The registered consignee is only authorised to receive excise goods under a duty suspension arrangement from another Member State or from State territory, and may not hold or dispatch them.

The tax becomes payable upon receipt of the products, with payment within the first working day following the day of arrival. An entity intending to operate as a registered consignee must submit an application for accreditation of their qualifications to the customs office with local jurisdiction in order to obtain prior authorisation.

The authorisation is valid until revoked. It is issued in consideration of the economic activity carried out by the entity. The registered consignee is assigned an excise duty code before commencing activities.

For a registered consignee intending to receive excise goods occasionally, the authorisation is valid for a single movement and for a pre-determined quantity of products from a single consignor.
In the exercise of its activities, the registered consignee is obliged to:

  1. provide a guarantee of payment of the tax applied to excise goods under suspension arrangements before the sender dispatches the goods.
  2. enter the above goods in its accounts upon receipt, with certain exceptions (consignee registered as ‘occasional’);
  3. undergo any checks or inspections, including those enabling them to satisfy themselves that the excise goods (which are transferred to the tanks of the warehouse reserved for goods received under a duty suspension arrangement if they are transferred in bulk) have actually been received and the excise duty has been paid.

Last update: 12-12-2020