Alcohol Bulletin commentary (February to April 2024)
Updated 31 May 2024
© Crown copyright 2024
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Alcohol Duty headlines
The latest 3 months of provisional Alcohol Duty receipts data shows that:
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the provisional total for Alcohol Duty receipts in the 2023 to 2024 financial year from April to March is £12,666 million, £223 million (2%) higher compared to the 2022 to 2023 financial year
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the provisional total for Alcohol Duty receipts from wine and other fermented products in the 2023 to 2024 financial year from April to March is £4,639 million, £248 million (6%) higher compared to the 2022 to 2023 financial year
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the provisional total for Alcohol Duty receipts from spirits in the 2023 to 2024 financial year from April to March is £4,163 million, £27 million (1%) higher compared to the 2022 to 2023 financial year
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the provisional total for Alcohol Duty receipts from beer in the 2023 to 2024 financial year from April to March is £3,643 million, £37 million (1%) lower compared to the 2022 to 2023 financial year
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the provisional total for Alcohol Duty receipts from cider in the 2023 to 2024 financial year from April to March is £221 million, £14 million (6%) lower compared to the 2022 to 2023 financial year
About this release
The Alcohol Bulletin National Statistics release presents UK level statistics from the Alcohol Duty administered by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on 4 classes of products:
- wine (includes wine and other fermented products such as fruit ciders)
- spirits
- beer
- cider
National Statistics are accredited official statistics.
The latest release was published 09:30 31 May 2024 and has been updated with provisional duty receipts data from February to April 2024 and provisional production and clearances data from January to March 2024.
On 1 August 2023, Alcohol Duty reform resulted in a change to the tax regime for Alcohol Duty.
The tables accompanying this release contain receipts, clearances and production data for the new tax regime only. For data on the old regime see previous versions of this bulletin on the National Archives.
In these tables, the ‘other fermented products’ category largely contains what was previously under the ‘made wine’ category.
The next release will be published 09:30 30 August 2024 and will be updated with provisional duty receipts data from May to July 2024 and provisional production and clearances data from April to June 2024.
The Alcohol Bulletin is Crown copyright. Its contents can be used as long as the source is made clear by the user.
Changes since the previous edition
In the previous edition, clearances for cider goods were estimated from receipts data. Additionally, clearance figures relating to wine and other fermented products excluded goods released directly onto the UK market from UK producers. Both of these issues have now been resolved so that cider clearances are obtained directly from data on the value of liabilities, and the clearance data for wine and other fermented products now includes goods released directly onto the UK market from UK producers.
Clearance figures in this edition still exclude clearances using Small Producer Relief (SPR) duty rates in some, but not all instances. It is noted on the tables where certain categories of these figures are being excluded, resulting in totals being understated by the volume of these clearances. This will be revised in a future release. Receipt figures are unaffected.
In this edition we are providing more detail by adding columns of data on strength and relief categories, where doing so does not risk disclosure of individual taxpayer information.
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
HMRC observed impacts to the collection and administration of alcohol duties during all of the 2020 to 2021 tax year, and 2021 to 2022, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
These impacts, such as disrupted trader payments and altered public consumption of alcohol during and after lockdowns, caused unseasonal trends during these periods. HMRC advise caution when comparing statistics from these periods against other years, particularly for duty receipts.
Total Alcohol Duty receipts
The following section provides the latest total Alcohol Duty receipts statistics. Alcohol Duty follows a one month accounting period. As traders pay duty in the month following when liabilities were accrued, there is a one month lag between accounting periods ending and payment being received by HMRC.
‘Liabilities’ refer to approved traders informing HMRC of how much Alcohol Duty is owed. ‘Accrued’ refers to when liabilities occurred. ‘Duty receipts’ refers to payments of Alcohol Duty made to HMRC.
Duty receipts are reported within the Alcohol Bulletin based upon the month in which they were received by HMRC.
Figure 1: Full financial year (April to March) Alcohol Duty receipts by type, between the 2019 to 2020 and 2023 to 2024 financial years, in £ million.
