22nd November 2017 – Response to Autumn Budget
We are pleased that the Chancellor has listened to our concerns about the long-term decline in cider. This freeze in excise duty announced in the Budget today is much needed, as it will work towards supporting the industry and our rural communities. However, we were disappointed that the Chancellor has been unable to respond to our call for a reduction of 2p per pint that we believed would have helped bring the industry back into growth in the longer term.
With the announcement of a new cider duty band, we look forward to working with government on the responses to the consultation. Helen Thomas, Chair of the National Association of Cider Makers said “We will be looking at the details of this new duty band to ensure that it does not adversely impact the ongoing success of cider makers across the UK, whatever their size.”
Additional statement, 23.11.17:
“The announcement in the budget indicated that the Treasury intend to create a new duty band for cider falling just below the current threshold between the high and low duty bands that are already in place. The announcement suggested a new band would be between 6.9% and 7.5% ABV and would impact only a small percentage of the cider market.
At this stage, we are working with our members and the regional associations that represent the smaller cider makers, to better understand the real impacts. The Treasury have indicated that the introduction of the new band will be included in the 2018 finance bill and at this stage have offered no details regarding the level of duty that will be applied. As such it is difficult to fully understand the impact to cider makers, and we therefore aim to work with the Treasury in the coming weeks to provide better clarity for all cider makers.”
Notes
- NACM is the UK cider industry representative body, working on behalf of large and small producers
- Website: cideruk.com
- Twitter: @cidernatters
- Facebook: facebook.com/nationalassociationofcidermakers