Panama — agent-bev Library

Market status

Licensed. Panama uses a licensed private-channel model for beverage alcohol. Alcohol sellers operate through municipal liquor-sale licensing or Informe Previo Favorable and the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MICI) Aviso de Operación, with separate food, customs and tax controls for import, storage, distribution and fiscal marking. Law 55 distinguishes wholesale outlets, closed-container retail outlets and open-container on-premise outlets; this classification reflects that operators obtain activity-specific authorisations.

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Who can trade

Import: A commercial food importer works through the Agencia Panameña de Alimentos (APA) accreditation and notification system. The APA page describes accreditation for importers and access to import notifications and sanitary registration procedures. Alcohol import shipments must be notified to the food authority before arrival and be supported by the listed documents, including the food-safety certificate or equivalent from the origin authority, certificate of origin, commercial invoice and customs pre-declaration. Import and distribution premises also require a Ministry of Health (MINSA) sanitary operating permit where the activity is import and/or distribution of foods.

Wholesale and distribution: Law 55 classifies establishments dedicated to wholesale alcohol sale separately from bodegas and on-premise outlets. Wholesale outlets are the category for sales of nine or more litres and must obtain the mayor’s liquor licence and the MICI commercial authorisation. Wholesale operators must keep purchase, sales and daily stock records for fiscal supervision. A distributor/importer’s Aviso de Operación and MINSA sanitary operating permit should show the food import, storage or distribution activity.

Manufacture and fiscal control: Domestic production or elaboration of alcohols, aguardientes, whiskies and gins is subject to General Directorate of Revenue (DGI) licensing and fiscal control, alongside MICI industrial licensing and MINSA operating permission. DGI procedures also cover liquor import requests, excise stamps, custody and safety seals where applicable.

Business-to-business online sale: Not yet sourced.

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Customs and duty

Tariff headings: Beer: 2203, beer made from malt. Wine: 2204, wine of fresh grapes, including fortified wine and certain grape must. Cider: 2206, other fermented beverages, including cider, perry, mead, sake and qualifying mixtures. Spirits: 2208, undenatured ethyl alcohol below 80% alcohol by volume, spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages.

Import duty framework: Use the National Import Tariff at the full Panamanian tariff line, origin and preference level. The Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas (ANA) publishes an interactive National Tariff tool, and the tariff has been published in the Official Gazette. Import for consumption covers goods entering from abroad or from a Panamanian free zone or free port to remain definitively in the customs territory; it requires payment of the import taxes due and compliance with customs formalities.

Excise: The Impuesto Selectivo al Consumo (ISC) on alcoholic beverages is structured by degree of alcohol content per litre of beverage. DGI guidance identifies liquor, wine, beer and spirit categories in the ISC implementation. Imported goods are also subject to DGI controls such as excise stamps and custody or safety-seal procedures where applicable.

Territorial treatment: Free zones are customs regimes under customs control where goods may be handled without payment of import duties while they remain in the regime. Entry from a free zone into the fiscal/customs territory for consumption is treated as importation and requires the applicable customs and tax treatment. Free-zone goods must still comply with sanitary, health, environmental and economic regulations required for the rest of the fiscal territory.

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Labelling

Required language: Labels submitted for MINSA sanitary registration must be in Spanish, Panama’s official language, and must follow national rules and Codex food-labelling standards.

Core food label particulars: The sanitary-registration label file covers the food name, ingredient list, net content and drained weight in metric units, manufacturer identity and address, country of origin, lot identification, expiry date, plant number, sanitary registration number and use or storage instructions.

Alcohol strength and liquor particulars: A national or imported liquor container must bear a label stating whether it is national or the country of origin, the manufacturer, the name and class of liquor, the liquid content and the alcoholic strength. Sale is not allowed if the required liquor label is missing.

Allergens and sensitive populations: Labels must add allergen declarations or statements for ingredients that may affect sensitive populations; the official example is the phenylalanine statement for aspartame.

Origin: Food registration label particulars include country of origin. Alcohol-specific fiscal labelling also requires national-product or country-of-origin indication.

Label registration and changes: Food sanitary registration uses original labels or identical artwork; product samples must be presented as they will be distributed. Changes in labelling during the registration period require a formal change request and supporting documents.

General mandatory alcohol-health or pregnancy warning: Not yet sourced.

Specific wine labelling particulars: Not yet sourced.

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Age and sale limits

Legal purchase age: 18. Law 55 prohibits the supply or sale of intoxicating beverages to people under 18 throughout the Republic and prohibits their entry into cantinas.

Age checks and notices: Municipal rules require alcohol sellers to verify that the buyer is not a minor, normally by checking the personal identity card, and to display notices prohibiting supply to minors. Panama District rules apply the age check to wholesale and retail alcohol sales in open or closed containers.

Sale-hour and channel limits: Law 55 allows the municipal mayor to set hours for retail alcohol establishments. In Panama District, a retail alcohol establishment without a night permit must start after 10:00 and close by 23:59; operation after midnight requires a night permit. Colón District rules also require the corresponding night permit for alcohol sale after midnight. Pharmacies may not sell alcoholic beverages, and special restrictions also apply to alcohol handled in areas physically shared with pharmacies.

Regional layers: Municipalities issue their own licences, night permits, event conditions and temporary prohibitions. Remaining municipal and regional premises and sale-hour rules: Not yet sourced.

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Protected names

Protection framework: Panama protects geographical indications, indications of provenance and denominations of origin under the industrial-property law administered by the Dirección General del Registro de la Propiedad Industrial (DIGERPI). MICI guidance states that applications identify the sign, delimited production or processing area, product, essential characteristics, technical study and use/control regulation. Foreign indications may be registered when their origin-country protection is proved.

Register effect: The law creates a special DIGERPI register. Registered indications, indications of provenance and denominations of origin have indefinite duration while the conditions that justified protection remain, and producers in the delimited area may use the protected name if they comply with its rules.

Verified spirit examples: Seco and Seco de Panamá are identified in the Panama-Mexico treaty annex as Panamanian indications of provenance. Tequila and Mezcal are listed in that treaty as Mexican denominations of origin for which Panama grants treaty protection, subject to its national procedures.

Protected wine names in force: Not yet sourced.

Protected beer names in force: Not yet sourced.

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GTIN authority

Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) member organisation: GS1 Panamá. GS1 Panamá describes itself as the official organisation responsible for providing European Article Number and Universal Product Code (EAN/UPC) barcodes in Panama and offers GS1/GTIN product identification services.

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Not yet sourced

Business-to-business online sale; remaining municipal/regional premises and sale-hour rules; general mandatory alcohol-health or pregnancy warning; specific wine labelling particulars; protected wine names in force; protected beer names in force: Not yet sourced.