Small Brewer Relief reform update

The outline HMRC reform of small brewers relief (SBR) discussed at SIBA’s Beer X online conference.

Reform proposals could see a 5000 hectolitre (hl) brewer pay an extra £44k duty per year a 15,000hl brewer will pay £40k less!

In other scenarios under consideration by Government, microbrewers would pay £20k extra, and bigger more regional brewers with 10,000hl operations will pay £58k less.

This will potentially force the merger of many 5000hl brewers to get the scale that comes at 10,000hl and reduce the numbers of independently owned operations.

Also proposed – if the chancellor is silent about duty in the budget it automatically rises by RPI but it may change to CPI & the SBR rate may change each year too.

Micro and Independent brewers are clearly going to be unable to plan under such scenarios and face a stark choice to merge or reduce their operations.

Watch the SIBA Beer X conference where the awful future for British Microbreweries under SBR reform is laid bare CLICK HERE

If this bothers you we suggest you write to your MP, the Treasury and the competition regulator HERE to outline your concerns about the anti-competitive nature of the reforms and ask for a competition inquiry into the wholesale beer market – the last one was in 1989!

#ukpubs