Finance Act 2016

PART 2

Excise

Amendment of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Finance Act 2001 (interpretation, liability and payment)

31. Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Finance Act 2001 is amended—

(a) in section 96(1), in paragraph (a) of the definition of “registered consignee”, by substituting “section 109IA” for “section 109J(3) ”, and

(b) by substituting the following for section 109A—

“Authorisation of registered consignors

109A. (1) In this section—

‘applicant’ means a person who has applied in writing for authorisation under subsection (2);

‘authorised’ means authorised as a registered consignor under this section;

‘conditions of authorisation’ means the conditions referred to in subsection (2)(c).

(2) The Commissioners may, under this section, authorise a person, who has applied to them in writing, as a registered consignor—

(a) for consignments of specific types of excisable products,

(b) in respect of a premises or place, and

(c) for such period, and subject to such conditions as they may think fit to impose in any particular case.

(3) The granting to, or the holding by, an applicant or holder, as the case may be, of an authorisation shall be conditional on the applicant or registered consignor complying with excise law in relation to excisable products, including the requirements of this Chapter relating to the systems (including the accounting and stock control systems) and procedures of the business to which the authorisation relates.

(4) The Commissioners shall grant an authorisation under subsection (2) only where it is shown to their satisfaction that—

(a) the applicant can satisfy the conditions of authorisation,

(b) the business activity to be carried out under the authorisation is to be undertaken with a view to the realisation of profits arising out of or related to legitimate trade in excisable products,

(c) the activity to be carried out under the authorisation will be conducted solely for the benefit of the applicant,

(d) the systems (including the accounting and stock control systems) and procedures of the business to which the application for the authorisation relates will provide a full and true record of all transactions of that business in a form readily accessible to the Commissioners, and

(e) the premises or place in respect of which the authorisation is to be granted is suitable for the security of excisable products.

(5) The Commissioners shall not grant an authorisation where the applicant or, where the applicant is a company, any director or person having control (within the meaning of section 11 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 ) of that company—

(a) has, in the 10 years prior to the date of the application for the authorisation, been convicted of—

(i) any indictable offence under the Acts referred to in section 1078 (1) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 , or

(ii) any corresponding offence under the law of another Member State,

(b) does not hold a current tax clearance certificate issued under section 1094 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 , or

(c) has been authorised previously as—

(i) a registered consignor under this section,

(ii) an authorised warehousekeeper under section 109, or

(iii) a registered consignee under section 109IA,

where there has been a contravention of, or a failure to comply with, the conditions of that previous authorisation and the applicant has not shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that the contravention or failure has been remedied.

(6) The details of an authorisation granted under subsection (2), including the conditions of authorisation, shall be set down in a document, referred to in this section as an ‘authorisation document’.

(7) An authorisation document shall be signed by the applicant and by an officer, and it shall, unless another date is specified, be effective from the later of—

(a) the date on which it is signed by the applicant, and

(b) the date on which it is signed by the officer.

(8) Before any excisable products are consigned by a registered consignor, that registered consignor shall provide security, valid throughout the European Union, at a level specified in the authorisation document, for the excise duty on such consignment.

(9) A registered consignor shall inform an officer of any changes or proposed changes that are relevant to the conditions of authorisation.

(10) The Commissioners may at any time, following such notice as is reasonable in the circumstances, vary the conditions of authorisation.

(11) Where a registered consignor is a company, the authorisation shall expire immediately upon a change of control, within the meaning of section 11 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 , of such company.

(12) (a) Where a registered consignor has ceased, or intends to cease, carrying out the activities for which an authorisation was granted to it, it shall—

(i) where the registered consignor has ceased carrying out those activities, notify the Commissioners in writing of the date those activities ceased, and

(ii) where the registered consignor intends to cease carrying out those activities, notify the Commissioners in writing of that intention and the date on which the registered consignor intends to cease to carry out those activities.

(b) An authorisation granted to a registered consignor under this section shall stand revoked from such date as is specified in a notification given to the Commissioners in accordance with paragraph (a).

(13) An authorisation under this section is at all times subject to the conditions of authorisation, and the Commissioners may revoke an authorisation where—

(a) the registered consignor or, where the registered consignor is a company, any director or person having control (within the meaning of section 11 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 ) of that company has in the preceding 10 years been convicted of—

(i) any indictable offence under the Acts referred to in section 1078 (1) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 , or

(ii) any corresponding offence under the law of another Member State,

(b) the Commissioners are satisfied that there has been a contravention of, or failure to comply with, a requirement of excise law in relation to the excisable products for which the authorisation was granted by—

(i) the registered consignor, or

(ii) where the holder of the authorisation is a company, any director or person having control (within the meaning of section 11 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 ) of that company,

and the registered consignor or the person referred to in subparagraph (ii), as the case may be, has not shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that the contravention or failure has been remedied,

(c) the Commissioners are satisfied that there has been a contravention of, or failure to comply with, any of the conditions of authorisation by the registered consignor and the registered consignor has not shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that the contravention or failure has been remedied,

(d) the registered consignor, when applying for that authorisation, provided information that was false or misleading in a material respect,

(e) the registered consignor does not, when required to do so by the Commissioners, show to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that the activity carried out under the authorisation is undertaken with a view to the realisation of profits arising out of or related to legitimate trade in excisable products,

(f) the registered consignor does not, when required to do so by the Commissioners, show to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that the activity carried out under the authorisation is conducted solely for the benefit of the registered consignor,

(g) the registered consignor does not, when required to do so by the Commissioners, show to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that the systems (including the accounting and stock control systems) and procedures of the business to which the authorisation relates provide a full and true record of all transactions of that business in a form readily accessible to the Commissioners, or

(h) the registered consignor does not, when required to do so by the Commissioners, show to their satisfaction that the premises or place in respect of which the authorisation was granted is suitable for the security of those excisable products.

(14) Where the Commissioners propose to revoke an authorisation under this section, they shall notify the registered consignor concerned in writing of their intention, and afford such registered consignor a period of at least 15 working days from the date of that notification to make representations to them in relation to the matter.”.