🥃 Can I distil my own rakija (fruit brandy) at home in Croatia?

With conditions

Quick answer

Yes — up to 50 litres of rakija a year per household, without a cent of excise. Since the amendment to the Excise Duties Act (NN 144/2021) transposed EU Directive 2020/1151, a small producer of spirits is a natural person who distils from their own fruit grown on land they own or lease, using a simple still, and may make up to 50 litres of finished spirit a year (whatever its strength) for themselves, their household and their guests. Up to that limit no excise is calculated or paid. What the whole internet still repeats — a flat fee of 100 or 200 kuna per still and a 20-litre limit of pure alcohol — is long dead: that regime ended in 2021. The myth that "home rakija is illegal anyway" is also false — it is legal, but selling even one litre is not allowed.

📋 The rules

Who is a "small producer": a natural person who distils from fruit they grow themselves on owned or leased land, with a simple still, up to 50 litres of finished spirit a year per household — for their own use and that of their household and guests (Excise Duties Act, NN 144/2021).
Up to 50 litres there is no excise: a small producer who stays within that limit neither calculates nor pays the duty, and need not visit the customs office to pay any flat fee as before.
The old regime is scrapped: the former annual flat fee of 100 kuna (a still up to 100 litres) or 200 kuna (over 100 litres) and the 20-litre pure-alcohol limit no longer apply — the figures still circulating online are out of date.
Selling is banned: a small producer may not sell a single litre; the moment the spirit is placed on the market the exemption ends and the person becomes an ordinary excise payer.
Above 50 litres or for sale: the rakija is then treated like any other excise good — you must register in the excise-payers register with the Customs Administration and pay alcohol excise; the remaining duties are set out in the Customs Administration leaflet.

🔓 Exceptions

Fruit you did not grow yourself: the exemption is tied to your own fruit from land you own or lease — someone distilling from bought fruit or pomace formally falls outside the small-producer definition.
Guests and gifts are fine, the market is not: you may offer the rakija to your household and guests, but any sale or placing on the market breaks the exemption and triggers excise and possible offence liability.
Ethanol for fuel or other uses is not "rakija to drink": the exemption covers only fruit spirit for personal consumption, not the production of alcohol for other purposes.

⚠️ Penalties & fines

As long as you stay below 50 litres and do not sell, there is no excise and no fine — that is the whole point of the exemption. Trouble starts when the limit is crossed or the rakija is sold: you then failed to pay the alcohol excise you owed, so on top of the debt and default interest comes an offence procedure under the Excise Duties Act. Undeclared production and off-the-books selling are treated as excise evasion; the Customs Administration can seize spirit placed on the market unlawfully and, in serious cases, the equipment too. What many do not expect: selling rakija without registering also drags you into undeclared business activity (a trade or family farm, VAT, inspection), where the fines dwarf the value of the rakija itself. That is why "a few litres to friends for cash" is far more expensive in law than it looks.

📎 Official sources

Last verified: 2026-07-12

❓ Frequently asked

How much rakija may I distil without excise?

Up to 50 litres of finished spirit a year per household, whatever its strength, for your own use and that of your household and guests. Up to that limit you neither calculate nor pay excise, but you may not sell the drink.

Does the 100 or 200 kuna flat fee per still still apply?

No, that regime was abolished by the 2021 amendment to the Excise Duties Act, which introduced the 50-litre exemption. The figures of 100 and 200 kuna and the 20-litre pure-alcohol limit are out of date today, even though they are still widely quoted.

May I sell or give away my home rakija?

You may give it away and offer it to guests, but a small producer may not sell it. The moment you place the rakija on the market you lose the exemption and become an ordinary excise payer who must register and pay the duty.

Must I distil strictly from my own fruit?

Yes, the exemption is tied to fruit you grow yourself on land you own or lease. Someone distilling from bought fruit or pomace formally falls outside the definition of a small producer of spirits, and the exemption does not apply to them.

What if I produce more than 50 litres?

The rakija then becomes an ordinary excise good: you must register in the excise-payers register with the Customs Administration and pay alcohol excise. The detailed duties of small producers are set out in the Customs Administration information leaflet.

🔎 Common searches

What people search to land here:

“distilling rakija at home croatia”
“home rakija excise 50 litres”
“fine for distilling rakija without registering”
“do i need to register a rakija still”
“can you sell homemade rakija”
“small producer of spirits croatia”