Article 1 
By way of derogation from Article 90 of the Treaty, Portugal is authorised to apply a rate of excise duty lower than the national rate fixed in accordance with Directive 92/84/EEC in the case of beer produced in the autonomous region of Madeira by independent breweries situated in that region, whose total annual production does not exceed 300 000 hectolitres. Production in excess of 200 000 hectolitres annually may benefit from the reduced rate only to the extent it is consumed locally in Madeira. The term ‘independent brewery’ shall mean a brewery which is legally and economically independent of any other brewery, which uses premises situated physically apart from those of any other brewery and does not operate under licence. However, where two or more breweries cooperate, and their combined annual production does not exceed 300 000 hectolitres, those breweries may be treated as a single independent brewery. The reduced excise duty rate, which may fall below the minimum rate, shall not be set more than 50 % lower than the standard national excise duty rate for Portugal.
Article 2 
By 31 December 2010, Portugal shall send the Commission a report on the situation, to enable it to assess whether the reasons justifying the derogation provided for in Article 1 still exist.
Article 3 
This Decision shall apply until 31 December 2013.
Article 4 
This Decision is addressed to the Portuguese Republic.