Scottish Minimum Unit Pricing - Calculating the price of a beer
- market
- 26/04/2018
- 3866
- Sales regulation
This Toolkit, that embeds a calculator, will help you to understand the Minimum Unit Pricing Regulation that is applied as of 01 May 2018 in Scotland and to calculate the price of your beer using the embedded calculator.
SCOPE
The Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act of 2012 will be applied in Scotland as of 01st of May 2018. It sets a floor price of alcohol below which alcohol cannot be sold, neither in the on-trade (retail) or off-trade (bars, pubs, restaurants) to consumers, irrespective of the price at which the on-trade or off-trade operators will have purchased it from the producer. It aims at reducing the harmful use of alcohol in Scotland.
The Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 will expire at the end of a six-year period starting at its application date. It can be renewed by the Scottish government between the end of a five-year period and the end of a six-year period (starting at the Act’s application date) The Scottish government must also produce a report on the operations and effects of the Minimum Unit Pricing at the end of the five-year period (starting at the Act’s application date)
TIMING
|
2018/05/01 |
Minimum Unit Pricing applicable throughout Scotland |
|
2023/05/01 to 2024/05/01 |
Scottish government to produce a report on operations and effects of Minimum Unit Pricing |
|
2023/05/01 to 2024/05/01 |
Scottish government may renew the validity of the Alcohol(Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act of 2012 |
|
As of 2024/05/01 |
If the validity of the Act has not been renewed, the Act would expire and would not apply anymore |
CALCULATING THE ALCOHOL MINIMUM PRICING
The Alcohol Minimum Unit Pricing is obtained by multiplying the number of units by the Minimum Unit Pricing. The number of units is obtained by multiplying the alcoholic strength (% abv) by the volume of the container (in litre).
The following formula shall be applied to calculate the Minimum Price of a drink in Scotland as of the 01st of May 2018:
Examples:
Minimum Price of a 4% abv bottle of 0.5L = (4×0.5)×0.5 = 1£
->This bottle cannot be sold in supermarket or in bars, pubs and restaurants below 1£.
Minimum Unit Price of a 7.5% abv bottle of 0.75L = (7.5×0.75)×0.5 = 2.8125£
->This bottle cannot be sold in supermarkets or in bars, pubs and restaurants below 2.8125£
SETTING THE MINIMUM UNIT PRICING
The Minimum Unit Pricing is set and can be modified at any time by the Scottish Parliament upon proposal from the Scottish Government.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- The Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012
- Guidance on the Implementation of Minimum Pricing for Alcohol For sellers of alcohol and enforcement authorities in Scotland – Scottish Government
- Scottish Wholesale Association Guidance Note for Wholesalers on Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) and Licensing
DISCLAIMER
BrewUp’s publications, including this document, does not represent the views of BrewUp, of The Brewers of Europe or of The Brewers of Europe’s members. They shall not be considered as legal opinions and BrewUp, The Brewers of Europe or The Brewers of Europe’s members cannot be held responsible for any misuse or misinterpretation of BrewUp’s publications.