In Figure 1 above and Table 1 below, “wine” refers to both wine and other fermented products. Figure 1 demonstrates trends in Alcohol Duty receipts for financial year to date:
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of the provisional 2023 to 2024 year Alcohol Duty receipts total, 37% was provided from wine and other fermented products, 33% from spirits, 29% from beer and 2% from cider
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the provisional total for Alcohol Duty receipts in 2023 to 2024 has increased £223 million (2%) compared to the previous year
Table 1: Financial year Alcohol Duty receipts by type, between the 2019 to 2020 and 2023 to 2024 financial years, in £ million.
| Financial year | Wine | Spirits | Beer | Cider |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 to 2020 | 4,296 | 3,825 | 3,446 | 270 |
| 2020 to 2021 | 4,659 | 4,115 | 3,084 | 248 |
| 2021 to 2022 | 4,734 | 4,401 | 3,747 | 234 |
| 2022 to 2023 | 4,391 | 4,136 | 3,680 | 236 |
| 2023 to 2024 [provisional] | 4,639 | 4,163 | 3,643 | 221 |
Table 1 provides the underlying data from Figure 1 for users.
Figure 2: Total Alcohol Duty receipts by month, covering April of the 2024 to 2025 financial year and all months during the 2023 to 2024 and 2022 to 2023 financial years, in £ million.
Figure 2 illustrates the following trends for total Alcohol Duty receipts by month:
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the provisional April 2024 monthly total for Alcohol Duty receipts is £990 million, a decrease of £73 million (7%) compared to April last year
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the elevated receipts seen in July and August 2023 and decreased receipts seen in September and October 2023 are due to forestalling by traders ahead of the change in tax regime which came into effect on 1 August 2023. Forestalling means moving more products than needed onto the UK market before the rate change. In the months after this happens, we see reduced receipts as the extra stock makes its way through the supply chain
Table 2: Total alcohol duty receipts by month, covering April of the 2024 to 2025 financial year and all months during the 2023 to 2024 and 2022 to 2023 financial years, in £ million.
| Financial year | 2024 to 2025 | 2023 to 2024 | 2022 to 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | 990 [provisional] | 1,064 | 1,123 |
| May | [x] | 992 | 978 |
| June | [x] | 1,024 | 1,132 |
| July | [x] | 1,313 | 1,035 |
| August | [x] | 1,579 | 1,026 |
| September | [x] | 715 | 1,067 |
| October | [x] | 946 | 1,061 |
| November | [x] | 1,112 | 1,141 |
| December | [x] | 1,297 | 1,387 |
| January | [x] | 923 | 918 |
| February | [x] | 773 [provisional] | 734 |
| March | [x] | 928 [provisional] | 841 |
Table 2 provides the underlying data from Figure 2 for users. For months where no data is available, this is marked as “[x]” within the table.
Alcohol Duty receipts from wine and other fermented products
Alcohol Duty receipts for wine are comprised of the duty payable on wine produced from fresh grapes (including those fortified with spirits), and other fermented products which are any other drink that has alcohol made by fermentation, apart from beer and cider. An example of a product in the category of other fermented products would be fruit cider. Wine and other fermented products become dutiable when their strength exceeds 1.2% alcohol by volume (ABV). Since August 2023, Alcohol Duty on wine and other fermented products is charged per litre of pure alcohol.
Go to HMRC Excise Notice 163: wine production for detailed information on Alcohol Duty charged on wine and other fermented products.
Figure 3: Alcohol Duty receipts from wine and other fermented products by month, covering April of the 2024 to 2025 financial year and all months during the 2023 to 2024 and 2022 to 2023 financial years, in £ million.
