1. This clause increases the rate of excise duty charged on beer, with effect from 1 April 2000.

2. Subsection (1) substitutes a new rate of excise duty for beer in section 36(1) of the Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979. The previous rate of £11.50 is replaced by £11.89.

3. Subsection (2) makes the change effective from 1 April 2000.

4. This increase, in line with inflation, does not represent an increase in real terms and is necessary to maintain the revenue. Compared to rates of duty in 1993, excise duty on beer has fallen by a little over 4 per cent in real terms.

5. The increase will take effect from 1 April 2000.

6. The estimated cost of revalorisation is nil on an indexed base in 2000/2001. The estimated cost of the freeze on spirits is £25 million on an indexed base in 2000/2001. The RPI impact for the whole alcohol package is estimated to be +0.04 percentage points.