Majestic Wine chief executive John Colley has warned that the new post-Brexit alcohol duty system will cost businesses and consumers more money.
The new measures are to be implemented in February 2025, after the government ignored calls by those within the industry to drop the post-Brexit tax changes. It will see the number of tax bands for wine increase from one to 30, with retailers saying it will now cost them more money to administer.
Colley said: “The minister demonstrated in this debate a worrying lack of understanding of our sector, suggesting that the alcohol duty system has become simpler and easier since Brexit.”
“That is simply not the case. In fact, the system in place pre-Brexit was much simpler to administer.”
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The chief executive of the Wine Society Steve Finlan added that the plans, which are understood to increase the price of some wines by more than 40p, were “ludicrous, expensive and probably unworkable”, reported The Guardian.
Red wines will be the most impacted by the new measures, due to their higher alcohol percentage, and impending price rises are predicted to impact up to 75% of the wines in this category.
The new tax system will also allow for the premium on sparkling wine to be abandoned, allowing retailers to pay the same duty on them, as other wines with the same alcoholic strength (ABV).
A Treasury spokesperson said: “We engaged closely with the wine industry throughout the consultation for historical reforms to alcohol duty. The industry has benefitted from freezes at six out of the last 12 fiscal events.”
It is not the only post-Brexit policy to impact food and drink costs. Last month industry experts cautioned that forcing UK supermarkets to label meat, dairy and plant products as “not for EU” will see an increase in prices.
