Small producers of other fermented beverages - establishment and relief

How do producers of other fermented beverages qualify for the relief?

Relief is available on cider and perry exceeding 2.8% volume and on other fermented beverages (apart from cider and perry) which are produced by qualifying small producers.

The relief is at a rate of 50% of the standard Alcohol Products Tax (APT) rates for other fermented beverages.

A producer of other fermented beverages will qualify for relief if:

• the total quantity of all other fermented beverages produced in the previous calendar year was not more than 10,000 hectolitres
• the producer is independent of any other producer of other fermented beverages 
• and
• the premises is located apart from the premises of another producer of other fermented beverages.

A producer of other fermented beverages will also qualify if less than 50% of the other fermented beverages produced in the previous calendar year were under:

• licence
• franchise
• or
• contract

to another producer of other fermented beverages.

If you own two or more producers of other fermented beverages, you are treated as a single producer of other fermented beverages. You will qualify for this relief as long as the total quantity of the other fermented beverages produced in the previous calendar year by those producers does not exceed 10,000 hectolitres.

Any other fermented beverages which you produce under licence, franchise or contract for another producer of other fermented beverages should be included when calculating your annual production quantity.

Usually, other fermented beverages produced under licence, franchise or contract for another producer of other fermented beverages does not qualify for relief. However, there is an exception to this whereby other fermented beverages produced for another producer of other fermented beverages under licence, franchise or contract will qualify for the relief if:

• each of the producers of other fermented beverages satisfies the criteria set out above
• the quantity of other fermented beverages produced by each of the producers in the previous calander year did not exceed 10,000 hectolitres
• and
• the total quantity of other fermented beverages produced by all the producers of other fermented beverages involved did not exceed 15,000 hectolitres in the previous calendar year.

Further information on the total annual production threshold applicable to independent small producers of alcoholic beverages can be found in the Explanatory notes published by the European Commission in December 2021.

Next: How do you claim the relief?