Small Brewers Relief (SBR): technical consultation
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Detail of outcome
At Budget 2018, the government announced it would review SBR following feedback from brewers that it was limiting growth and distorting the market.
To inform the review, a survey of brewers was conducted from January to March 2019. In July last year the government announced that, based on its findings of the review, it intended to reform SBR. A technical consultation seeking feedback from brewers on the detail of the reform ran from January to April 2021.
This document summarises the 90 responses received to the technical consultation and presents the government’s response to the specific questions raised. The main proposals are:
- Replacing the existing taper with a more gradual one, starting at 2,500hL production
- Providing a 3-year grace period for breweries that merge so that the relief phases down rather than potentially ending overnight
- Linking SBR to the alcohol content of the beer, and extending it to beers below 2.9% alcohol by volume (abv)
At Autumn Budget 2021, the government announced as part of its Alcohol Duty Review that it would introduce a new Small Producer Relief that would supersede SBR. The government encourages brewers and other stakeholders to respond to the ongoing consultation on the new Small Producer Relief, which forms part of that wider review of alcohol duty.
The consultation will close on 30 January 2022.
Original consultation
Consultation description
Small Brewers Relief (SBR) is a tax relief which gives small brewers reduced rates of beer duty. At Budget 2018, the Government announced it would review the relief following feedback from brewers that it was limiting growth and distorting the market.
In July last year, the government announced its findings from the first stage of the review. Since this announcement, the Treasury has received submissions and engaged with a wide range of brewing groups to understand their views about reforming the relief.
This technical consultation sets out in further detail how and why the government has reached its conclusions on the first part of the review, and explores key issues associated with reforming SBR.
This consultation is linked to the Review of Small Brewer’s Relief.
Documents
Last updated 30 November 2021 + show all updates
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Added the consultation response.
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First published.