HMAG30040 - Registration and approval: revenue trader approval under CEMA section 100G (2)
The term revenue trader is defined by CEMA section 1(1)(a) as follows:
a) any person carrying on a trade or business subject to any of the revenue trade provisions of the customs and excise Acts [or which consists of or includes—
(i) the buying, selling, importation, exportation, dealing in or handling of any goods of a class or description which is subject to a duty of excise (whether or not duty is chargeable on the goods);
(ii) the financing or facilitation of any such transactions or activities [as are mentioned in sub-paragraph (i)
whether or not that trade or business is an excise licence trade; and
(b) any person who is a wholesaler or an occupier of an excise warehouse (so far as not included in paragraph (a) above)
The holding and movement revenue trader approvals described in the Warehouse keepers and Owners of Warehoused Goods Regulations 1999 (WOWGR) and the Excise Goods (Holding, Movement and Duty Point) Regulations 2010 (HMDP) are approved under the powers contained in CEMA section 100G (2). This section provides us with the discretion to:
- approve and enter in a register maintained by them for the purpose, any revenue trader who applies for registration under this section and who appears to them to satisfy such requirements for registration as they may think fit to impose.
- approve and register a person under this section for such periods and subject to such conditions or restrictions as they may think fit or as they may by or under the regulations prescribe.
- at any time for reasonable cause revoke or vary the terms of their approval or registration of any person under this section.
The main conditions and restrictions of approval are published in our public notices 196 and 197. In addition to these, we may impose further bespoke conditions and restrictions on approvals where we can justify a proportionate reason for them. Bespoke conditions must be achievable under the privileges of the approval they are applied to. We cannot impose a condition or restriction on an approval which does not relate to the general privilege of that approval type. Please see the separate conditions section in this guidance.
Although the fit and proper test is discussed further on in this guidance, we should not authorise any person(s) (including a limited company) where we can evidence, to a reasonable balance of probabilities standard, that that person would be unable to fulfil the obligations of approval or posed a significant risk to the revenue. Authorisation should not be granted where risks are identified that could not be mitigated by a condition placed on the approval.
Warehouse keeper and Owner of Warehoused Goods Regulations 1999 (WOWGR) CEMA 100G approvals
The CEMA 100G approval type under WOWGR is the Authorised warehouse-keeper, set by Regulation 3 WOWGR which, amongst other things, states that we have the discretion to:
<p> approve occupiers of excise warehouses in accordance with the provisions of … these regulations and register them as registered excise dealers and shippers in accordance with section 100G (2) of the Act. (By Act the legislation is referring to CEMA). </p><p>The warehouse-keeper “may be approved and registered in respect of all the excise warehouses he occupies.” Once approved, the excise warehouse-keeper has the following privileges (WOWGR regulation 11 refers). A warehouse-keeper can: </p><ul><li>receive goods liable to excise duty at a warehouse he occupies, </li><li>remove goods liable to excise duty from warehouse either under duty suspension arrangements or on payment of duty, and </li><li>carry out operations on the goods whilst they are in the warehouse under duty suspension arrangements. </li></ul><p>An excise warehouse-keeper may hold both their own and third-party goods in their excise warehouse, subject to any conditions of approval that may be in place. </p><p>CEMA 100G approvals under the Excise Goods (Holding, Movement and Duty Point) Regulations 2010 (HMDP) that apply in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland </p><p>A registered consignor can consign excise goods under excise duty-suspension arrangements on their release to free circulation when all customs duties have been paid or accounted for. A registered consignor can consign non-UK goods imported into Great Britain through a United Kingdom port or airport and non-UK or non-EU goods imported into Northern Ireland. They can only be moved in excise duty-suspension to allowable destinations using the Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS) once the imported goods are released to free circulation. We publish the following guidance for businesses wishing to become registered consignors: </p><p>Apply for approval as a registered consignor of excise goods - GOV.UK </p><p>The goods can only be moved in excise duty-suspension to allowable destinations when a registered consignor has started the movement, using the Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS), following the release of the goods to free circulation. Registered Consignor approval is set by Regulation 30 HMDP which provides us with the discretion to: register them as excise dealers and shippers in accordance with section 100G(2) of CEMA 1979. </p><p>We will only consider a request for registered consignor approval from a person who is based in the UK and is one of the following: </p><ul><li>an import agent who makes import declarations on behalf of an importer, using the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) or CDS (Customs Declaration Service) system to declare the goods to free circulation, </li><li>an authorised warehouse keeper for the UK destination warehouse after release from customs control to free circulation, </li><li>a person authorised to despatch goods from Northern Ireland to EU based businesses, </li><li>a person that can demonstrate a business need to consign their own goods under excise duty suspension arrangements following their release from Customs control to free circulation. </li></ul><p>The main conditions and requirements are published in our public notice 196. </p><p>HMDP CEMA 100G approvals which only apply in Northern Ireland </p><p>The categories of CEMA 100G HMDP approval types which apply only in Northern Ireland, are set by a version of HMDP which only applies to Northern Ireland, which provides us with the discretion to register them as excise dealers and shippers in accordance with section 100G (2) of CEMA 1979. </p><p>The following authorisations are available only to Northern Ireland traders: </p><ul type="disc">
