A new Government provides fresh opportunities to lobby

With a new Government in place there are fresh opportunities to educate and influence new Ministers. The WSTA has launched a Government Hub on our website, designed to provide members with the headline briefings on the new Government and offer all necessary tools to encourage members to contact their new MP, via constituency offices, and invite them to visit – particularly over recess in August. If you aren’t already a WSTA member we’d first invite you to please get in touch, but would also hope that all indie merchants are reaching out to their MPs to bring them up to speed on why it is so important to make the easement for wine duty permanent. The WSTA has been hard at work writing to the new Government Ministers and officials to ensure they are fully briefed on the campaign. We can still make a difference and the more united the sector is the more likely we are to get the right result.

Keep on pushing for EPR delay

The earlier than expected election has meant a failure to secure critical legislation needed to simplify EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility), which – together with the delay in announcing indicative producers’ fees – means businesses cannot plan for an October 2025 implementation date. The only sensible solution is to delay the introduction of EPR – which is one of WSTA’s urgent asks of the new Labour administration. This is also something we urge you to bring up when engaging with your local MP.

Border control update

The WSTA carried out a research study to find out what complexities and costs were being experienced by traders following the introduction of new border processes in 2021. Wine merchants may have been experiencing more complexity and expense, but the research showed a more stable and predictable service.​ The findings revealed a ‘new normal’, but clarity is still proving difficult especially in the varying interpretations of the rules across the EU27 markets. A number of pinch points remain. It is important that all supply chain actors are clear about their responsibilities and the data they need to supply.​ HMRC initiatives to simplify and streamline border and excise processes are wide-ranging – and very welcome. The improvements will take some time to introduce. Some are dependent on legal processes and others on political priorities. There are also practical limitations on how much can be done and how quickly. ​HMRC seem to have the time and resources now to carry out audits of movements from 3 years prior, so it is essential to keep accurate records and to be able to show traceability for all movements. Please don’t rely on others to do this for you…

Warning: Defra’s deadline for obligated businesses to enrol and report their packaging data is next month. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) paperwork needs to be in by 31 May 2024 to avoid being fined. Companies will need to act if their annual turnover is £1 million or more and were responsible for more than 25 tonnes of packaging in 2022. Smaller organisations, with a turnover between £1m to £2m will need to record their data, and begin reporting, annually, from 2025. You can either submit your own data to www.gov.uk/guidance/report-packaging-data, or employ a compliance scheme (see http://npwd.environment-agency.gov.uk/PublicRegisterSchemes.aspx) to do this for you. NB: Defra are still to publish the fees associated to EPR, which are expected to be significant.

Be aware: Border processes, and rules for holding and moving excise goods, are changing. HMRC are digitising and streamlining authorisations and simplifying warehousing and accounting for duty. This will be implemented over the next 6-12 months, so look out for updates. HMRC want to talk to users of their systems who interact infrequently and for low volumes of goods, as the systems need to work for those traders too. Please contact david@wsta.co.uk if you are willing to speak to HMRC researchers and test their new systems.

Help support: The WSTA continues to campaign for the government to make the easement for wine duty permanent and scrap plans to tax wine by strength from February next year. For more information go to https://wsta.co.uk/campaign-hub/ please share campaign stories and videos on our social platforms.

Did you know?: Digital proof of age and the use of technology to determine a person’s age when buying alcohol is not currently permitted under Licensing laws in the United Kingdom. This may all be about to change. In the first half of 2022, to encourage efforts to develop new technology to improve age verification on restricted products, the government tested some new digital systems that could be legally acceptable as proof of age. We are continuing to liaise with Government on how best to use technology in the sale of alcohol.

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Did you know That in 2022, the UK wine and sprits industry contributed £76.3bn to the total turnover of the UK economy and employed 412,570 people. This is a hugely significant industry contribution, and one that deserves to have a voice with current, and future, governments.

Election latest As the election campaign continues, major parties have released their manifestos. There is no mention of wine directly, and limited reference to alcohol in the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats’ manifestos. This is unsurprising. As manifestos are pitches to the electorate, parties generally use them to deliver headline commitments on major policy areas, such as setting out their tax plans, or NHS reform measures. Labour’s manifesto, driven by fiscal prudence and framed around the party’s five ‘key missions’, is in large parts indicative.

The Conservatives and Labour have proposed targeted action on business rates to support the high street, at the expense of online retailers. The Conservatives have specified increasing the multiplier on warehouses used by online retailers. Labour will scrap the current system altogether.

The Conservatives have launched a 10-point SME support plan that includes reviewing the £90,000 VAT threshold and raising the employee numbers threshold so that more businesses are defined as SMEs. Labour has a 5-step plan for high streets. This includes scrapping the £200 shoplifting investigation rule and a new system to replace business rates, and a new ‘right to buy’ programme for community assets.

The Liberal Democrats have proposed an excise duty review, but restricted to scotch whisky only, and with the stated aim of increasing exports.

All three major parties have committed to further action to tackle late payments, including better enforcement of the Prompt Payment Code.

Among the minor parties, the Greens have proposed a VAT reduction for hospitality businesses and promised ‘interventions’ on alcohol as part of a £1.5bn increase in public health budgets. Among Reform’s relevant commitments are abolishing business rates for SMEs, implementing an online delivery tax (4%) for large multi-nationals, and restoring the VAT Retail Export Scheme.

At the time of writing, the SNP manifesto had not been launched.

Update The last Government was consulting on a range of industry-relevant proposals when the election was called. These included plans to update the descriptors ‘alcohol free’, ‘non-alcoholic’ and ‘de-alcoholised’, the third and final set of reforms to inherited EU wine regulations, and consideration of enforcing point-of-delivery age verification for remote sales, in addition to regulation of digital forms of age verification. The WSTA responded to these consultations and will continue to engage with new Ministers post-election.

Congratulations  Hal Wilson of Cambridge Wine Merchants has been recognised as ‘Campaigner of the Year’ by the WSTA board and was presented his award at this year’s summer networking event. Fantastic recognition for all his efforts in highlighting the plight of independent wine and spirits business.