Can you pay a lower rate of alcohol tax on cask products?
Can you pay a lower rate of alcohol tax on cask products? .
Find out if you can pay a lower rate of alcohol tax on cask products!
If you trade in cask products, find out if you can pay a reduced rate of alcohol tax.
Table of contents
- Who can benefit from the reduced rate?
- Eligible products
- Containers for non-alcoholic beverages that can be paid for at a reduced rate
- What happens if you repackage cask beverages
- Tariff rates for barrel products
Who can receive the reduced rate?
You can pay a reduced rate of alcohol tax on products with an alcohol content of less than 8.5% by volume (ABV) if you are: a manufacturer, an excise warehouse operator or an importer.
Eligible products
You can get a reduced rate if you produce: beer, cider-including perry, spirits-including ready-to-drink spirits (RTDs), wine-including sparkling and fortified wines,other fermented products (formerly called wine) such as fruit ciders.
Products must have an alcohol content of less than 8.5% ABV. In addition, at the time of duty they must be:
- packaged in eligible drum containers
- be transported to a site in the UK for transfer to eligible cask containers.
Barrel containers for which you can pay a reduced rate
The container must hold min. 20 litres or more of product and have a gas tap pump system connection for pressurised drinks. If your container does not meet these conditions, you will have to pay the full rate of alcohol tax.
If the product in a drum container is used for takeaway sales
By default, cask rates should be paid for products in cask containers. If you are asked to pay the full duty rate for eligible cask products (for example, for off-premises sales such as takeaway beer), you should declare this on your customs declaration.
When it is necessary to declare the difference between the cask beer rate already paid and the full duty rate, use the 'underdeclaration' field in the customs declaration.
When supplying these products, you must provide the customer with proof that the full rate of duty has been paid. You can use any appropriate proof, such as a statement in the commercial documentation or a confirmation letter.The statement must clearly declare that the full rate of duty has been paid and should be passed along the supply chain.
For the repackaging of non-alcoholic beverages
Repackaging cask products means transferring them to other containers. For example, decanting from cask to bottle.
Serving a drink from a keg for consumption on the premises is not considered repackaging. For example, serving a drink in a glass at a bar.
Cask beverages may only be repackaged if:
- you are an approved manufacturer or a tax warehouse operator, or both
- the duty has been paid in full on the products (e.g. in the case of takeaway sales).
If the excise duty is not approved or not paid in full, a penalty may be imposed.
If you are an approved manufacturer or holder of an excise warehouse
If you repackage products from immersion containers into other containers, they will no longer qualify for the reduced rate. You will have to pay the difference in the customs declaration. This should be declared as an 'under-declaration in the previous period'. The amount to be declared is the difference between the immersion rate already paid and the full rate in force at the time.
Duty rates for immersion products
The reduced rate that can be obtained depends on the type and strength of the alcohol product being produced.
Barrel product Amount of duty in £ (pounds) paid for each litre of pure alcohol in the product
All products below 3.5% 8.42
Still cider 3.5% to less than 8.5% 8.78
Sparkling cider from 3.5% to 5.5% 8.78
Sparkling cider over 5.5% 19.08
Beer, spirits, wine and other fermented products 3.5% to less than 8.5% 19.08
Source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-can-pay-less-alcohol-duty-on-draught-products
