Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 October 2021
85. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Finance the reason Ireland has remained an outlier to date in adopting legislation (details supplied); the reason the Revenue Commissioners and customs and excise departments have signalled an inability to adopt rebates or new pricing controls for a period of years if such an order should be passed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51462/21]
View answerCouncil Directive 92/83/EEC, also known as the “Alcohol Structures Directive”, lays down a harmonised approach for the application of excise duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages in the EU. It sets out the categories of alcohol and alcoholic beverages that fall within scope of taxation and the basis on which excise duties on such products are to be established. Council Directive 2020/1151 amends Directive 92/83/EEC and includes a new Article 13a which allows Member States the option to grant up to 50% excise relief to independent small producers of fermented beverages such as cider. The amendments to the Directive do not take effect until 1 January 2022. Therefore, I am not in a position to introduce any excise relief measures for small producers of fermented beverages such as cider until after this date.
Up until this point, it has not been possible to offer reduced rates to small producers of cider, in the same way as applies to small producers of beer, as the application of Article 4 of the Directive is restricted to beer. Ireland is not an outlier, as other Member States have been in the same position. Ireland fully supported the introduction of amendments to the Directive to allow Member States introduce excise reliefs for small producers of cider. As I outlined in my Budget Speech last week, I see the introduction of such a relief as having a similar positive effect as that provided for small independent producers of beer.
The new Article 13a is structured differently to what is permitted under Article 4. Therefore, the existing relief in Irish legislation for beer could not be simply extended to cider. It will be necessary to provide a separate new relief, which would be similar in concept but different in detail. While this measure will be broadly modelled on the existing relief arrangements for beer, further considerations will need to be given to ensure clarity in relation to scope of the relief and also to its design and implementation so as to minimise the administrative burden and any compliance risks. My Department is considering these matters further and will engage with the sector and with the Revenue Commissioners over the coming months. As I indicated in the Budget, I plan to bring forward the relevant legislative amendments in Finance Bill 2022.