</ul><p>For more information on duty suspended excise approvals and authorisations read Registration and approval of excise goods held in duty suspension (Excise Notice 196). For more information on approvals needed to send or receive released for consumption (excise duty paid) goods read Commercial importers, certified traders and tax representatives — EU trade in duty paid excise goods (Excise Notice 204b). </p><p>Temporary approvals where a decision to refuse or revoke is under appeal </p><p>Temporary approval arrangements were introduced by the Finance Act 2021 Part 4 section 131 which changed section 16 of FA (Finance Act) 1994. These apply where an approval decision to either refuse or revoke the approval is under review (section 15c or 15E of FA 1994) or where the decision is now under appeal at a Tribunal (section 16 of FA 1994). Its purpose is to allow a legal person or place to be registered/approved on a temporary basis until a review decision has been reached or the tribunal has been heard. Its intention is to prevent a decision, if in the business’s favour, having no real value. For example, where the business was unable to trade and would be unlikely to recover. </p><p>Where temporary approval is granted, it temporarily replaces or is a substitute for the original approval which has been refused or revoked. The approval commences on the day the application for temporary approval is granted and is subject to any reasonable and proportionate conditions or restrictions we may wish to impose to protect revenue, provided the business is able to continue to trade. It applies to the following holding and movement approvals: </p><ul><li>excise warehouse approvals under CEMA s92 </li><li>WOWGR warehouse-keeper approvals under CEMA s100G. </li></ul><p>Granting temporary approval </p><p>Temporary approval should normally be granted where the prospects of the decision going in the trader’s favour are high and where the business would be unable to continue without the approval. It should not be granted where it can be demonstrated to a strong balance of probability standard that doing so would place UK (United Kingdom) revenue at an unacceptable risk. As with our wider approval policy consideration should also be given to placing conditions and restrictions on the approval to limit any risk identified, provided these do not in themselves prevent the business from trading. Please see the conditions section in this guidance. The purpose of the temporary approval is to allow the business to trade pending a decision on the original refusal or revocation being reached. The temporary approval, where it is applied, would be in place until the appeal decision is reached, where the decision is in the business’s favour the approval would become a standard one. </p><p>The person who has received a decision to have their approval refused or revoked may request temporary approval by writing to HMRC. Where the request is sent to either the review team or original decision maker the National Registration Unit should also be made aware of it. </p><p>To decide whether it would be appropriate to grant temporary approval, it is necessary to consider: </p><ul><li>If the person is eligible - to be eligible they must have received a decision to revoke or refuse their original approval and this decision must be under review or appeal, </li><li>the prospect of the review or appeal in respect of the approval decision being in the business’s favour, </li><li>any alternative steps available to, and taken by, the business to protect its position pending the final decision in the appeal, and </li><li>whether the business has acted quickly and efficiently in seeking the review or progressing the appeal action. </li></ul><p>Temporary approval should only be granted where: </p><ul><li>the business is eligible and can demonstrate that if temporary approval were not granted, the review or appeal decision, if in the trader’s favour, would be worthless as the business would be unable to continue, and </li><li>risks to the revenue are manageable. </li></ul><p>When a temporary approval expires </p><p>If the decision is under review, the temporary approval expires if the approval decision to revoke or refuse is cancelled. At the point of cancellation, the original substantive approval should start or resume. </p><p>If the approval decision is upheld on a review, the temporary approval expires on the last day an appeal could normally be brought against that decision unless a further appeal is brought in, in which case, the temporary approval expires on the day on which the appeal is finally determined. The possibility of an appeal being brought out of time with permission should be ignored. </p><p>Revocation of a Temporary approval and applying further conditions and restrictions </p><p>A temporary approval may be revoked or varied with conditions or restrictions, where a change in circumstances justifies doing so. For example, if we have compelling evidence that the use of the approval represents a significant risk to the revenue, or, despite the approval, the circumstances of the business have changed and as a result the approval is no longer required. </p><p>Notifying the Business concerning Temporary approval decisions </p><p>The decision maker must notify the business in writing of any decision to grant or revoke a temporary approval or to vary the conditions or restrictions to which such approval is subject. Copies of any approval document should be shared with the Excise Processing Team responsible for registration. </p>