This Order is made in conformity with Council Directives 76/765/EEC and 76/766/EEC. It amends the Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979 and other enactments so as to replace, for the purposes of such enactments, the proof system of ascertaining the alcoholic strength of spirits and other liquids by the OIML (Organisation Internationale de Metrologie Legale) system of measurement by reference to percentages of alcohol by volume.
For the purposes of such enactments to the extent that they are concerned with alcoholic liquors, the Order also replaces any temperatures expressed in degrees Fahrenheit by temperatures expressed in degrees Celsius and any units of measurement expressed in Imperial terms by metric units of measurement; expresses existing rates of duty in metric terms and, in the case of spirits, by reference to the alcohol contained in such spirits; and provides that where the quantity of any spirits or methylated spirits was last computed before 1st January 1980 and falls to be computed again on or after 1st January 1980, it shall, unless the Commissioners of Customs and Excise otherwise require, be computed by conversion of gallons at proof to litres of alcohol using a specified conversion factor.
The amendment of any enactment by the Order is such as to preserve the effect of that enactment except to the extent necessary to enable substituted units or methods of measurement to be applied in a convenient and suitable manner.