Excise

Liability / taxable event

Unless a suspension arrangement applies, excise duties are due when excise goods are imported into the Netherlands, are produced here, are withdrawn from a suspension arrangement and are available outside a suspension arrangement.

Imports of excise goods

When excise goods are imported into The Netherlands from a non-EU country, excise duty is due unless the products are placed under a duty suspension arrangement immediately upon importation. For each type of excisable product, a rate has been established that is regularly amended by the legislator.

Production and storage of excisable goods

Excisable goods may only be produced in the Netherlands in specially designated places and only with a permit issued by the customs authorities. These places are called tax warehouses. They are similar to customs warehouses, except that they are only intended for the production and storage of the excise goods specified. The warehouse keeper must provide a guarantee for the excise duty that may become due on these stored excise goods. In addition, he must keep proper records and make periodic (usually monthly) declarations of the amount of excise duty due on the release of excise goods from the tax warehouse that have not been subject to a further duty suspension arrangement (release for consumption).

Registered consignee

A registered consignee is a (legal) person who receives excise goods under suspension of excise duty in the course of his business. A registered consignee must have a license from Customs, must keep proper records and must provide a guarantee for the possible excise duty amount due. Furthermore, he must submit a weekly declaration of the quantity of excise goods and the amount of excise duty owed that he has received in the previous week.

Suspension arrangement

A suspension arrangement is a tax scheme that ensures that the payment of excise duty due is deferred and applies to the production, processing, holding and movement under suspension of excise duty of excisable goods for which excise duty has not yet been paid. The payment of excise duty is thus postponed until the moment that the suspension arrangement is ended in the Netherlands, although the taxable event has already occurred.

Transport

Excise goods may be moved under suspension of excise duty from:

• the place of importation to a place of storage for excise goods;
• the factory (a tax warehouse) where they are produced to a tax warehouse where they are stored;
• from one (storage) tax warehouse to another (storage) tax warehouse in the Netherlands;
• a tax warehouse in another EU Member State to a tax warehouse in the Netherlands where they are stored;
• a tax warehouse in the Netherlands to a tax warehouse in another EU Member State where they are stored
• a registered consignee in the Netherlands to a registered consignee in another EU Member State;
• a registered consignee in another EU Member State to a registered consignee in the Netherlands;
• a tax warehouse in the Netherlands to a place of export from the EU.

The movement of excise goods must take place under cover of an electronic document, a so-called e-AD. The registration of these electronic documents takes place in the EU with the application of the EMCS system (Excise Movement and Control System).

The holder of the e-AD, usually the tax warehousekeeper from which the excisable goods depart, is liable for the excise duty until the excisable goods reach their destination in a proper manner.

In the event that irregularities (e.g. theft or loss) have occurred during transport, the excise duty payable on those excise goods shall be levied and collected from the holder of the document.

Fraud

Since excisable goods are highly taxed, fraud regularly takes place with these goods. This includes not only irregular production (for example secret distilleries and smuggling), but also carousel traffic. In the latter case, not only excise but also VAT is evaded. In addition, fraud in movements of excise goods occurs when these goods are moved on paper from one EU Member State to another, while the goods are actually being transported to a different destination and released for free circulation without payment of excise duties.