A. BORG