Policy paper

Evaluation of Alcohol Duty Reforms

Published 20 April 2026

Objectives and scope 

The government is evaluating the impacts of the alcohol duty reforms introduced on 1 August 2023, three years on from their implementation.  

The reforms moved the alcohol duty system to a strength-based structure and introduced two new targeted reliefs: Draught Relief (DR) and Small Producer Relief (SPR). HMRC subsequently simplified and digitised the administrative processes for domestic production and duty payment, including launching the Manage your Alcohol Duty service in early 2025.  

The evaluation will consider how successful these reforms have been in meeting their intended objectives, specifically:  

1. Greater consumer choice, particularly of low-strength products.
2. Reduced alcohol related harm.
3. Support for on-trade business via DR, which was designed to reduce the tax burden on draught alcoholic products under 8.5% ABV sold in on-trade venues, such as pubs.
4. Support for small producers via SPR, which extended the duty relief previously only available to small brewers to all small producers of alcoholic products under 8.5% ABV and addressed barriers to growth by smoothing the withdrawal of relief as production increases.
5. Reduced administrative burden and a simplified process for users.

Evaluations are backward-looking assessments of the real-world impacts of reform against their intended objectives, and this exercise will not therefore include consideration of future potential reforms to the alcohol duty system, nor decisions on duty rates. This evaluation will consider the impacts of the application of a strength-based duty calculation to all products, the new reliefs, and the administrative changes affecting alcohol approvals, returns and duty payment. Decisions on future rates and policy will continue to be made by the Chancellor at Budgets, in the normal way.

The government is mindful of the significant and recent efforts made by industry to adjust to this new system. It is also aware that it may not be possible at this stage to assess the full long-term impacts of the reforms, and that there will be limitations to the  evidence collected.

Evidence of impacts will be reviewed by HM Treasury ministers and will inform, alongside wider contextual factors, any future decisions on the design of the duty system. 

Approach 

The evaluation will review real-world metrics to assess the extent to which policy changes have translated into impacts in line with the five objectives above. For instance, has DR, by reducing the duty on draught products, led to increased sales of draught products?  

HMRC and HM Treasury will use a mixed methods evaluation approach that combines: 

• administrative data  from HMRC duty systems, including the new digital service. This will include volumes of alcoholic products cleared into the UK market, producer returns and duty receipts
• relevant data collected by other government departments, such as price data collected by the Office for National Statistics
• commissioned qualitative research with alcohol producers to assess simplification of HMRC processes and user experience
• market and stakeholder evidence, including from industry and public health groups, to understand business and behavioural impacts

How to contribute

The government welcomes relevant evidence from producers, trade bodies, public health groups, academics and other stakeholders on the following: 

• changes in product strengths, product lines  and pricing since August 2023
• trends in alcohol related harm or measures of public health relating to alcohol
• impacts of DR on producers and the on-trade
• impacts of SPR on small producers
• business experiences of approvals, returns and payments under HMRC’s simplified processes
• any other relevant evidence aligned to the objectives above

Please send quantitative data and evidence in writing to alcoholevaluation@hmrc.gov.uk by 1 June 2026.  

Officials may contact certain stakeholder groups to better understand the contextual factors behind the evidence provided.

Next steps 

Following the collection and review of this evidence, HMRC and HM Treasury will publish a report on its findings. The timing for publication of this report will be confirmed in due course.  

Please use the above email address to stay in touch with the HMRC-HMT policy team with any queries.