The House of Lords European Union Committee have failed to acknowledge action against duty fraud in their recommendations on the future of the EU Alcohol Strategy.
In the report, the Committee acknowledges that alcohol duty fraud costs the Exchequer £1.3bn annually, but falls short of making any specific recommendations to tackle the problem.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “We support the revision of the EU alcohol strategy, but are disappointed that the committee has not considered further action on duty fraud. A consistent approach across the EU to tackle smuggling and cross border trading has to be an integral part of an effective alcohol strategy.”
The committee stated that future research commissioned at EU level should be tenured as widely as possible and it should not be up to researchers to recommend policy actions on their findings.
Mr Lowman continued: “Policy-makers and all alcohol stakeholders would benefit from data that is independent and not produced with a specific policy agenda already in mind. This would help member states to develop effective and targeted policy.”
The Committee also made recommendations to restructure tax for wines and ciders in line with alcoholic strength, to give an incentive to the manufacture of lower strength beers, and for the UK Government to review the effectiveness of Minimum Unit Pricing if deemed lawful to be introduced in Scotland.
