HMRC’s Alcohol Registration Scheme fails to hit expected targets
Posted on Tue 15th Nov 2016 at 12:09
The government’s Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme closed for applications on 31 March 2016. Rather than the 20,000 applications it was expecting, the scheme has received just 4,800.
If the HMRC prediction was correct, this means that more than 15,000 businesses could be liable for a £10,000 fine or even a criminal conviction. There is, however, some sign that HMRC’s estimate may not have been precise. An HMRC spokesperson told City AM that: "the estimate of how many customers need to apply was made on the best information available. In the past wholesalers have not been required to register with HMRC so we knew the numbers were not exact. "However the number of applications is lower than expected. We are currently looking at who applied and will use that analysis to determine what we do next for those who have not applied but should have." Along with its estimate of 20,000, HMRC claims to have directly identified around 9,500 eligible parties. David Richardson, regulatory and commercial affairs director for the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, explained potential reasons for the discrepancy: "There could be a number of reasons why people thought they would be liable to register but weren't. It may be that some of the reasons behind the figure include businesses registering as part of wider groups, premises numbers and that some weren't actually eligible under the conditions of the scheme who originally thought they would be." Although those who have not yet registered are liable for the huge fine, there is an indication that those who can prove they did not know they had to register will be granted a reprieve.