Figure 3 illustrates the following trends for Alcohol Duty receipts from wine and other fermented products:
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the provisional April 2024 monthly total for Alcohol Duty receipts from wine and other fermented products is £381 million, a decrease of £8 million (2%) compared to April last year
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April to June 2023 is comparable to the same period in 2022. The elevated receipts seen in July and August 2023 and decreased receipts seen in September and October 2023 are due to forestalling by traders ahead of the change in tax regime which came into effect on 1 August 2023. Forestalling means moving more products than needed onto the UK market before the rate change. In the months after this happens, we see reduced receipts as the extra stock makes its way through the supply chain
-
decreased receipts in December 2023 compared to the same month in previous years are balanced by increased receipts in January to March 2024, with April’s receipts in 2024 returning to close to the level of the previous year
Table 3: Alcohol Duty receipts from wine and other fermented products by month, covering April of the 2024 to 2025 financial year and all months during the 2023 to 2024 and 2022 to 2023 financial years, in £ million
| Financial year | 2024 to 2025 | 2023 to 2024 | 2022 to 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | 381 [provisional] | 388 | 422 |
| May | [x] | 357 | 336 |
| June | [x] | 341 | 398 |
| July | [x] | 424 | 371 |
| August | [x] | 623 | 366 |
| September | [x] | 253 | 358 |
| October | [x] | 360 | 357 |
| November | [x] | 399 | 385 |
| December | [x] | 462 | 544 |
| January | [x] | 362 | 311 |
| February | [x] | 313 [provisional] | 287 |
| March | [x] | 356 [provisional] | 255 |
Table 3 provides the underlying data from Figure 3 for users. For months where no data is available, this is marked as “[x]” within the table.
Alcohol Duty receipts from spirits
Alcohol Duty for spirits is payable on any spirits, or any mixture or combination of spirits, at a strength of more than 1.2% ABV. Duty becomes chargeable following distillation or manufacture of spirits, and normally payable once it’s taken out of warehouse storage. Alcohol Duty on spirits is charged per litre of pure alcohol.
Go to HMRC Excise Notice 39: spirits production in the UK for detailed information on Alcohol Duty charged on spirits.
Figure 4: Alcohol Duty receipts from spirits by month, covering April of the 2024 to 2025 financial year and all months during the 2023 to 2024 and 2022 to 2023 financial years, in £ million.
Figure 4 demonstrates the following trends for Alcohol Duty receipts from spirits:
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the provisional April 2024 monthly total for Alcohol Duty receipts from spirits is £309 million, a decrease of £28 million (8%) compared to the same period last year
-
the elevated receipts seen in July and August 2023 and decreased receipts seen in September and October 2023 are due to forestalling by traders ahead of the change in tax regime which came into effect on 1 August 2023. Forestalling means moving more products than needed onto the UK market before the rate change. In the months after this happens, we see reduced receipts as the extra stock makes its way through the supply chain
-
in January to March 2024 receipts returned to a level consistent with previous years, although April of 2024 has lower receipts compared to previous years
Table 4: Alcohol Duty receipts from spirits by month, covering April of the 2024 to 2025 financial year and all months during the 2023 to 2024 and 2022 to 2023 financial years, in £ million.
| Financial year | 2024 to 2025 | 2023 to 2024 | 2022 to 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | 309 [provisional] | 337 | 369 |
| May | [x] | 314 | 299 |
| June | [x] | 349 | 367 |
| July | [x] | 484 | 334 |
| August | [x] | 528 | 314 |
| September | [x] | 193 | 337 |
| October | [x] | 307 | 390 |
| November | [x] | 392 | 407 |
| December | [x] | 471 | 521 |
| January | [x] | 256 | 261 |
| February | [x] | 238 [provisional] | 233 |
| March | [x] | 294 [provisional] | 302 |
Table 4 provides the underlying data from Figure 4 for users. For months where no data is available, this is marked as “[x]” within the table.
Alcohol Duty receipts from beer
Beer is defined as ale, porter, stout and any other description of beer. It is dutiable in the UK once its strength exceeds 1.2% ABV. Taxpayers become liable for Alcohol Duty on beer once it is produced, imported or released onto the UK market for consumption. Since August 2023 Alcohol Duty on beer is charged per litre of pure alcohol.
Go to HMRC Excise Notice 226: Beer Duty for detailed information on Alcohol Duty charged on beer.
Figure 5: Beer Duty receipts by month, covering April of the 2024 to 2025 financial year and all months during the 2023 to 2024 and 2022 to 2023 financial years, in £ million.
