Bringing drinks liable for the Soft Drinks Industry Levy into the UK
Find out if you need to register, report and pay the levy if you’re involved in bringing liable drinks into the UK.
Your business may need to register, report and pay the Soft Drinks Industry Levy if you’re involved in bringing liable drinks into the UK from anywhere else, including the EU and Channel Islands.
The levy does not apply to anyone whose business does not involve the sale of liable drinks, for example if you only:
- transport liable drinks
- provide warehousing for liable drinks
You need to report drinks made by a small producer, but do not have to pay the levy on them. You must get and keep records that show the drinks are from a small producer as you’ll need to share them with HMRC if asked.
Who reports and pays the levy depends on the point that the levy becomes due on the drinks.
Movement of liable drinks between the UK and the Isle of Man
From 1 April 2019, the Soft Drinks Industry Levy will be introduced in the Isle of Man. This means that the movement of liable soft drinks between the UK and the Isle of Man is treated as being a movement within the UK for the purposes of the levy, and therefore:
- the movement of drinks from the UK to the Isle of Man will not be treated as an import or export
- you will not be able to claim an export credit when liable drinks are moved from the UK to the Isle of Man
- you will not need to to register your business for the Soft Drinks Industry Levy in the UK if you’re bringing liable soft drinks into the UK from the Isle of Man
You will still need to register, report and pay the levy if you’ve brought liable drinks into the UK from the Isle of Man before the 1 April 2019 and you must be entitled to an export credit if you’ve moved liable drinks from the UK to the Isle of Man before 1 April 2019.
Work out the point that the levy is due
After liable drinks have been brought into the UK, the levy will become due on them the first time they are:
- removed from a registered warehouse (unless they’re taken directly to another registered warehouse)
- made available for sale or free of charge
- received at premises that are all of the following:
- in the UK
- owned or run by someone whose business involves the sale of liable drinks
- not a registered warehouse
You only need to report the drinks the first time one of these events happens.
Drinks brought into the UK to deliver to a customer
If you bring liable drinks into the UK to fulfil an order from an overseas supplier to a UK customer, who needs to register, report and pay the levy will usually depend on who arranged to bring the drinks into the UK.
If the drinks are brought into the UK by the supplier
If you’re an overseas supplier, you have a UK presence, and you arrange to bring liable drinks into the UK, you will need to register, report and pay the levy.
You’ll need to report the drinks in the same Soft Drinks Industry Levy reporting period that they’re brought into the UK.
If the drinks are brought into to the UK by the customer
If you’re a customer, you’ll need to register, report and pay the levy unless your supplier has a UK presence and arranges to bring the drinks into the UK.
If the drinks are received at UK premises owned or run by you (that are not a registered warehouse), you’ll need to report the drinks in the reporting period that you receive them.
If the drinks are received at a registered warehouse, you’ll need to report the drinks in the earliest reporting period that the drinks either:
- leave the registered warehouse
- are made available for sale or free of charge
If you’re supplying the drinks to another customer, you’ll need to report the drinks in the reporting period that they’re made available to your customer if the drinks are either:
- delivered to premises owned or run by someone else whose business does not involve the sale of liable drinks before being sold to your customer
- not moved to premises owned or run by you before being sold to your customer
Drinks brought into the UK for your own stock
If you bring liable drinks into the UK that aren’t to fulfil a specific order for a customer, you’ll need to register, report and pay the levy. An example of this would be bringing stock from your overseas warehouse to your UK warehouse to be used as stock on hand.
You’ll need to report the drinks in the reporting period that they’re received at your UK premises, unless it’s a registered warehouse.
If it is a registered warehouse, you’ll need to report the drinks in the reporting period they leave it or are made available, whichever comes first.
You’ll need to report the drinks in the reporting period that they’re made available to your customer if the drinks are either:
- delivered to premises owned or run by someone else whose business does not involve the sale of liable drinks before being sold to your customer
- not moved to premises owned or run by you before being sold to your customer
If you’re not sure who needs to register, report and pay
You’ll need to agree with your commercial partner about who will register, report and pay the levy, based on the specific circumstances, and keep a record of the decision.
If that decision is made in good faith, HMRC will generally be likely to accept it, but they will not be bound by it. You should avoid any situation where no one registers, reports or pays the levy, which could lead to interest, penalties and, in some cases, criminal charges.
Records you need to keep
For each reporting period, you must keep records of how many litres of liable drinks that you’ve either:
- first received when they’ve been brought into the UK
- made available for sale or free of charge
You only need to keep records about which of these events happens first. You must keep these records for 6 years, starting from the last day of the reporting period that the records are for.
If you bring drinks into the UK from a small producer
You’ll need to get a letter from the small producer, dated within 6 months of the date that the drinks are brought into the UK, which includes:
- the name, address, telephone number, email address, and website of the producer (if the producer is based in the EU, also include their EU VAT number, if they have one)
- a signature of someone from the small producer, their position in the company and the date of the signature
- a statement setting out how many litres of liable drinks they’ve produced in the last 12 calendar months
You must keep this for 6 years, starting from the last day of the reporting period that the records are for.
Find out what other general records you need to keep for the Soft Drinks Industry Levy.
Report and pay the levy
You’ll be able to report and pay the levy using the online service. You’ll need to include liable drinks brought into the UK on your Soft Drinks Industry Levy quarterly returns.
Last updated 1 April 2019 + show all updates
-
New section for the movement of liable drinks between the UK and the Isle of Man added to the guidance.
-
First published.