The pub trade was angered last night by the news that alcohol duty will rise by 8 per cent on Monday, offsetting the cut in VAT. The Treasury insisted that pubs would benefit more than supermarkets.

The price of an average pint of beer or lager in a local pub is likely to fall slightly, while the price of buying it in a supermarket will go up a bit.

A Treasury spokesman said pubs, which tend to charge more for drinks, should see a slight reduction in prices because the VAT levied was higher than that on alcohol sales in supermarkets and other retail outlets. The move comes at a time when pubs are closing at the record rate of five a day.

The impact of duty rises is more likely to be seen in higher prices for alcohol sold in supermarkets and off-licences, with bottles of wine expected to cost at least 5p more and bottles of gin and vodka an extra 32p. High street chains, however, are certain to press ahead with Christmas booze pro-motions and there is bound to be a rush this weekend for bargain buys.

The higher duty on alcohol and 2 per cent rise on cigarettes and tobacco is an attempt by the Chancellor to offset the 2.5 percentage point reduction in VAT on tobacco and alcohol.

But the Treasury expects the overall impact on consumers to be broadly neutral, and there will be a mixed picture of winners and losers.

It is still unclear how much consumers will have to pay for their favourite tipple or smoke because tobacco and drinks manufacturers had not completed the revision of their pricing structures last night. Analysis by the Treasury, however, estimates an extra penny on a pack of 20 premium cigarettes and on a 25g pack of hand-rolling tobacco.

The beer and pub trade accepted that the price of drinks could fall at bars across the country but gave warning that hundreds of community pubs faced closure regardless. There is particular anger in the pub sector that while VAT would go back up to 17.5 per cent at the beginning of 2010 duty would remain at the new level.

The industry said that the administrative cost to businesses of implementing the changes would also be onerous. While VAT was collected on a quarterly basis, duty was payable immediately, putting extra pressure on the cash flows of companies.

Landlords and tenants are still reeling from the last Budget in March when Alistair Darling raised duty on a pint by 4p and said that he would introduce an “escalator” increase of 2 per cent above the rate of inflation in future years. Jeremy Beadles, chief executive of the Wines and Spirits Trades Association, said that the total tax increase on alcohol this year was now “a massive 17 per cent, hurting consumers when they have little else to cheer about”.

Mark Hastings, spokesman for the British Beer and Pub Association, said that there was “genuine dismay and disbelief” that the Chancellor had failed to recognise the plight of pubs.

Government figures appear to challenge this gloomy view. They report that the average price of beer in a pub is £2.57, which includes 38p VAT and 36p duty. This is likely to change to £2.54 a pint, comprising 33p VAT and 39p duty.

There was a crumb of comfort for cigar smokers. A Treasury note suggests that a pack of five will be down 3p a pack. Last night Westminster wags dubbed this anomaly a “thank you” gift to the former Chancellor and cigar devotee Kenneth Clarke, who, inThe Timeson Saturday, called for a 2.5 percentage-point reduction in VAT.

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