Arderin Distillery wins legitimate expectation ruling on excise duty

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Arderin Distillery Ltd won a High Court ruling on excise duty on hand sanitiser, reported on 12 May 2022.

The court held that Revenue’s conduct during the pandemic created a legitimate expectation that the alcohol used to make the sanitiser would be exempt from Alcohol Products Tax. Revenue must consider that expectation when determining the company’s outstanding applications.

The judgment did not decide the merits of those applications. The court found that the company had not proved verbal authorisation, but said Revenue’s course of dealing implied that the alcohol would be relieved from excise duty.