This section is part of a full article on excise duties :
1- Definition of “Alcoholic Beverages”
2- From a tax point of view :
2.1- Distance selling of alcoholic beverages
2.2- Excise duties via local tax representative
2.3- Calculate excise duties to pay in destination / to claim in your own country
2.4- Drawback/refund of excise duties
2.5 – INTRASTAT
3- Alcohol online market
3.1- Circulation of cross-border orders
3.2- Labelling cross-border orders (ingredients)
3.3- Labelling alcohol with destination duty stamps
3.4- Contractual duties of e-retailers and Consumer’s rights
3.5- Monopoly
3.6- Packaging wastes compliance
First of all, excise duties stamps are affixed on alcoholic beverages containers under conditions fixed by every member state.
Also, common issues arise when vendors are claiming a refund/drawback of excise duties in the member state of origin.
Furthermore, to avoid this situation, it is important you clearly understand every step. You will require at each competent authority, a written statement or even a specific ruling before you can dispatch any goods.
As per case-law : C126/15, Commissions vs Portugal. It states, ‘according to Article 39(3) of Directive 2008/118, without prejudice to any provisions they may lay down in order to ensure that this Article is implemented properly’. Also, ‘… to prevent any evasion, avoidance or abuse’. It recommends ‘member states must ensure that tax markings or national identification marks do not create obstacles to the free movement of excise goods’.
Hence, the fact is, practice is not really adapted to e-commerce logistics and low-cost objectives.
How to set-up the Duty Stamp Scheme:
This is subject to the conditions set out by each member state. Registration is available to you as either the vendor or appointed representative.
Check our recent post on QR e-stamps in Spain
You must provide this information for registration (example based on UK notice DS5):
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- your name, address, legal status
- VAT registration number and your excise ID number
- the type of business you operate (in your case as a distance seller)
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- whether you’re registering in order to acquire free-standing stamps, or applying to incorporate the stamp into your own labels, or both
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- whether you’re acting as a duty stamp representative or principal. If you are, you must provide your name, address, legal entity and type of business
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- the number of free-standing stamps you expect to order in the next 12 months (if any) and the number of free-standing stamps you would have needed in the previous year
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- for label stamps. You must provide the name and address of the label printer(s) that you’ll use
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- details of any goods which were in your possession and which you have had seized within the past 5 years and which have not been restored to you
- a declaration that you’re not disqualified from the registration process
Excise duty stamps of departure member states should be obliterated or destroyed, while excise duty stamps of delivery states should be firmly installed on every bottle.
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