CHAPTER I

SCOPE, DEFINITION AND CATEGORIES OF SPIRIT DRINKS

Subject matter and scope
Article 1
1
This Regulation lays down rules on the definition, description, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks as well as on the protection of geographical indications of spirit drinks.
2
This Regulation shall apply to all spirit drinks placed on the market in Great Britain whether produced in Great Britain, Northern Ireland or in third countries, as well as to those produced in Great Britain for movement to Northern Ireland or export to a third country. This Regulation shall also apply to the use of ethyl alcohol and/or distillates of agricultural origin in the production of alcoholic beverages and to the use of the names of spirit drinks in the presentation and labelling of foodstuffs.
3
In exceptional cases where a spirit drink is being moved to Northern Ireland, or exported to a third country, and the law that applies in Northern Ireland, or the law of the importing third country , as the case may be, so requires, a derogation may be granted from the provisions of Annexes I and II in accordance with paragraphs 4 to 6.
4.
A derogation may be granted:
a
by regulations, or
b
on application, by administrative decision, where regulations have not been made or where regulations have been made but do not apply in a particular case.
5.
An application of the type referred to in paragraph 4(b) may be made:
a
to the Secretary of State, in the case of an operator intending to:
i
export a consignment of a spirit drink from England to a relevant third country;
ii
move a consignment of a spirit drink from England to Northern Ireland;
b
to the Scottish Ministers, in the case of an operator intending to:
i
export a consignment of a spirit drink from Scotland to a relevant third country;
ii
move a consignment of a spirit drink from Scotland to Northern Ireland;
c
to the Welsh Ministers, in the case of an operator intending to:
i
export a consignment of a spirit drink from Wales to a relevant third country;
ii
move a consignment of a spirit drink from Wales to Northern Ireland.
6.
An application of the type referred to in paragraph 4(b) must be made in relation to one type of spirit drink and on a consignment by consignment basis.
7.
In this Article—
a
‘consignment’ means a quantity of one type of spirit drink covered by a single document required for customs formalities and may be composed of more than one lot;
b
‘lot’ has the meaning given in regulation 2 of the Food (Lot Marking) Regulations 1996, as it extends to Great Britain;
c
‘relevant third country’ means a third country of the type referred to in paragraph 3.

Definition of spirit drink
Article 2
1
For the purpose of this Regulation, ‘spirit drink’ means an alcoholic beverage:
a
intended for human consumption;
b
possessing particular organoleptic qualities;
c
having a minimum alcoholic strength of 15 % vol.;
d
having been produced:
1. either directly:
  - by the distillation, with or without added flavourings, of naturally fermented products, and/or
  - by the maceration or similar processing of plant materials in ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin and/or distillates of agricultural origin, and/or spirit drinks within the meaning of this Regulation, and/or
  - by the addition of flavourings, sugars or other sweetening products listed in Annex I(3) and/or other agricultural products and/or foodstuffs to ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin and/or to distillates of agricultural origin and/or to spirit drinks, within the meaning of this Regulation,
2. or by the mixture of a spirit drink with one or more:
  - other spirit drinks, and/or
  - ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin or distillates of agricultural origin, and/or
  - other alcoholic beverages, and/or
  - drinks.
2
However, drinks falling within CN codes 2203, 2204, 2205, 2206 and 2207 shall not be considered spirit drinks.
3
The minimum alcoholic strength provided for in paragraph 1(c) shall be without prejudice to the definition for the product in category 41 in Annex II.
4
For the purpose of this Regulation the technical definitions and requirements are laid down in Annex I.

Definition of third country
Article 2a
In this Regulation, ‘third country’ means a country, other than the United Kingdom, and includes:
a
the Bailiwick of Guernsey;
b
the Bailiwick of Jersey;
c
the Isle of Man.

Origin of ethyl alcohol
Article 3
1
The ethyl alcohol used in the production of spirit drinks and all of their components shall not be of any origin other than agricultural, within the meaning of Annex I to the Treaty.
2
The ethyl alcohol used in the production of spirit drinks shall comply with the definition provided for in Annex I(1) to this Regulation.
3
The ethyl alcohol used to dilute or dissolve colorants, flavourings or any other authorised additives used in the preparation of spirit drinks shall be ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin.
4
Alcoholic beverages shall not contain alcohol of synthetic origin, nor other alcohol of non-agricultural origin within the meaning of Annex I to the Treaty.

Categories of spirit drinks
Article 4
Spirit drinks shall be classified into categories according to the definitions laid down in Annex II.

General rules concerning the categories of spirit drinks
Article 5
1
Without prejudice to the specific rules laid down for each of the categories numbered 1 to 14 in Annex II, the spirit drinks defined therein shall:
a
be produced by the alcoholic fermentation and distillation exclusively obtained from the raw material provided for in the relevant definition for the spirit drink concerned;
b
have no addition of alcohol as defined in Annex I(5), diluted or not;
c
not contain added flavouring substances;
d
only contain added caramel as a means to adapt colour;
e
solely be sweetened to round off the final taste of the product, according to Annex I(3). The maximum level for the products used for rounding off listed under Annex I(3)(a) to (f) may be specified in regulations.
2
Without prejudice to the specific rules laid down for each of the categories numbered 15 to 46 in Annex II, the spirit drinks defined therein may:
a
be obtained from any agricultural raw material listed in Annex I to the Treaty;
b
have addition of alcohol as defined in Annex I(5) to this Regulation;
c
contain flavouring substances as defined in Article 3(2)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on flavourings and certain food ingredients with flavouring properties for use in and on foods
and flavouring preparations as defined in Article 3(2)(d) of that Regulation;
d
contain colouring as defined in Annex I(10) to this Regulation;
e
be sweetened to correspond to particular product characteristics and according to Annex I(3) to this Regulation ....
3
Without prejudice to the specific rules laid down in Annex II, other spirit drinks which do not meet the requirements of categories 1 to 46 may:
a
be obtained from any agricultural raw material listed in Annex I to the Treaty and/or foodstuff suitable for human consumption;
b
have addition of alcohol as defined in Annex I(5) to this Regulation;
c
contain one or more flavourings as defined in Article 3(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008;
d
contain colouring as defined in Annex I(10) to this Regulation;
e
be sweetened to correspond to particular product characteristics and according to Annex I(3) to this Regulation.

Member States' legislation
Article 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
OJ L 354, 31.12.2008, p. 34 .
Substituted by Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on flavourings and certain food ingredients with flavouring properties for use in and on foods and amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91, Regulations (EC) No 2232/96 and (EC) No 110/2008 and Directive 2000/13/EC (Text with EEA relevance).
Art. 2a inserted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 17(3)
Words in Art. 1(2) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 17(2)(a)(i)
Words in Art. 1(2) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 17(2)(a)(ii)
Words in Art. 1(2) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 17(2)(a)(iii)
Words in Art. 1(3) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 17(2)(b)(i)
Words in Art. 1(3) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 17(2)(b)(ii)
Words in Art. 1(3) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 17(2)(b)(iii)
Art. 1(4)-(7) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 17(2)(c)
Words in Art. 5(1)(e) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 17(4)(a)
Words in Art. 5(2)(e) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 17(4)(b)
Art. 6 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 17(5)