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Ascertainment of strength and quantity of alcoholic products

(referred to in SPIR3140 - SPIR3150)

Strength of alcoholic products

General

Alcoholic strength for duty purposes is the ratio, expressed as a percentage of -

1. the volume of alcohol contained in the product, to
2. »Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp volume of the product (inclusive of the alcohol contained in it)

i.e the alcohol by volume (ABV) measured at 20°C.Ìý

Measurement of strength

Instruments must comply with schedule 2 (1) of the Alcoholic Products (Excise Duty) Regulations 2023.

Automatic densimeters must measure density according to schedule 2 (1) of the Alcoholic Products (Excise Duty) Regulations 2023.

»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp 2 main criteria are:

• the density must be directly measured as ‘density in airâ€� not ‘density in vacuumâ€� and then converted to ‘density in airâ€�
• at the time the measurement is taken, the temperature of the liquid must be 20°C â€� the measurement cannot be taken at a different temperature and converted to the equivalent density at 20°C

»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp automatic densimeter must carry out density measurements with accuracy and precision. All of the approved densimeters have been 5-decimal place machines, and when used according to the operator’s instructions, have proved to be accurate and precise enough for our purposes.Ìý

Some machines can convert the density of a liquid to the alcoholic strength from an internal look-up table. If this option is used, the machine must use the Official Laboratory Alcohol Tables to convert the density in air value to an alcoholic strength. Ìý

»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp actual strength method

This is a scientific measurement taken using the process described in Schedule 2 of the Alcoholic Products (Excise Duty) Regulations 2023. HMRC will accept any method that measures strength as long as it’s equal to, or greater than that described in Schedule 2. »Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp table can be requested by writing to the Alcohol Policy Team.

Quantity of alcoholic products

Any industry-recognised method, used in accordance with the manufacturer’s protocol, may be used to measure the quantity of alcoholic products.