Spring Budget 2024 – Alcohol and Tobacco Duty

As part of the Spring Budget measures, the Chancellor announced that the duty rates on beer, cider, wine and spirits would be frozen at the current rates from 1 August 2024 until 1 February 2025. This is an extension to the previous alcohol duty freeze announced in last year’s Autumn Statement that took effect on 1 February 2024 and was scheduled to last for 6 months until 1 August 2024. The Chancellor said this move will benefit some 38,000 pubs across the UK.

It was also announced as part of the Spring Budget that the government will introduce legislation in a future finance bill to introduce a new duty on vaping products. The government has published a consultation on the detailed design and implementation of the duty. The consultation will close on 29 May 2024.

Registration for the duty will open on 1 April 2026 with the duty taking effect from 1 October 2026 alongside a proportionate increase in tobacco duties.

The duty will apply to liquids for use in vaping devices and e-cigarettes at the following rates:

• £1 per 10ml for nicotine free liquids
• £2 per 10ml for liquid containing nicotine at concentrations between 0.1 to 10.9mg per ml
• £3 per 10ml for liquids containing nicotine at concentrations 11mg per ml, or above

The government will also make a one-off tobacco duty increase of £2 per 100 cigarettes or 50 grams of tobacco from 1 October 2026.

No further changes to the duty rates on tobacco products were announced.