In 2016 the UK government announced the introduction of a new levy on soft drinks that contain added sugar to help tackle childhood obesity. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and HM Treasury (HMT) launched a consultation on the design and implementation of the levy in August 2016 and have now set out a response confirming the broad policy design. It will affect UK producers of soft drinks, importers of soft drinks, retailers of soft drinks and consumers who buy soft drinks in the UK. There will be an exemption for the smallest producers and also operators importing of soft drinks from the smallest producer abroad.Due to take effect April 2018, this is a new levy that applies to the production and importation of soft drinks containing added sugar. The levy will apply to the producers and importers of these types of drinks. It will have a lower rate which will apply to added sugar drinks with a total sugar content of 5 grams or more per 100 millilitres and a higher rate for drinks with 8 grams or more per 100 millilitres. It will not apply to any drink where no sugar is added. Alcoholic drinks with an Alcohol by volume of up to 1.2% are included in the levy. The government will make provision to exempt certain drinks that fall within this category from the levy. For more information, please visit the above-mentioned website.
