Sugar Sweetened Drinks Tax (SSDT)

Returns and payments

All Sugar Sweetened Drinks Suppliers (SSDS) are required no later than one month after the end of an accounting period to:

file a return
and
pay any liability.

If a registered supplier has not made any supplies in the accounting period, a 'nil' return must be submitted.

Interest on late payment applies to any payment made after the due date.

If a taxpayer fails to pay the amount due, Revenue may refer the debt for enforcement action. This can include sheriff enforcement, civil proceedings through the courts or attachment of third parties.

Details required on SSDT return

Suppliers are required to submit returns and payments online through Revenue Online Service (ROS). Where the supplier has made supplies of taxable ready to consume drinks during the accounting period the following is required on the return:

Volume of all ready to consume drinks with a total sugar content of five grams but less than eight grams per 100 millilitres. This is the volume of ready to consume drinks liable to lower rate of SSDT.
Volume of all ready to consume drinks with a total sugar content of eight grams or more per 100 millilitres. This is the volume of ready to consume drinks liable to higher rate of SSDT.

For supplies of concentrated products the supplier must calculate the volume of ready to consume drinks resulting from their preparation. The supplier must include this volume of ready to consume drinks on the return, not the volume of concentrated products supplied.

To determine the rate of tax the supplier needs to establish the total sugar content of the drink resulting from the preparation of the concentrated product.

The detail required on the return for concentrated Sugar Sweetened Drinks is as follows:

Volume of ready to consume drinks, that would result from the preparation of the concentrated products supplied with:
- total sugar content of five grams but less than eight grams per 100 millilitres
- total sugar content of eight grams or more per 100 millilitres.

All volumes of supplies on the return are in hectolitres. One hectolitre equals 100 litres.

Example

A supplier has supplied ten hectolitres of concentrated Sugar Sweetened Drinks in an accounting period.

The manufacturer’s instructions indicate that ten hectolitres of concentrate will result in 100 hectolitres of ready to consume drinks. The nutritional information indicates that the prepared drinks would have a total sugar content of ten grams per 100 millilitres.

The supplier must include 100 hectolitres at the higher tax band on the return.

All volumes of supplies on the return are in hectolitres. One hectolitre equals 100 litres.

Relief for returned goods

A relief may apply where goods, for which the supplier has already filed and paid SSDT, are returned to the supplier. Suppliers can claim this relief on their SSDT return.