Type of business should not be basis for alcohol duty: ACS

The alcohol duty should be blind to the type of business selling the product, the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) said in a submission to the HM Treasury.

The call for evidence by the Treasury is part of the Alcohol Duty Review which aims to improve the current system to make it “simpler, more economically rational and less administratively burdensome on businesses and HMRC.”

The review is in response to the UK’s exit from the EU and looks at a number of options for improving the current system, including making distinctions based on the place of retail.

The ACS, in its submission, called on the Treasury to ensure that alcohol duties are not determined by what kind of business the product is sold from.

“Basing the duty system on business type would only serve to further confuse an already complex system,” commented James Lowman, ACS chief executive.

“Duty should be applied at the highest point of the supply chain, particularly as the line between on-trade and off-trade becomes increasingly blurred. We urge the government to focus on tackling the billions of pounds worth of non-duty paid alcohol that is damaging responsible retail businesses and the communities that they serve.”

Other suggestions on duty reform include standardizing the method of alcohol taxation, changing or unifying the duty categories, consistently distinguishing the products by their strength, extending or standardising small producer reliefs, more consistent uprating of duties and a single process for approvals, declarations and payments.