UK wine industry ‘under siege’ as government prepares to hike alcohol duty

The UK wine industry is ‘under siege’ due to upcoming changes to alcohol duty, according to a leading merchant.

Steve Finlan, boss of the Wine Society – which dates back to 1874 and has 180,000 members – said tax rules will push up prices for customers.

And he accused the Government of ignoring industry pleas amid fears some bottles could disappear from UK shelves altogether.

Alcohol duty: Steve Finlan, boss of the Wine Society – which dates back to 1874 and has 180,000 members – said tax rules will push up prices for customers

Finlan’s comments echo those from other big names including Majestic Wine and Laithwaites.

From February 1 next year, an alcohol duty regime will introduce more than 30 different tax bands, heavily complicating the system. 

This will affect the amount of duty paid on wines between 11.5 per cent and 14.5 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV), which account for about 80 per cent of the UK market, according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA).

A bottle of wine at 14.5 per cent ABV would see duty rise from £2.67 to £3.09.

‘The UK’s wine trade is under siege,’ Finlan told the Mail.

‘The new duty system will have an impact on pricing across our industry and will result in higher costs for the UK’s wine consumers.

‘If the new government is serious about listening to business, then they must recognise an entire industry united against the proposed new duty regime.’ 

Industry bosses fear consumers will baulk at higher prices and spend less, ultimately driving down the tax revenues for the Government.

The Wine Society, which sells products ranging from its own claret at £7.95 a bottle to a £6,500 bottle of Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage, has written to its members to alert them.

Warning of a ‘more costly and complex’ system due to the changes, which were introduced by the last Tory government, Finlan told customers in an email: ‘The administrative burden will have an impact on pricing across our industry. 

We have warned the new government of the negative impacts of the proposed duty regime, but they are not listening. There is not a single wine business in the UK that supports this new approach.’

Other big names to call for a U-turn include Majestic Wine, Laithwaites and Cambridge Wine Merchants.

Tamara Roberts, chief executive of Ridgeview Wine Estate – a winery in East Sussex – said: ‘It is just overly complicated and will lack clarity for consumers as well as producers.’

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has also not ruled out hiking alcohol duty but that an increase would be ‘truly punishing’, according to Pepper Sells, the boss of wine gifting business Di-vine.

A Treasury spokesman said: ‘We do not comment on speculation around tax changes outside of fiscal events.’

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