THE WINE MERCHANT. An independent magazine for independent retailers
Issue 118, October 2022
Dog of the month: Angus Morgan Edwards, Knutsford
A duty freeze is welcome, but Budget will hurt indies Trade is still faced with sliding-scale duty plan, and currency woes are adding more costs to post-Brexit bureaucracy
A
Budget duty freeze and an
18-month delay to the reform of wine duty have received a
muted trade reaction as the catalogue of
other economic issues impacting the trade mount up.
In his controversial tax-cutting Budget,
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced a
freeze on all alcohol duty, ahead of reform of the alcohol duty system, which will go ahead from August 1, 2023, after a
consultation on the change was completed. Wine will be one of the harder-hit
drinks categories, as the reform shifts the duty regime to one based on abv band regardless of the type of alcohol.
The wine trade did get a Budget
concession on the change, with an
18-month transition period granted, until February 1, 2025. During this period, all wine with an abv of between 11.5% and
14.5% will be treated as if it is 12.5% abv for the purpose of calculating duty. Retailers and suppliers say that,
regardless of the exact levels of duty
that prevail, changes to the regime are
unwelcome at a time when the trade is Bristol is one of the independent drinks trade’s current hotspots, with two shops opening for business in recent weeks. One of them is Katy Kennedy’s new Spirited store in Bedminster, which welcomed its first customers last month. Story on page 5.
already faced with the impact of inflation, a consumer spending squeeze, staffing
problems, global shipping issues, changes Continues page 6