New HMRC digital service for managing duty payments goes live

By Hamish Graham

Published: 03 March, 2025

The new digital service from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) ‘Manage your Alcohol Duty’, which went live on 1 March, is purported to allow for easier reporting and online payment services regarding alcohol duty.

The service aims to streamline and modernise the administration of returns and payments. It was developed with the cooperation of trade bodies and alcohol producers.

Approximately 5,000 producers will now account for alcohol duty with one monthly return and one monthly payment online, accounting for all the alcoholic products they produce across all of their premises.

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The return must be completed on the 15th day of a given month for a previous month’s production activity, while producers must have made and cleared their alcohol duty payment by the 25th day of that same month.

This new service follows the introduction of the Alcoholic Products Producer Approval (APPA) legislation which went live from 1 February. APPA replaces the previous alcohol production registrations and licenses.

Businesses that were approved to produce alcoholic products before 1 February have been migrated from a license or registration to an APPA and have continuity of approval.

During February business should have received an APPA ID in a letter from HMRC with information regarding how to use the APPA ID to enrol for the ‘Manage your Alcohol Duty’ service. HMRC says businesses need to enrol as soon as possible after receiving their APPA ID, and by 15 March at the latest to submit their first return.

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