From the 1st February 2025 the Government has decided to end its Duty Easement scheme and as such, all alcoholic products will now have duty applied to them according to their specific Alcohol-By-Volume (ABV). In addition, following the current Chancellor's announcement at the last Budget, the underlying duty rate also increases by 3.65%, which adds further to the increase in duty.
The main impact of these changes is now a different duty rate for every 0.5% of alcohol on wines between 11.5% ABV and 14.5% ABV, which were previously treated as one category. In addition, not only is there the new cost implications, there is now a significant burden in administration, as shippers are faced with accommodating a potential swing in ABV due to a wines change in vintage and/or production. The table below outlines the changes:
All based on 75cl Bottles.
| ABV | Current Duty | New Duty 1st February 2025 | Change |
| 11.0% | £2.35 | £2.44 | £0.09 |
| 11.5% | £2.67 | £2.55 | -£0.12 |
| 12.0% | £2.67 | £2.66 | -£0.01 |
| 12.5% | £2.67 | £2.77 | £0.10 |
| 13.0% | £2.67 | £2.88 | £0.21 |
| 13.5% | £2.67 | £2.99 | £0.32 |
| 14.0% | £2.67 | £3.10 | £0.43 |
| 14.5% | £2.67 | £3.21 | £0.54 |
| 15.0% | £3.20 | £3.32 | £0.12 |
You can find more information here on the Changes to the rates of Alcohol Duty