Preparing for Spirit Drink Verification Scheme visits
Find out about the verification checks and what to expect during a visit if you have applied for verification and paid your fee for the Scheme.
Once you’ve applied for verification and paid your verification fee under the Spirit Drinks Verification Scheme, HMRC will contact you to arrange a verification visit to your production facilities. You’ll only receive a visit if you are a producer in the UK.
HMRC will verify producers every 2 years.
Verification visits
The Spirit Drinks Verification Unit will contact you to arrange a verification visit. They’ll check your production processes are correctly set up so they can verify your products.
The verification checks are different for each drink within the scheme. Find out about the checks in the technical guidance for producing:
- Scotch Whisky
- Irish Whiskey, Irish Cream or Irish Poteen
- Somerset Cider Brandy
- Single Malt Welsh Whisky
If you’ve applied for verification of a process outside the UK, you can find out more in the relevant technical guidance for each spirit drink.
For documentary checks, any documents required for inspection as part of your verification visit, for example purchase records of ingredients and casks, should normally be available at the premises when and where the verification visit takes place. This is unless arrangements have been made for them to be inspected at a different time and place with the person carrying out your verification visit. Your verification officer will discuss this when arranging your verification visit, but it is also your responsibility to bring this to their attention.
Tax or duty compliance questions
While it may be possible to deal with relatively simple questions, you should not expect your verification officer to deal with questions about tax or duty compliance during your visit. Your verification visit is not linked with HMRC’s ‘revenue management’. You are being charged for your verification visit and so it is important to HMRC, and you, that the different roles are dealt with separately. Your verification officer may, however, take details of your enquiry and refer it to an appropriate person or team, as soon as practical, for a full response.
Contact your Customer Compliance Manager (CCM) to discuss any revenue concerns. If you do not have a CCM, contact HMRC.
Assured production facilities
Your verification officer will record processes as ‘assured’ if they comply with the relevant Technical File. A brand or production facility can only be verified where all production processes involved have been assured.
Non-compliant production processes
Processes will be recorded as non-compliant if they:
- failed to secure assurance
- have not been checked and assured
- did not apply for verification, such as not including production processes in the application for verification
If a return or repeat visit is needed to confirm compliance of your production processes with the relevant Technical Files, HMRC will charge you an additional fee of £500 to cover HMRC’s costs.
Publication of production details
HMRC will publish details of production facilities with assured processes on the spirit drinks look-up service. You can use this facility to check whether other production facilities in the industry have had their processes assured, so that you can ensure you are receiving your product from, and despatching to, premises with assured processes.
Production facilities which have not had their processes assured will not have their details published.
Last updated 21 August 2023 + show all updates
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Page updated to include references to Single Malt Welsh Whisky.
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Technical guidance for verification checks of a process outside the UK have been updated.
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First published.