Scottish Wholesale welcomes new regulation
Lynagh, who is area manager for Booker Greenock, highlighted what the group sees as a substantial raft of legislation that wholesalers have to contend with in Scotland. But he told the SWA annual conference that the AWRS was “extremely positive” and will go a long way to help police the industry better.
“As of now it is illegal to wholesale alcohol in the UK if you have not applied for registration,” he said.
“For me it ticks a lot of boxes. Was it required? Yes. Will it work? Yes, I think it will. Were we consulted? Yes, at many levels.
“We, as an association, now have to communicate with all our members as to the implications. For example, if someone regularly overbuys on alcohol promotions to gain a better price and then sells on to his friends – then he is wholesaling and is in breach of the act.”
Under the AWRS, HMRC will also assess whether wholesalers are “fit and proper”. Those who fail to meet the test will be unable to trade in alcohol and will face fines if they continue. Businesses will need to provide information on types of customer, products sold, premises used and their main suppliers, when they apply.
Retailers will be required to buy from approved wholesalers from April 2017 and HMRC will publish details of approved wholesalers online.
Commenting on the National Living Wage, which came into effect in April, he pointed to a recent report by Capital Economics that said the new £7.20 rate for over-25s would add 0.7% to employers’ payroll costs. The same report suggests the wholesale food and drink industry will be one of the sectors hit hardest by the legislation.
“While I don’t personally recognise this within my own organisation I do think that a lot of our customers will be negatively affected by this rise and even more so by future rises,” said Lynagh.
He also said the proposed sugar levy had been a “classic case of legislation passed far too quickly with no great research involved”.
• The SWA has revamped its website. The new look site is at www.scottishwholesale.co.uk
