Alcohol duty hikes will be put on ice for another six months until August in a boost for the hospitality trade.
The Treasury is expected to confirm today that it will delay a planned increase to booze levies which had been due to come into force in February.
Brits would pay around 7p extra for a pint of beer, 4p on a pint of cider, 38p on a bottle of wine and £1.35 on a bottle of spirits if alcohol duty rose by RPI inflation as planned.
Former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng vowed to freeze booze levies in the disastrous mini-Budget in September.
But his successor Jeremy Hunt scrapped it when he took over in October - along with most of Liz Truss and Mr Kwarteng's chaotic economic plans.
It comes as the Treasury confirmed that the Spring Budget would take place on March 15 2023.
Mr Kwarteng said he had "listened to industry concerns" over planned rises in the tax paid on booze, which is passed on to consumers.
But at the Autumn Statement last month, Mr Hunt said: “We will no longer be proceeding with…the freeze on alcohol duty rates".
The announcement meant the increase was on course to come into force in February 2023.
But it has now emerged that Mr Hunt will delay this hike until August. The plans are expected to be announced in Parliament later today.
It comes as official figures found almost a third of cafes, restaurants and hotels have been forced to reduce their opening hours due to rising energy prices.
Tens of thousands of hospitality firms are trying to save on their electricity and gas bills by shutting early, according to a survey by the Office for National Statistics.
It found that companies offering either accommodation or food revealed 18.5% had cut their trading hours since the summer.
A further 6.2% had reduced the days they are open by one day, while 5.2% said they were shutting two or more days extra.
