Spirits: Excise Duties
The question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made on the potential impact of a complete spirits duty freeze for the on-trade on revenue.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson
Alcohol duty is paid at the point of production or import, before it is diverted to either the on-trade or the off-trade. It is therefore not possible to freeze duty rates exclusively for the on-trade.
HMRC’s latest published estimate on the effect of a 1% change in spirits duties on tax receipts can be found here: Direct effects of illustrative tax changes bulletin (June 2025) - GOV.UK.
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