The forthcoming keg-deposit scheme will be "cash-neutral" for licensees, the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has revealed.
The announcement will come as a relief to licensees, who will not be required to pay upfront deposits and will only fork out if they fail to return containers.
However, confirmation that the scheme is going ahead next year puts a new onus on hosts to ensure their containers are stored securely.
Anyone who returns kegs has nothing to be concerned aboutMark HastingsBBPA
A BBPA-backed working party has been investigating plans to charge licensees deposits for kegs for more than a year in response to a spate of thefts.
BBPA communications director Mark Hastings said trials were under way to see how such an initiative would work in practice.
And Hastings confirmed: "The only people who would be liable for a financial penalty are those who lose or fail to return containers. Anyone who returns them has nothing to be concerned about."
Licensees will make a "paper transaction" when they take kegs and will only have to pay cash if they fail to return the containers, Hastings said.
"It's now being tested to see exactly how it works in practice at all levels of the system - brewer, distribution, pubco and, of course, the licensee - to ensure those people operating properly don't get landed with additional costs."
Hastings labelled the initiative a "container-loss scheme" rather than a keg- deposit scheme, because no cash is paid upfront.
He said there was no timescale for introducing it and the level of penalty charges had not been set.
Scheme welcomed
Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations chief executive Tony Payne, who has argued for the scheme to be cash-neutral, welcomed the news that upfront payments will not be required.
"A deposit would affect licensees, especially if we take into consideration the downturn in trade. Cashflow would be hit," Payne said.
Valerie Walter, Charles Wells tenant of the Devonshire Arms, in Bedford, said: "I wouldn't consider putting empty kegs out in the street. We lock them in the cellar, so we don't have any problems.
"I think larger outlets that don't have space to store all their kegs, and have to leave things outside that are not locked up, could encounter problems with people stealing kegs."
The rise in keg theft has been linked to surging prices of metal worldwide. The problem was highlighted in dramatic fashion last week when 400 kegs were stolen from the Guinness brewery, in Dublin.
For more information on keeping kegs secure, or to report suspected thefts, call KegWatch on 0808 100 1945.