Administrative cooperation in the field of excise duties

KEY POINTS

Each European Union (EU) Member State has the following responsibilities.

• Appointing an authority to apply the legislation and informing the Commission, which publishes a list of the bodies in the Official Journal of the European Union.
• Designating a central excise liaison office, the primary responsibilities of which are to:
  • maintain contacts with other Member States either directly or through designated departments and officials;
  • exchange information;
  • forward notifications of administrative decisions and other measures;
  • give feedback on follow-up activities;
  • provide statistical and other information.
• Adopting the measures necessary to facilitate information exchange.
• Keeping, for at least 5 years, information on the movement of excise goods and records in the national registers.
• Taking all necessary measures to ensure:
  • effective internal coordination and direct cooperation between their authorities;
  • operation of the information exchange system.

An authority in one Member State may request information, including a specific administrative enquiry, from a counterpart in another. It does so using, when possible, the computerised excise movement and control system and a mutual administrative assistance document.

An authority receiving a request:

• supplies the information, providing that the:
  • requesting authority has exhausted the usual sources of information,
  • number and nature of the requests within a specific period do not impose a disproportionate administrative burden;
• answers as soon as possible and within 3 months;
• may refuse to provide the information if:
  • the requesting authority is unable, for legal reasons, to provide similar information,
  • it would lead to the disclosure of a commercial, industrial or professional secret or process, or
  • it would be contrary to public policy.

Information exchange is mandatory when:

• the law is, or is suspected of, being broken in another Member State;
• a risk of fraud or loss of excise duty exists in another Member State;
• the total destruction or loss of excise goods under a duty suspension arrangement¹ occurs;
• an exceptional event takes place while excise goods move within the EU.

It is optional when information is necessary to ensure the legislation is correctly applied.

Information communicated or collected under the regulation:

• is covered by official secrecy;
• may be used to:
  • establish the assessment base for excise duties,
  • collect or administratively control excise duties,
  • monitor the movement of excise goods,
  • conduct risk analysis,
  • establish other taxes, duties and charges.

An electronic database in each Member State:

• contains registers with detailed information on:
  • economic operators (authorised warehouse keepers, registered consignees, registered consignors),
  • premises authorised as tax warehouses;
• remains up to date with complete and accurate information from the central excise liaison offices.

The Commission:

• operates a central register, as part of the computerised system, of economic operators moving excise goods under duty suspension arrangements or when moving excise goods released for consumption² between Member States;
• ensures people moving such goods can obtain electronic confirmation of the validity of excise numbers held in the central register;
• examines and evaluates the application of the legislation along with Member States;
• regularly summarises national experiences to improve the system;
• reports to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union every 5 years on the use of the legislation;
• is assisted by the Committee on Excise Duty;
• has adopted two implementing acts under the regulation:
  • Implementing Regulation (EU) No 612/2013 on the register of economic operators and tax warehouses,
  • Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/323 on cooperation and information exchange.

The regulation:

• does not affect:
  • EU rules on mutual assistance between Member States on criminal matters,
  • other bilateral or multilateral mutual assistance obligations;
• repeals Regulation (EC) No 2073/2004.

Amendments

Regulation (EU) No 389/2012 has been amended by Regulations (EU) 2020/261, 2021/774 and 2023/246, which concern the registration of economic operators involved in the movement of goods that have been released for consumption. These amending acts have been already included in the consolidated version of Regulation (EU) No 389/2012.