Tackling alcohol smuggling: outputs — April 2020 to March 2026
Updated 30 September 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-alcohol-smuggling-outputs/tackling-alcohol-smuggling-outputs-april-2016-to-april-2019
Tackling alcohol fraud is an HMRC priority, as set out in the HMRC Alcohol Strategy.
Our aims for alcohol, working with other enforcement agencies and the alcohol industry, are to:
- promote good compliance — making it easier for businesses to pay the right duties
- prevent tax losses — making it harder to make mistakes or to deliberately cheat, including addressing regime vulnerabilities, and exploring technology solutions to prevent fraud
- respond to those who cheat — increasing the impact of enforcement
The tax gap is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and what is actually paid. You can read about the tax gap for alcohol in 2024 to 2025.
1. Alcohol inland seizures
April 2020 to March 2021
| Volume (Litres) | Duty (£) | |
|---|---|---|
| Beer | 102,923 | 97,777 |
| Spirits | 174,213 | 2,327,486 |
| Wine | 11,270 | 40,234 |
| Total | 288,406 | 2,465,496 |
April 2021 to March 2022
| Volume (Litres) | Duty (£) | |
|---|---|---|
| Beer | 759,699 | 721,714 |
| Spirits | 25,772 | 344,314 |
| Wine | 205,421 | 733,353 |
| Total | 990,892 | 1,799,381 |
April 2022 to March 2023
| Volume (Litres) | Duty (£) | |
|---|---|---|
| Beer | 925,709 | 879,423 |
| Spirits | 128,930 | 1,722,504 |
| Wine | 109,691 | 392,560 |
| Total | 1,164,600 | 2,994,489 |
April 2023 to March 2024
| Volume (Litres) | Duty (£) | |
|---|---|---|
| Beer | 843,759 | 801,571 |
| Spirits | 32,185 | 420,991 |
| Wine | 87,885 | 313,749 |
| Total | 963,829 | 1,536,310 |
April 2024 to March 2025
| Volume (Litres) | Duty (£) | |
|---|---|---|
| Beer | 3,158,895 | 3,424,609 |
| Spirits | 27,595 | 405,463 |
| Wine | 172,499 | 737,431 |
| Total | 3,358,989 | 4,567,503 |
April 2025 to March 2026
| Volume (Litres) | Duty (£) | |
|---|---|---|
| Beer | 1,958,073 | 2,302,928 |
| Spirits | 47,385 | 777,498 |
| Wine | 95,187 | 394,780 |
| Total | 2,100,645 | 3,475,206 |
2. Criminal enforcement
| Financial year | Number of arrests | Number of convictions |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 – 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 – 2022 | 16 | 3 |
| 2022 – 2023 | 2 | 8 |
| 2023 – 2024 | 1 | 2 |
| 2024 – 2025 | 6 | 4 |
| 2025 – 2026 | 1 | 5 |
Note: Convictions and prosecutions may exceed arrests each year because they can relate to arrests made in previous years.
3. Alcohol Wholesalers Registration Scheme (AWRS)
| Date | Received | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 – 2021 | 1,902 | 1,336 |
| 2021 – 2022 | 1,751 | 1,392 |
| 2022 – 2023 | 1,409 | 1,022 |
| 2023 – 2024 | 1,372 | 1,203 |
| 2024 – 2025 | 1,356 | 1,260 |
| 2025 – 2026 | 1,309 | 1,335 |
Current trader population: 11,032
Note: Approvals may exceed applications received each year because some approvals relate to applications submitted in previous years.
Help HMRC tackle alcohol fraud
To report any kind of fraud, smuggling or tax evasion you can contact HMRC with the information, in confidence.
Next update
These figures will be refreshed again in September 2027.