From 2nd March 2020, all licensed premises, including convenience stores, must comply with the Public Health (Mininum Price for Alcohol) (Wales) Act 2018. This means that retailers must not sell alcohol below 50p per unit.
ACS has launched new guidance to support retailers to comply with minimum unit pricing, available here. The guidance includes information for retailers on: identifying which products are affected, calculating the Minimum Unit Price, amending prices of products and penalties for non-compliance.
Ahead of minimum unit pricing coming into effect, retailers should identify which alcohol products they sell will be affected by the regulations and amend the price of the affected products. The Welsh Government has published guidance here to support retailers and has developed a materials that retailers can use in store to communicate minimum unit pricing to consumers, which is available here.
There is no grace period for the introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing. Retailers must comply from 2nd March 2020.
If a retailer is found to be selling alcohol below the minimum unit price, they may be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice by their local authority. A Fixed Penalty Notice is a £200 fine if payment is made within 29 days or a £150 fine if payment is made within 15 days.
A person found guilty of the offence of supplying alcohol in Wales below the applicable minimum price may also be liable to a fine of up to Level 3 (currently £1,000). Breaching the regulations can also be considered a personal licence relevant offence and could lead to suspension of revocation of the person’s personal licence.
For more information, visit https://gov.wales/implementing-law-minimum-pricing-alcohol-mup
