How To Obtain Your  Distillers Licence UK.

Licence Guide. 

Step by Step Guide to

How To Obtain Your  Distillers Licence UK.

How to Obtain your Distillers License. Before reading this guide I would recommend you read the following notices and legislative pamphlets to better understand some of the terms contained herein: More info at the bottom of the page.

www.gov.uk Notices:

39, 196, 197, DS5, 2002, 206

At the outset, it is vitally important to understand the nature of the current legislation regarding spirit distillation in the UK. First and foremost you cannot MAKE alcohol in the UK easily or cheaply. By this I mean you cannot extract sugars from grains, ferment the mash and produce alcohol. Or rather you cannot without significant investment in infrastructure, plant materials, and processes. Also obtaining a licence is very difficult without having the above. So if anyone is wanting to produce alcohol from scratch I would stop reading here.

This guide on how to obtain your distiller’s license is intended for those individuals wanting to produce rectified or compounded spirits from neutral grain spirit (NGS). Obtaining a licence to rectify and/or compound is a lot simpler and easier since the amendments to section 39 of the government’s excise control notices.

NGS

Taken from Google NGS is eponymously neutral. It is distilled up to 190 proof or 95% alcohol by volume to ensue maximum efficiency of distillation and flavourlessness. It is an industrial product, that  were you in Brazil, would be used to fuel a car or if you were in the Navy, would be used to clean boat engines. In the UK it is used to make Gin and other products.

What is a Rectifier? A Rectifier is someone who purchases NGS and redistills it with specific additions such as botanicals, to produce an altered flavour i.e. GIN. It is the discretion of the rectifier where cuts are made in the run and ultimately will determine the flavour and strength.

 What is a Compounder? Someone who purchases NGS and adds flavour to the NGS and proofs down to the required ABV. No re-distillation is required and resultantly no cuts to the product can be made.

You can apply for either or both licences depending on your requirements. Read this subject guide on how to obtain your distiller’s license.

What follows is a step-by-step guide based on my friend’s findings, research, and experimentation. This is the way he did it but by no means will it be the only way… but he  would recommend completing these steps in this order:

Limited Company.

Set up a limited company. This can be done very simply online for as little as £20. Trying to complete the multitude of forms as a sole trader was a lot more effort requiring licences, codes, etc. ie VAT or corporation tax numbers, business incorporation numbers….. the list goes on. Plus if you are going to set up a business to sell spirits why would you not set up an Ltd company, it looks more professional and ultimately adds to the professionalism and legitimacy of the company, all of which ease the applications through HMRC. Furthermore, during the company registration, you will be asked for a SIC code to designate the type of business.

The code you need is 11010.

Register for VAT

Register for Corporation Tax

Get an Accountant unless you’re familiar with the financial aspects

Set up a business bank account

Once all these are set up you should have the following codes which will enable a smooth transition through the HMRC battleground. VAT #, Corporation Tax #, UTR #, Company #, Incorporation #, Incorporation date #.

You will also need proof of ID, proof of address, and proof of business address.

Once all these sections are completed the main forms can be completed for HMRC. Again they need to be filled in as honestly as possible and in the following order:

Guide to HMRC.

• HMRC L5 form
• HMRC EX103A
• HMRC DS5
• HMRC AWRS

Notes:

Within the L5 it is pretty straight forward nothing within it should pose difficulties just specify what type of permit or certificate you are after ie rectifier and/or compounder. Also, you will want to purchase the NGS duty paid. This is a lot more expensive on the front end but saves you from having to find a site to store the non-duty paid spirits whilst producing storing and bottling.

Again paying NGS duty paid upfront saves HMRC headaches as well as they won’t need to check the security of your site in the same way. HMRC have their money for the spirits so therefore their risk is reduced. Furthermore, there are more applications and certifications to fill in if you are going to warehouse the product. Again to make you aware 25 litres of NGS @ 96% ABV will cost you including vat, excise duty, and delivery approximately £1150.

What to look for in this Licence Guide.

The main area to look at is EX103A. This form has to be filled in, printed off, and manually posted. When filling in the EX103A you need to specify every aspect of your plant and process within the 10 boxes provided. Firstly the room designation needs to be a secured room with a sign on it and designated codes attached to everything for record-keeping.

Example

For example, the room could be called RECTIFICATION ROOM: A (RRA). Within the description designator state that it is a secured room with a sign on the door housing all aspects of the process. After which the further 9 boxes need to fill with your plant, for example, THE STILL…..500L

Stainless/Copper column still Designator code SS: STILL (SS1) as an example. Again you pick your codes as per your process but it is important to have a designator code for everything you plan to use and operate. This way in your record-keeping you can easily identify what is happening at each stage and record effectively.

