HC Deb 12 November 1992 vol 213 cc964-5W
17. Mr. Steen

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the level of duty on British whisky in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) other EC countries; and how much it has gone up in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) other EC countries since 1988.

Sir John Cope

In seven states the duty has remained nearly static, in four states, including the UK, the duty hs gone up at around the rate of inflation. Greece has put up duty more substantially.

Current EC whisky duty rates and percentage change since 19881
Pence per 70cl bottle at 40 per cent. abv2 3 Percentage change since 1988
Belgium 337 12.1
Denmark 1,036 1.2
France 250 0.2
Germany 278 15.2
Greece 35 4533.0
Ireland 574 2.8
Italy 44 -1.7
Luxembourg 202 0.1
Netherlands 309 0.1
Portugal 62 43.1
Spain 89 -0.2
United Kingdom 554 25.6
1 Rescaled from 75cl bottle (EC regulations no longer permit the use of 75cl bottles).
2 Rates of exchange as at 10.10.92.
3 abv-alcohol by volume.
4 A range of taxes is applied to spirits in Greece. This increase relates to the excise duty element only and the VAT element has been significantly reducd to offset this.