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Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties

Asked by Ben MaguireLiberal DemocratTreasuryTabled Answered 17 September 2025UIN 76210

The question

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of allowing incidental off-sales of beer and cider from draught duty paid containers on pubs in rural communities.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson

Draught beer and cider now pay 13.9% less in duty than their packaged equivalents – an increase of over 50% on the previous draught discount of 9.2%. This took a penny of duty off a typical strength pint.

The core objective of this relief is to recognise the cultural importance of pubs and other on-trade venues as community hubs and to encourage responsible drinking in supervised settings.

To ensure this relief is targeted at the on-trade, it is prohibited to repackage products that have received Draught Relief for off-site consumption. It is the intention that beverages that are sold to be consumed off site should pay the full rate of duty like their equivalents sold in off-trade venues.

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