A change in legislation is good news regarding the removal of the lengthy registration process required for the storage of whisky casks, making it easier to purchase and invest in this wonderful spirit. WOWGR stands for The Warehouse keepers and Owners of Warehoused Goods Regulations 1999. It was formed because of concerns over tax fraud within some duty suspended goods. specifically whisky, beer and tobacco.
Until this month it acted as a register with HMRC to prevent fraud. It applied to all warehouse keepers plus owners of warehoused goods that were revenue traders who had to get permission to own, store and move these products. Included were also overseas businesses, who were required to register via a UK based Duty Representative, which was also governed by WOWGR regulations.
Now only the warehouse owner/warehouse keepers need to register which means that the owners of the whisky do not. Paving the way for a much easier process. This brings the storage of whisky casks in line with wine and petrochemicals.
It is reported that by the early 2020's large scale tax fraud from goods under the WOWGR umbrella had virtually been eliminated and after much lobbying by the trade, as typically only half of warehoused items included this merchandise. HMRC reached the conclusion that the owner - registration part of WOWGR was no longer effective and proportionate. Hence it was repealed.
This change is both welcome and significant. It can open up the market for small businesses and even private individuals who want to get involved in buying and owning multiple casks of scotch whisky. Although privately owned casks are only a very small part of the multibillion scotch whisky trade it invites easier ownership. It also removes the reason for unscrupulous cask sellers hiding behind WOWGR as an excuse why they are not able to transfer a cask into a clients name, if they don't have a warehouse that will be open to private accounts.
Charles Castello of Volpe&Castello , a provider of warehouse storage and bottling to both business and private cask owners has stated “It's great that the owners now have full control over their casks, with direct access to the warehouses,”
“However, the real question is whether the warehouses will adapt to this shift and allow accounts to be opened, regardless of the number of casks.”
