The current Directive has not been updated since 1992 and is now under consultation by the EU Commission. While CAMRA agrees with the principles of the Directive, we believe it is out of date and must be revised to give Member States greater flexibility to support the drinks industry in their own countries.
Our keys asks in a revised Directive are as follows:
- To allow Member States the opportunity to apply a lower duty rate for real ale that is sold in pubs versus that which is sold in supermarkets to help shift consumption back into pubs rather than in people’s homes.
- To write into a new Directive the current duty exemption for small cider producers in the UK making less than 70 hectolitres (HL) of cider a year, and to introduce a sliding scale of duty relief for cider producers who make more than 70 HL of cider.
- To allow Member States to cut duty on low-strength real ale up to 3.5% ABV, rather than the current threshold of 2.8% ABV