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Excise Information Sheet (13) 05

Exportation of excise goods - the procedures to be followed to enable HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to issue a report of export

to the dispatching warehousekeeper to close an excise duty suspended movement.

Who should read: All excise warehousekeepers, agents and persons

involved in direct and indirect exports of excise goods in free circulation (T2 status).

What is it about: The procedures that must be followed to allow HMRC to issue a report of export to the dispatching excise warehousekeeper. Failure to receive a report of export will create an excise duty point.

When effective: Immediately Extant until/expires: Until further notice

1. Background When duty suspended excise goods are exported from the territory of the European Union (EU), the movement from the excise warehouse to the port, airport or land boundary where they will physically leave the territory of the EU is an excise duty suspended movement that must be under the cover of an eAD (electronic Administrative Document) (except for direct exports from the UK which take place using the Local Clearance Procedure (LCP) documentation – see section 2.A.ii). A report of export can only be issued to the dispatching warehousekeeper via the Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS) when evidence has been received via the UK's Customs system (CHIEF) that the goods have physically left the territory of the EU. This evidence is only received when the ICS code on CHIEF has attained 60 (for direct exports) or 62 (for indirect exports). Any other ICS status is not accepted as evidence that the goods have physically left the territory of the EU. Section 2 below describes the procedures to be followed when exporting excise goods. Authorised excise warehousekeepers should be aware that whilst they are responsible for starting the excise duty suspended movement and ensuring that a movement guarantee is in place before the movement starts, the completion of the customs export declaration may be the responsibility of the owner of the goods or exporter. In these circumstances, HMRC may not be able to issue a report of export if the customs export procedures are not correctly followed and, in the event of an

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excise duty point being created, the person providing the movement guarantee may be assessed for the duty. 2. Procedures for excise goods in free circulation (T2 status) A) Direct exportsThere are two different procedures that may apply – Standard or Simplified. i) Standard procedure This is a two part mandatory process: 1. the electronic Administrative Document (eAD) is completed by the authorised

warehousekeeper of dispatch covering the duty suspended movement from his excise warehouse to the point of exit from the UK

2. the CHIEF export declaration (completed by the exporter or owner or an agent

acting on their behalf) is made. All 3 fields of Box 40 must be completed correctly including the full Administrative Reference Code (ARC). The three fields are:

• Field 1 (Document class code) - Z • Field 2 (Document Type) - AAD (or FAD for Fallback) • Field 3 (Reference) - the full ARC (or LRN if the movement started in

Fallback) ii) Simplified procedures The use of Local Clearance Procedure (LCP) documentation in place of the eAD is the only acceptable form of simplified procedure. The requirements of Regulation 63A of the Excise Goods (Holding, Movement and Duty Point) Regulations 2010 (HMDP) must be met. These are:

a) the occupier of the warehouse must have been granted LCP authorisation; b) a full customs export declaration is required; c) excise goods under LCP must be presented / re-arrived at the UK frontier; and d) where a guarantee is required in accordance with regulation 39 of HMDP, the

guarantee provider must be shown on the customs declaration. When using this simplified procedure, there is no requirement for the authorised warehousekeeper of dispatch to complete an eAD. Authorised warehousekeepers should be aware that the movement is still within the excise duty suspension regime and therefore Parts 5, 13, 15 and 16 of the Excise Goods (Holding, Movement and Duty Point) Regulations 2010 apply. B) Indirect exports

i) Standard procedure This is a two part mandatory process: 1. the electronic Administrative Document (eAD) is completed by the authorised

warehousekeeper of dispatch covering the duty suspended movement from his excise warehouse to the point of exit from the EU

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2. the CHIEF export declaration (completed by the exporter or owner or an agent

acting on their behalf) is made. As ECS involvement is required, Box 29 of the declaration must be completed. All 3 fields of Box 40 must be completed correctly including the full Administrative Reference Code (ARC). The three fields are:

• Field 1 (Document class code) - Z • Field 2 (Document Type) - AAD (or FAD for fallback) • Field 3 (Reference) - the full ARC (or LRN if the movement started in