Ease

For ease… I designated the following: the room itself, still, 150L stainless bottling container, the boiler and column separately, parrots, distillate collection vessels, and filtration units.

These two applications take two to three weeks to be processed and if successful you will receive a paper copy of your credentials.

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Next Is the DS5. This licence is designed to allow you to procure and attach the purple duty stamps to your products. You can have them as free-standing sticky labels, or incorporated into the label. I had free-standing as the final bottle designs weren’t ready at that point.

Simple

Again the form was simple however I had trouble in that there was no specified section for applications for rectifiers.

I applied as a bottler of duty-paid spirits and specified in the comments the details of what I do. This form will be updated in the future to reflect the changes in the government legislative notices. I received an email asking for clarification of what you intend to do and the nature of the business and was still authorised for duty stamps the next day. Very little difficulty.

AWRS

The Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme is a licence designed to give confidence to businesses buying alcohol from other businesses. It was introduced to reduce the risk of fraud in the spirit trade. Again it Is a straightforward form requiring the usual licence numbers and registration numbers etc. which you should have received if all the other licences and applications prior to this were approved.

This application takes a little longer, 45 days for a decision to be made, however, it is also stated that they may look more closely into your business for this particular licence ie business plan, suppliers, customers, etc. Upon application, approximately 25-30 days after application you will be contacted by HMRC asking for a telephone interview to discuss many aspects of your business. This is the most detailed aspect of the entire procedure. It lasts between 30-45 minutes and details most aspects of the business and everything from product ideas and sales strategies to the technical competence of the people involved. It will most definitely involve the following:

License Guide Need To Know.

Guide on how to obtain your distiller’s license.

How you learned your distillation techniques (  Never ever say making moonshine. )

Business plan, they will want a copy of this

Letters of intent from potential business customers

Details of suppliers, where you get your NGS from

Details of products you will sell and where will they be sold

Copies of all licences and VAT documentation

It must be noted that you don’t need to have the AWRS specifically to sell the alcohol to the public for example at fairs, trade shows, and the like. Some businesses may not specify that you have an AWRS number however it aims to improve your legitimacy and transparency in your business. However, selling alcohol to the public will require your personal alcohol licence. If you are planning on trying to sell your product to pubs and restaurants it is worthwhile procuring one.

Technically

Technically once these 4 licenses are approved you are good to go with respect to selling your product to businesses. Selling these products to Joe Public will still require you to have a personal alcohol licence. Prices are as little as £135 for a one-day course and are very simple to obtain. Once you have your licence you may apply to your local council for a licence to sell alcohol within the county. To gain the personal licence the application to the council must include the following:

Also Necessary in this Guide To License.

APLH level 2 qualification

DBS Scotland police check

Two photographs passport style (including a statement of authenticity written on reverse)

Fee

Copies of proof of ID and Address

Job Done.  https://www.distillinguk.uk/domestic-stainless-micro-breweries-boilers/

Points to note on personal experience.

Gin is very tricky to replicate exactly the same every time. I would recommend learning from a professional on how to make gin consistently. Personally, I would recommend juniper and peppercorn in the liquid phase and floral elements in the vapour phase.

If you plan on making moonshine it mustn’t be called whisky or whiskey. The best bet is a moonshine designator and specify on the bottle it is ‘unaged white whisky’.

Important

Cleaning after a gin run is vitally important as the oils coat the inside of the still and can impart flavours onto other products. If you plan on just making one product this isn’t as big of an issue. This Guide guide on how to obtain your distiller’s license has been provided by a very good friend. He has now got his License to produce and sell Alcohol. He has allowed me to use his experience to help whom may ever have a similar ambition.    If you would like further help and advice please get in touch via the website and I will pass your inquiry on to him. I cannot guarantee a response because he is now concentrating on setting up his new distilling business.

This guide has been provided by a good friend and customer. He is willing to answer more in-depth questions via this website time permitting as he is concentrating on setting up his new Distilling Business. If you would like to know anything that has not been covered above please get in touch and I will pass on your inquiry. 

I cannot guarantee a response but we will do our best to help you if we can.

A couple of questions

Question from Gareth.  Do I need a “premises license” to store the gin at my distillery once rectified?
Answer. No, you don’t need a premises licence unless you are thinking of tours and on-premises sales of the product. However, one of the forms, asks how much product you will stock and hold at the distillery. I said a couple of grands worth. No issues to date.

Question from Gary. Do I need ATEX approval? The short answer is no you don’t. It is basic common sense. Obviously, if you are heating with gas you need to be vigilant with regard to vapour and vapour escapes. Internal liquid-covered electric elements are by far the best way to go. Lighting and sockets do not need to be flameproof. From a cleanliness point of view, the covered-in fluorescent fittings IP67 Dust Proof are the best choice. Air Extraction is another good point to incorporate in your distillation room.