Spring Budget 2017 – Alcohol and Tobacco Duty increases

As part of the Budget measures the Chancellor announced that the duty rates on beers, ciders, spirits and wine and will be increased by RPI inflation from 13 March 2017. These measures will typically add 2p to the price of a pint of beer, 1p to the price of a pint of cider, 36p on a bottle of whisky and 10p on a bottle of wine.HMRC is currently in the midst of a consultation looking at ways to reduce the complexity of alcohol duty. The consultation is seeking interested parties’ views on changes to registration requirements, alignment of return and payment dates and the current position for excise duty deferment including guarantees. The duty rates on tobacco products will be increased by 2% above the rate of inflation (based on RPI) effective from 6pm on 8 March 2017. The Chancellor also introduced a new minimum level excise duty on cigarettes based on a retail price of £7.35. These changes add 35p to a pack of 20 cigarettes. Smoking tobacco and chewing tobacco products will also increase but are not subject to the minimum level excise duty.