A new commission set up by the Ministry of Health will regulate advertising of tobacco and alcohol and will look at increasing taxes.
The National Commission for the Prevention of Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases and Cancer, established by the Ministry of Health and Welfare will be responsible for the regulation of advertising of snuff and alcohol and also promote the consumption of healthy foods.
The new regulation will set the value added tax at 8% and a specific duty of $0.09 per degree of alcohol for beers.
No new regulations are established for the distribution and sale of beer since the law states that this tax only applies to products with 6% abv or more.
The bill sent to Congress will mean stores must have a license in order to sell beer.
El Salvador's current law stipulates the need for an operation license only for the sale of beverages containing more than 6% alcohol by volume meaning that beer is excluded.
The government has sent the Assembly a proposal to reform the liquor duties levied on beers, wines and spirits that were approved in December 2009.
El Salvador's Treasury Minister, Carlos Cáceres, expects this new proposal to correct errors in the current legislation, which he says is not what was intended.
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