Entry Information
Who can enter?
The ISC is open to anyone who produces, markets or sells spirits from any country, including distillers, producers, distributors, agents, independent retailers, retail chains, supermarkets and wholesalers. Retailers must enter their own brands. All spirits must be entered with the permission of the brand owners.
All spirits must be commercially available for retail, and in sufficient quantities for it to be reasonable to expect them to be available until at least early 2011. No specially prepared samples will be accepted.
Cost and payment
Entrants may submit as many separate spirits as they wish.
Each entry costs £160 + VAT.
Multiple discounts are available for online entries. Those entering 5-10 spirits benefit from a discount making the total cost of each entry £140 + VAT. 11 or more entries cost £130 plus VAT each.
The price and discount structure includes design and packaging entries for individual products in established, new and repackaged categories only (but excludes offline entries).
Please note that an admin fee of £20 will be applied to those requiring invoices whose orders have a total net value of less than £500.
Cheques should be made payable to Agile Media Ltd.
Payment terms for invoices are strictly 15 days (or prior to judging if sooner). Please note that if payment or proof of payment is not received prior to judging then products will be removed from the competition. Agile Media takes no responsibility for the returning of any spirits received on this basis.
Duplicated entries
Please check that your agent or producer has not already entered the same spirit as you. No refunds will be made for duplicated entries.
When and where to send my entry form
You can complete the online entry form at www.internationalspiritschallenge.com or send your completed hard copy entry form to International Spirits Challenge at Agile Media, Gateway Place, 42a East Park, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 6AS, UK. Fax: +44(0) 1293 474010 or email isc@agilemedia.co.uk
Please take a photocopy for your records.
Please adhere to the deadlines stated in 'Important Dates' and on your entry form. Late entries may not be accepted.
How will my product be judged?
Please refer to the judging page. In all respects, the judges' decision is final.
How many bottles should I send?
TWO bottles must be submitted for each entry (based on 75cl. If volume is less, please send an additional bottle). If entering the Design & Packaging category, please send in THREE bottles. Bottles will not be returned.
Gold medallists and trophy winners may be asked to supply further samples for the ISC dinner in November.
How will my results be published?
A list of all the medallists: commended, bronze, silver and gold will appear in Drinks International and on www.internationalspiritschallenge.com Please refer to 'Important Dates' for the schedule.
All winners, including trophy winners and category champions will then appear in a special ISC supplement distributed at the dinner and with November's issue of Drinks International.
A list of winners will also be released to trade, national and international press. If you do not wish your results to be published please contact us.
Where do I send my samples?
All samples should be sent to:
International Spirits Challenge, c/o Flightstore, Unit 27-29 Cobham Way, (Gatwick International Distribution Centre), Gatwick Road, Crawley, RH10 9RX, UK. Tel: Mike Potts +44 (0) 1293 534271
Please ensure all deliveries are clearly labelled with the name of the submitter and 'International Spirits Challenge 2010'
Please refer to the relevant dates in 'Important Dates' or on your entry form for delivery deadlines.
Entrants are responsible for all charges relating to UK duties, taxes and clearance (this is not included in the entry fee). These are payable even though the samples are not for commercial use.
The Commissioners of HMR&C require evidence of payment of duties and VAT as enshrined in The Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979 and enforced by The Customs & Excise Management Act 1979. Procedures to achieve this are stipulated in the Customs Tariff and Public Notices covering alcoholic products. It is an offence to avoid the payment of these taxes on samples. Further guidance may be obtained from the HMR&C National Advice Service - telephone 08450 109000.
Our REDS and customs clearance agent is Geodis. They will contact you to make sure that duty has been paid. If it hasn’t, they are able to take care of customs declarations on your behalf and will charge this back to you.
You should be able to ship your samples via any carrier however Geodis has a partner network which may be able to help you ship your goods from your country. See www.geodis.com for further details. If you experience any problems please contact Emma Edwards at Geodis on +44 (0) 1304 822344 or email emma.edwards@geodis.com
When sending your samples, please ensure that you tick the appropriate box on the carrier sheet (‘dutiable shipments/customs clearance’) that indicates all duty should be charged back to you (‘the shipper’). Please note, failure to pay duty will result in your product(s) being withdrawn from the competition.
Once cleared by Geodis, Flightstore will affix duty stamps to the bottles.
UK law requires that any spirituous beverage of an alcoholic strength of 30% or more in containers holding 35 centilitres or more for consumption within the UK bears a duty stamp. This regulation applies to samples with the same force as to commercial consignments of such products. Flightstore is registered by the HMR&C to apply such stamps.
If you are preparing an AAD (Accompanying Administrative Document), please use the following details:
Box 4 (excise number)
GB07459672830
Box 7 (registered office + vat number)
GB745967283
Geodis UK ltd
Broom Road
Poole
Dorset
BH12 4NR
Box 7a (use Flightstore address as above or Geodis High Wycombe)
Cancelling my entry
The ISC cannot guarantee refunds for entries that are withdrawn or for samples that do not arrive in good time.
Use of the logo
Any Award winner may publicise its award in association with the relevant product, provided the year in which it was won is stated. The winner will be granted a non-exclusive non-transferable license to use the Awards logo in connection with its award for a period of 3 years from the date of the Award.
The ISC logo remains the property of Agile Media Ltd and any unauthorised use, reproduction or alteration of the International Spirits Challenge logo, trophies or medals is strictly prohibited. Should any trophy or medal be used for promotional purposes (i.e. on printed material or on TV/radio advertising), the award must be attributed to the ISC and its sponsors.
Organisers
The International Spirits Challenge is organised by Agile Media Ltd under license from William Reed Business Media Ltd. Agile Media Ltd's address is Gateway Place, 42a East Park, Crawley, RH10 6AS, UK.
Registered number: 6646125 VAT number: 938 4452 95