Fallback) For both direct and indirect exports it is vital that the authorised warehousekeeper ensures that the export declaration is correctly completed as failure to complete any part of the customs export procedure could result in HMRC being unable to issue the report of export. Please note: the Goods Arrival message is required on CHIEF to attain release for export before the goods leave the UK (see Customs Information Paper (13) 06)

ii) Movements between approved warehouses within the EU transiting an EFTA (European Free Trade Association) country These movements are not considered to be exports for excise purposes. The authorised warehousekeeper of dispatch must complete an eAD for the movement to the approved warehouse in the other Member State. In addition (but not replacing the eAD), the owner or carrier must make a NCTS (New Computerised Transit System) declaration to cover the goods whilst they transit outside the territory of the Community. The status on the NCTS declaration is shown as T2. iii) Exports where a sea crossing between Member States occurs Where any excise goods are transported by sea on a vessel that is not authorised as a "Regular Shipping Service (RSS)" (as defined by Article 313a of Commission Regulation 2454/93), the goods exported lose their Community status at the time they are loaded onto the non-RSS vessel and must be treated as a direct export from the UK. A NCTS declaration must be made to cover the goods for the remainder of the movement to the place that they leave the territory of the EU. At the present time, HMRC does not maintain a database of what vessels hold a RSS authorisation and therefore exporters should request that the carrier of the goods advises them of the status of the vessels to ensure that the correct procedures are used. iv) Single Transport Contract (STC) Please refer to Excise Information Sheet 03/13 for details. 3. Excise duty points and alternative evidence of export If after 4 months from the date that the duty suspended movement started the authorised warehousekeeper of dispatch has not received a report of export, the

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goods are deemed to have been released for consumption and an excise duty point created. The person who provided the movement guarantee is liable to pay the duty at the excise duty point. Authorised warehousekeepers should be aware that a report of export can only be issued following the closure of the customs export declaration and evidence that the quantity and description of the goods leaving the territory of the EU agreed with that declared on the eAD. This is attained when CHIEF reached ICS code 60 or 62 for the particular export with no irregularities detailed on the endorsement given by the office of exit. If after a period of 4 months from the date of departure from the excise warehouse a report of export cannot be issued, the authorised warehousekeeper will receive a notification of rejected export (IE839). Whilst at this point an excise duty point has been created, HMRC is prepared to accept alternative evidence of export from the exporter of the goods to close the export declaration and to enable CHIEF to attain the required ICS code. Only after the customs declaration is closed can the procedures to issue the report of export take place. Details of the acceptable alternative evidence of export can be found in Notice 197 paragraph 13.7.3. For the purposes of providing alternative evidence of export, exporters should send the evidence as detailed in the Notice to HMRC at the following address: For direct exports, email the EMCS helpdesk at emcs.helpdesk@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk or send by post to: HM Revenue & Customs EMCS Helpdesk Custom House Main Road Dovercourt Harwich CO12 3PG For indirect exports, email the ECS helpdesk at ecs.helpdesk@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk

Notice 197 paragraph 13.7.3 will be amended to include these addresses as soon as possible. Authorised warehousekeepers should be aware that if the person who makes the export declaration fails to include in box 40 full and correct details of the ARC, HMRC may be unable to issue a report of export. HMRC therefore advise that only if the authorised warehousekeeper is in full control of the export, including the completion of the customs export declaration, should they allow the use of their movement guarantee. 4. Procedures to be followed when exporting excise goods that are not in free

circulation (T1 status) As these goods are not within the excise duty suspension regime (for example excise goods within a customs suspensive regime such as customs warehousing), the

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procedures detailed above cannot apply to such exports and only the requirements of the relevant Customs suspensive regime are to be followed. 5. Contacts If you have any further questions regarding this Excise Information Sheet, please contact: Neill Brettell Excise Holding & Movement Policy Team HM Revenue & Customs 3rd Floor West, Ralli Quays 3 Stanley Street Salford M60 9LA. Email: neill.brettell@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk

Issued on the 26 April 2013 by the Excise Holding & Movement Policy Team - Excise, Environmental Taxes and Customs (EEC) Directorate. If you have a question about the content of this Excise Information Sheet, please use the details provided in the Contacts section. For general HMRC queries, speak to the VAT, Excise & Customs Helpline on Tel 0845 010 9000. To find out what you can expect from HMRC and what they expect from you, have a look at Your Charter.