- Under the schemes, a deposit is to be charged at each stage of the supply chain. The deposit would be added to the price of the goods by the person (such as a manufacturer or importer) who first sells a relevant drink and on any subsequent sales e.g. by wholesalers or retailers. Once the drink has been consumed, if the container is returned, the deposit will be refunded.
- Finance (No. 2) Act 2023 provides for the VAT treatment of the schemes, namely, exclusion of the deposit amount from the taxable amount when qualifying sales are made, and requires that VAT is only accounted for on the deposits of drink containers that are not returned.
- Timing: the drink deposit return scheme for England, Wales and Northern Ireland is expected to start on 1 October 2025. Scotland is due to introduce its drink deposit return scheme from October 2025 at the earliest.
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