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Checking DGAE alcohol price caps in restaurants and hotels
In French Polynesia, hotels, guesthouses and restaurants approved under the special tax scheme sell some alcoholic drinks tax-free, at regulated prices. For each alcohol, the maximum price starts from the purchase price excluding tax multiplied by the applicable coefficient, before service charge and VAT. Rongo compares every menu price with that maximum.
Updated on · Lire ce guide en français
The applicable framework
The scheme is based on loi du pays no. 2025-8 of 28 May 2025 and arrêté no. 942 CM of 30 June 2025. The law came into force on 1 June 2025, and approval agreements under the previous scheme ceased to apply on 1 December 2025. Approval is requested from the DGAE.
The coefficients and calculation rules that apply to your outlet are those of your approval and of the texts in force: check them with the DGAE.
How the maximum price is calculated
- Maximum price excluding tax: purchase price excluding tax multiplied by the coefficient of the alcohol category.
- Maximum price including tax: that amount plus the applicable service charge and VAT.
- Gap: menu price including tax minus maximum price including tax, in XPF and as a percentage.
The check must be repeated whenever a purchase price changes: a menu price that was compliant last month can exceed the cap after a supplier price cut.
What Rongo does
- For each alcohol, Rongo checks the purchase price excluding tax, the coefficient set for its category, the service charge and VAT together.
- Each price is rated compliant, warning or over the cap; the warning threshold is configurable.
- An alert log keeps the history.
- Rongo monitors and alerts: it does not file any declaration for you.
Rongo imports Excel export files from your ERP and your POS: there is no real-time connection to these tools.
Frequently asked questions
Who is covered by regulated alcohol prices?
Outlets approved under the special tax scheme for alcoholic drinks consumed on site: classified tourist accommodation, guesthouses and restaurants holding a small or full restaurant licence.
Does Rongo handle the DGAE formalities?
No. Rongo calculates the maximum price of each alcohol, flags gaps and keeps an alert log. It does not file any declaration and does not replace your approval.
Where can I check the rules in force?
With the DGAE of French Polynesia, regulated activities and professions unit, and in loi du pays no. 2025-8 and its implementing arrêté no. 942 CM.
Further reading
- How to calculate the food cost of a dish
- Menu engineering: the Kasavana & Smith method explained
- Managing F&B margins in a multi-outlet hotel
- Rongo by Devlab, the software
- Request a demo: contact@devlab.io
Source: DGAE: approval under the special tax scheme for alcoholic drinks consumed on site (in French)