Notice

Duty free spirits — use in manufacture or for medical or scientific purposes (Excise Notice 47)

This notice is about duty free spirits for use in manufacture or for medical or scientific purposes.

From:

HM Revenue & Customs

Published:

1 January 2012

Last updated:

18 November 2025

Show all updates

18 November 2025
The links to use to contact HMRC have been updated.
1 February 2025
References to excise duty have been changed to Alcohol Duty.
14 February 2024
We have updated this notice to align with changes to Alcohol Duty that came into effect on 1 August 2023.
30 August 2023
Due to the changes in Alcohol Duty which came into effect on 1 August 2023, the relevant legislation has been updated to the Finance (No. 2) Act 2023. The contact address has also been updated.
18 May 2022
The link to guidance about temporary changes to the use and supply of denatured alcohol and duty-free spirits has been removed as this guidance is no longer in use.
1 April 2022
Information on what qualifies as medical use for duty-free spirits has been updated to include the production of hand sanitiser for use in hospitals or care homes.
18 January 2021
This page has been updated because the Brexit transition period has ended.
27 March 2020
Information added about temporary changes to the use and supply of denatured alcohol and duty-free spirits, to stop the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
24 January 2017
Paragraphs 1.2, 1.3,1.4,1.5,1.6, 4.1 and 5.1 have been updated to reflect changes effective from December 2016.
1 January 2012
First published.

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This notice tells you how to:

receive spirits for use in manufacture or for medical or scientific purposes, to be used without payment of excise duty
apply to receive these spirits
meet our conditions