Apply for approval to own duty-suspended goods in an excise warehouse or get approval as a duty representative
Apply for approval to own duty-suspended goods in an excise warehouse and find out how to change registration details or ownership.
To own duty-suspended goods in an excise warehouse you must apply for approval to HMRC.
An owner may be a sole proprietor, a partnership or a limited company.
You must have a UK business address. If you do not have a UK business address, you must appoint a duty representative.
How to apply to own-duty suspended goods
You must apply at least 45 working days before the date on which you want your approval to begin. This is to give us time to carry out the necessary verification and pre-approval checks. This usually includes a visit to your business.
Apply for approval using form EX60.
If you’re in a partnership you must also complete form EXCISE102.
Who should sign
The application form must be completed and signed by a responsible person within the business, who will be one of the following:
- the sole proprietor of the business
- one of the partners if the business is a partnership
- a director or the company secretary or an authorised signatory if the business is a corporate body
What to send with your application
You must send an up to date business plan with your application.
If you have previously been registered as an owner or a duty representative you must tell us. You should also supply your previous registration number, name and address.
We may ask you to send further additional information to support your application. Your application will not be processed until this information is received.
When we’ve received all of the requested information, your application will be vetted and will be subject to background checks. We’ll aim to process your application within 45 working days.
If you are not able to provide a business plan or other requested information you should contact the Excise Processing Team. Your application will not be processed until this information is received.
After you’ve applied
When we consider your application we’ll apply a fit and proper test. If any applicant provides false or misleading information on the application form, we may:
- cancel any approval which we have granted
- impose financial penalties
- prosecute the applicant
If we accept your application
We will issue you with a certificate of registration which will contain:
- your unique registration reference number
- your name and, if different, your trading name
- your address
- any conditions or restrictions which apply to your registration
You should quote the unique registration reference number on all correspondence with HMRC in connection with your registration. You should also have it available when contacting us.
If we do not accept your application
We will tell you in writing and give our reasons for the rejection. We’ll offer you a review of our decision. Find out more about what you can do if you disagree with our decision.
If you do not have a UK business address
You will not be able to keep the goods in an excise warehouse for more than the initial period, which is 72 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and other specified days. After this time, duty will be due on the excise goods.
If you wish to hold excise goods in duty-suspension beyond this time you should appoint a duty representative
Apply to be a duty representative
To be a duty representative you must have a business or other fixed establishment in the UK. You can only represent non-UK based owners.
Apply to be a duty representative using form EX64.
If you are in a partnership you must also complete form EXCISE102.
Check who should sign the form.
Applications will be considered against fit and proper criteria.
Prior to acting for an owner, you must carry out checks to make sure the owner does not have a business establishment or fixed address in the UK. You will be expected to keep evidence that you’ve carried out such checks on each owner before you act for them.
If you do not complete these checks and keep the required evidence, your registration will be revoked. This may also affect any other excise registrations or approvals you hold.
Privileges and conditions of registration
As a Registered Owner you may:
- hold relevant goods that you own in an excise warehouse
- buy relevant goods that are held in an excise warehouse
As a Registered Duty Representative you may:
- arrange for relevant goods to be held in an excise warehouse on behalf of your principal
- act as agent for the buyer of relevant goods that are held in an excise warehouse
All owners and duty representatives must comply with any condition or restriction that applies to the registration. Conditions and restrictions are published in relevant public notices. This includes the due diligence condition, a condition of approval, which requires that registered owners and duty representatives must:
- objectively assess the risks of alcohol duty fraud within the supply chains in which you operate
- put in place reasonable and proportionate checks, in your day to day trading, to identify transactions that may lead to fraud or involve goods on which duty may have been evaded
- have procedures in place to take timely and effective mitigating action where a risk of fraud is identified
- document the checks you intend to carry out and have appropriate management governance in place to make sure that these are, and continue to be, carried out as intended
Additional conditions and restrictions may also be listed on your certificate of registration. For example, in the case of a registered owner’s approval, if a concern was identified, we may need to restrict the holding or buying of certain duty suspension goods.
Before you arrange for the goods liable to duty to be deposited in an excise warehouse you should also be:
- aware of general warehousing conditions concerning the holding, movement, and the accounting for duty on excise goods and Receive goods into and remove goods from an excise warehouse (Excise Notice 197).
- satisfied that, where needed, the goods will be covered by an appropriate guarantee
Relevant goods are defined as excise dutiable goods on which duty has not been paid. But excluded from this definition are hydrocarbon oil, bio ethanol within the meaning of section 2AB of the hydrocarbon oils act and special energy products. Also excluded by extra statutory concession are wine and made wine.
An owner may wish to have a guarantee in place for trading reasons such as a movement guarantee (although the warehouse keeper and transporter can also provide this)
Changes you must to report to HMRC
You must tell the Excise Processing Teams within 7 days if any information contained on your certificate of authorisation changes. When you receive a replacement certificate, you must destroy the previous certificate, or we may impose a financial penalty.
Change of business status
The status of your business may change. For example, a sole proprietor becomes a partnership. If there are changes to the status of the business, the new legal entity must apply to become an authorised excise warehousekeeper. We will not automatically authorise the new applicant.
Also, if there’s any change to the key persons involved in the business, we retain the right to review the authorisation after considering the fit and proper criteria. Following this review your authorisation may be withdrawn or have conditions added.
If there’s a change of owner
You must inform the excise warehousekeeper in advance of duty-suspended goods being sold.
The new owner must produce their registration certificate, which will contain details of any conditions attached to the registration, to the warehousekeeper,
If the new owner is a revenue trader, but not registered with HMRC, the duty becomes due immediately. If this happens you should contact HMRC immediately. The warehousekeeper, buyer and seller will be jointly liable for the duty.
Overseas owners of duty-suspended goods must give you 72 hours notice of a change of their duty representative.
If we cancel your approval
We may cancel your registration at any time. If we do so, we’ll write to you and give our reasons for the cancellation. We’ll offer you a review of our decision or you can appeal if you disagree.
When your registration is cancelled, you must immediately destroy your certificate of registration and inform every excise warehousekeeper in whose excise warehouse your goods are deposited. You cease to be a registered owner as soon as we cancel your registration.
If you are a revenue trader and your registration is cancelled you, the owner, will be jointly and severally liable with the excise warehousekeeper and the person or persons who owned the excise goods immediately before and after the excise duty point (and any duty representative of either of the owners), for the excise duty due.
However, if you are not a revenue trader and your registration is cancelled your goods can remain in duty-suspension in the excise warehouse.
If you want to cancel your approval
You must write to the Excise Processing Team at least 30 days before the date you want us HMRC to cancel your registration from.
If we agree to cancel your registration, we will let you know in writing.
On the date of cancellation you must destroy your certificate of registration.