Figure 5 illustrates the following trends for Alcohol Duty receipts from beer:
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the provisional April 2024 monthly total for Alcohol Duty receipts from beer is £286 million, a decrease of £32 million (10%) compared to the same period last year
-
Alcohol Duty receipts from beer tend to be quite volatile and this is likely the result of coronavirus lockdowns, during which time a larger proportion of beer was consumed on-trade relative to other alcohol products. Additionally, Alcohol Duty receipts from beer are easily influenced by large sporting events
-
the elevated receipts seen in July and August 2023 and decreased receipts seen in September and October 2023 are due to forestalling by traders ahead of the change in tax regime which came into effect on 1 August 2023. Forestalling means moving more products than needed onto the UK market before the rate change. In the months after this happens, we see reduced receipts as the extra stock makes its way through the supply chain
Table 5: Alcohol Duty receipts from beer by month, covering April of the 2024 to 2025 financial year and all months during the 2023 to 2024 and 2022 to 2023 financial years, in £ million.
| Financial year | 2024 to 2025 | 2023 to 2024 | 2022 to 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | 286 [provisional] | 319 | 316 |
| May | [x] | 300 | 319 |
| June | [x] | 310 | 350 |
| July | [x] | 388 | 308 |
| August | [x] | 404 | 325 |
| September | [x] | 255 | 356 |
| October | [x] | 264 | 288 |
| November | [x] | 299 | 314 |
| December | [x] | 343 | 305 |
| January | [x] | 286 | 328 |
| February | [x] | 215 [provisional] | 200 |
| March | [x] | 261 [provisional] | 271 |
Table 5 provides the underlying data from Figure 5 for users. For months where no data is available, this is marked as “[x]” within the table.
Alcohol Duty receipts from cider
Cider is defined as cider of a strength exceeding 1.2% ABV but less than 8.5% ABV obtained from the fermentation of apple or pear juice. It becomes liable to alcohol duty once it is produced, imported or released onto the UK market for consumption. Since August 2023 Alcohol Duty on cider is charged per litre of pure alcohol.
Go to HMRC Excise Notice 162: cider production for detailed information on Alcohol Duty charged on cider.
Figure 6: Alcohol Duty receipts from cider by month, covering April of the 2024 to 2025 financial year and all months during the 2023 to 2024 and 2022 to 2023 financial years, in £ million.
Figure 6 demonstrates the following trends for Alcohol Duty receipts from cider:
The provisional April 2024 monthly total for Alcohol Duty receipts from cider is £15 million, a decrease of £5 million (26%) compared to the same period last year.
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cider goods historically have the lowest Alcohol Duty receipts, representing around 2.5% of the yearly total
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Alcohol Duty receipts from cider for the 2022 to 2023 financial year could be increased as a result of sporting events such as the Rugby League World Cup and Football World Cup, spanning October to December 2022
Table 6: Cider Duty receipts by month, covering April of the 2024 to 2025 financial year and all months during the 2023 to 2024 and 2022 to 2023 financial years, in £ million.
| Financial year | 2024 to 2025 | 2023 to 2024 | 2022 to 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | 15 [provisional] | 20 | 15 |
| May | [x] | 20 | 25 |
| June | [x] | 24 | 16 |
| July | [x] | 18 | 21 |
| August | [x] | 24 | 21 |
| September | [x] | 15 | 17 |
| October | [x] | 15 | 26 |
| November | [x] | 22 | 34 |
| December | [x] | 20 | 17 |
| January | [x] | 20 | 18 |
| February | [x] | 7 [provisional] | 14 |
| March | [x] | 18 [provisional] | 13 |
Table 6 provides the underlying data from Figure 6 for users. For months where no data is available, this is marked as “[x]” within the table.
Contacts
The Alcohol Bulletin is produced by the Indirect Tax Receipts Monitoring team as part of the ‘Excise duties, VAT, and other tax statistics’ collection.
Contact revenuemonitoring@hmrc.gov.uk for statistical enquiries.
Contact HMRC press office for media enquiries.