Excise Payment Security System (EPSS): authorisation criteria
Find out the criteria that HM Revenue and Customs use to assess your application to use the EPSS.
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If you’re authorised to use EPSS, you’ll be able to defer or make payments of excise duty without having to provide a guarantee.
If you are an excise trader in Great Britain wishing to defer duties on excise goods at import or released from an excise warehouse, you do not need to apply for EPSS. Instead, you can apply for a guarantee waiver at the time of applying for a duty deferment account that could reduce the amount of your financial guarantee you need to provide. You may be required to complete a Proven Financial Solvency form (PFS1) as part of this application.
If you are an excise trader in Northern Ireland, EPSS will continue to apply under the existing arrangements.
This will continue to remain unavailable to Registered Consignees, Registered Commercial Importers, or Tax Representatives appointed for distance selling arrangements, as European Union law requires the duty on excise goods moving under these regimes to be covered by a guarantee.
Updates to this page
Published 9 November 2009Last updated 2 March 2021 + show all updates
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This page has been updated because the Brexit transition period has ended.
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This page has been updated with information about applying for a duty deferment account in Great Britain from 1 Jan 2021.
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First published.