Regulations must be observed to ensure uniform taxation in intra-Community trade in excise goods: European TAX WAREHOUSE.
If you want to avoid a tax or duty arising in EU Member States you must transport the goods into the other Member State under a duty suspension arrangement. Alternatively, you may deliver the goods duty-paid, and where applicable claim repayment of the duty you have already paid.
If excise goods on which tax or duty has already been paid in some other EU Member State are delivered to another EU Member State, the goods become again liable to tax or duty on the basis of the country-of-destination principle. Reimbursement of the duty/tax in the country of dispatch may be possible in certain cases. If the goods are to be delivered duty-free, though, they must be moved under a duty suspension procedure.
If you intend to move excise goods from an EU Member State to another EU Member State for commercial purposes, you have the option to deliver such tax and duty paid, that is, they have already been released for free circulation in that other EU Member State, or duty-free under a duty suspension arrangement.
Delivering tax/duty paid goods
Where excise goods that have already been entered into free circulation in other Member States are moved into the EU Member State tax territory for commercial purposes, the country-of-destination principle applies. It means that excise duty will be levied in the EU Member State tax territory. Therefore, the commercial movement of excise goods into the EU Member State tax territory is subject to taxation even if tax/duty has already been paid on these goods in another EU Member State.
Excise goods are considered as being in free circulation in another EU Member State, if they are not subject to a duty suspension arrangement (for example, if they are held in a customs warehouse) or if they are in duty-free use.
Basically, goods are in the free circulation of an EU Member State if duty has been paid for them. This is normally the case if they can be purchased freely and through the customary channels.
Whether relief is possible for duty that has been paid in another EU Member State depends on the excise legislation of the other EU Member State concerned.
If you deliver excise goods which are in free circulation in the Member State where your business is established to a commercial recipient in the EU Member State tax territory, EU Member State excise duty will principally arise. The EU Member State recipient shall declare such incoming delivery in advance to his competent main customs office on the official form drawn up for this purpose, and deposit a security for the excise duty. In addition, he shall observe further obligations under the applicable EU Member State customs legislation. Regularly, it is the designated recipient who owes the tax/duty once the delivery has been declared. If the recipient fails to declare the delivery, however, tax is owed by the first person to take possession of the goods in the EU Member State tax territory, which could be you as the consignor.
EU Member State excise duty will also arise if you move excise goods (with the exception of energy products) from free circulation to the EU Member State tax territory for other commercial purposes (such as selling at a market). In this case you are required to declare the movement in advance to the competent main customs office on the official form and deposit a security for the excise duty. Normally it will be you who owes the excise duty in this case. The competent main customs office can provide you with more information about your tax obligations.
If you supply excise goods from free circulation in the Member State where your business is established to a private individual domiciled in the EU Member State tax territory and if you ship the excisable merchandise, or have it shipped, to the recipient yourself, then you are considered a mail-order or distance trader.
If you intend to make deliveries to the EU Member State tax territory as a distance trader, it is your obligation to declare the delivery in advance and appoint a person resident in the EU Member State tax territory as your agent. This shall be done by filling the official form provided for this purpose and submitting it to that agent’s competent main customs office. The EU Member State excise duty arises with delivery of the excisable goods to the private individual in the EU Member State tax territory. The agent becomes the person liable to pay the tax/duty levied on the excisable goods delivered by you into the EU Member State tax territory. The agent must hold a relevant authorisation from the competent main customs office, which he/she must have applied for prior to commencing the agency. Such application shall be made on the official form, and its approval is subject to certain conditions. Furthermore, the agent must perform other tax obligations. The competent main customs office will provide your agent with more information about the authorisation requirements and the obligations to be fulfilled.
If the above procedure is not respected, you as the distance trader will become liable to pay the tax/duty.
Under EU Member State excise legislation, however, there is what is known as tax/duty suspension; that is the possibility to supply excise goods for which no duty has been paid yet.
Delivering duty-unpaid goods
The movement of goods, where the excise duty has not been paid, from other EU Member States is, in principle, possible under a duty suspension arrangement if you are the owner of a customs warehouse, or a registered consignee, or a particular beneficiary (for example, foreign armed forces or diplomatic missions) within EU Member State tax territory, and you are dispatching the excise goods as the owner of a customs warehouse, from this warehouse, or as a registered consignor from the place of import to other EU Member States.
To do so you require an authorisation of your national customs authority.
We are able to provide the service of excise duty declaration and payments in Italy for Alcoholic beverages. We also are customs agent who can clear the shipments with e-AD (EMCS) in Italy, when it’s required.
In Italian excise law, there are two different procedures:
The Alcoholic beverages are distributed by an express transport company to the private buyers. The e-AD is not required but only excise duty declaration and payments, and the Alcoholic beverages can be delivered directly to the recipient from your winery to throughout Italy.
If the Alcoholic beverages are distributed by an express transport company to the business buyers. is required e-AD and excise duty declaration and payments, and the Alcoholic beverages has to pass from our warehouse to check the physical correspondence of the amount indicated in the e-AD.