New 'grocery tax' will see Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsbury's shoppers charged £56

A new so-called grocery tax under Labour would see Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons shoppers face a £56 charge. The new Labour Party government has plans for a net-zero "grocery tax" - but experts are warning it could hit UK households hard in the pocket.

Ministers have been accused of “quietly” passing legislation that will see as much as £56 added to household costs annually, according to the Government’s calculations. The green levy will see retailers and manufacturers charged per tonne of packaging materials they use and is aimed at helping the UK to reduce waste and meet its net zero targets.

Lord McKinlay, a Tory peer and chair of the Net Zero Scrutiny Committee, said: “The rapidly introduced, yet little noticed ‘grocery tax’ legislation has quietly landed. It heaps more than a billion pounds of new and unnecessary costs on consumers, but as ever when government departments estimate implementation costs, these are often hopelessly underplayed.

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“It needs to be called out for what it is: yet another net zero tax which adds to consumer cost inflation, and further adds to the administrative burden on UK businesses. Another growth-destroying measure by an inept Government.”

Lord Frost said: “Rishi Sunak’s government came up with this plan and then rightly realised it was too expensive to introduce. Keir Starmer’s Government doesn’t care about that. They are obsessed with green politics and are quite happy to impose these new burdens on business which will boost inflation and push up food costs for every family. Starmer claims to care about growth but his actions show the opposite.”

Andrew Opie of the BRC said the scheme could play a “vital role” in cutting unnecessary packaging, adding: “Ultimately, customers and businesses will pay for these improvements through increased costs which is why it is essential EPR delivers a step change in recycling that justifies its £2 billion a year cost.”

A Defra spokesman said: “This Government will end our throwaway society and stop the avalanche of rubbish that is filling up our streets by increasing recycling rates, reducing waste and cracking down on waste crime. Extended producer responsibility for packaging is a vital first step for our packaging reforms which will create 21,000 jobs and stimulate more than £10 billion investment in the recycling sector over the next decade.

“We continue to work closely with businesses, including the glass industry, on these reforms. We set out illustrative fees which are lower for almost all categories than originally proposed, including for glass.”