Consultation on a soft drinks industry levy

The government is consulting until 13 October 2016 on design aspects of the new soft drinks industry levy, announced at Budget 2016, which is due to be introduced from April 2018. There will be a main rate for drinks with a sugar content above 5gm/100ml and a higher rate where this exceeds 8gm/100ml. The consultation covers specific issues including:

·         the definition of ‘added sugars’;

·         products in scope, which will exclude milk-based drinks, ice lollies and other iced drinks;

·         the tax point for UK-based production and imports (exports will not be subject to the levy);

·         the threshold for the exclusion for small operators; and

·         registration and reporting requirements.

See http://bit.ly/2bzEIFH.