This is a simplified scheme for sales to private consumers where a business sells common excisable goods to private consumers established in other Member States and mostly concerns e-commerce within the EU, which excludes collect transactions. Under this arrangement, excise duties have already been paid in the Member State of dispatch and the goods can be dispatched directly to private individuals without an accompanying document for excise purposes. The vendor must always appoint a fiscal representative in the Member State of consumption who guarantees the periodic payment of excise duties in this Member State on the basis of commercial invoices. After payment of the excise duty in the Member State of consumption, the vendor can submit an application for reimbursement of the excise duty originally paid in the Member State of dispatch.
B2B means that the excise duties on the goods have already been paid by the supplier in the Member State of departure. The delivery of these duty-paid goods must be carried out under cover of a Single Administrative Document (SAD). This process requires some preparation before the goods can be transferred to the Member State of destination. The shipment must be registered with the excise administration in the Member State of destination before the actual departure of the goods on the basis of the commercial invoices for the expected shipment. A calculation is then made of the charges payable on consumption of the goods for which the excise representative is required to provide a surety with the excise administration in the Member State of destination. This is linked to the allocation of a unique reference number, which must be mentioned in Section 6 of the final SAD. After this reference number has been issued in the Member State of destination, the SAD can be drawn up in the Member State of departure and must accompany the goods during transit. Once the goods physically arrive, a consumption document will be drawn up for the consignment in the Member State of destination by the excise representative. Then a further request must be made to excise administration to release the surety paid in the Member State of destination by submitting the commercial invoices, the consumption declaration, and the original SAD. The SAD is then signed or stamped on the back by the excise administration in the Member State of destination and an original copy is returned to the excise representative in the Member State of departure, so that an application for reimbursement of the excise duty originally paid there can be made.
A Belgian brewery produces 100 litres of beer and immediately pays excise duty to the Belgian government after production. The brewer then sells the 100 litres of beer to a café in Belgium. No further action needs to be taken in Belgium for excise purposes, as this is not a cross-border sale.
A Dutch winegrower produces 100 litres of wine and immediately pays excise duty to the Dutch government after production. The winegrower then sells the 100 litres of wine to a Belgian restaurant. The delivery of the wine must be carried out under cover of a Single Administrative Document (see procedure above). For excise purposes, action must be taken in Belgium where the wine will be consumed. After payment of the excise duty in Belgium, the Dutch winegrower can then submit a request for reimbursement in the Netherlands for the ‘double’ payment of the excise duty.
B2B means that the excise duties on the goods have not been paid by the supplier in the Member State of departure. The delivery of these goods must be carried out under cover of an eAD. The buyer or an external partner in the Member State of destination must be in possession of the necessary excise authorization(s) to receive the shipment and process it for excise duty purposes.
A Dutch online store sells 100 litres of wine to various Belgian private consumers without paying excise duty to the Dutch government. The Dutch online store can ship the wine directly to Belgian consumers and must periodically provide a statement to the fiscal representative, so that they can pay the correct excise duties to the Belgian government.
When importing excisable products from a third country, account must be taken of three forms of indebtedness: customs duties, VAT, and excise duty. The way in which the debts are represented and/or paid depends on various factors such as the place of entry into the European Union, the final destination of the excisable products, and any authorizations issued by the importer (or an external partner of the importer) at the final destination.
A Belgian business buys wine in Argentina and the goods are imported via Belgium.
Option 1: Upon arrival in the European Union at the port of Antwerp or Zeebrugge, an import declaration can be made by the customs agent, whereby the customs duties and excise debts are paid directly via the same import declaration.
Option 2: Upon arrival in the European Union at the port of Antwerp or Zeebrugge, the goods can be stored in a bonded warehouse as soon as the import declaration has been completed. The customs duties are paid via the import declaration, but the excise debts are temporarily ‘suspended’ by drawing up an eAD to the bonded warehouse. *To draw up an eAD after import, the customs agent must have the necessary registered consignor authorization.
B. A Belgian business buys wine in Argentina and the goods are imported via the Netherlands.
Option 1: Upon arrival in the European Union at the port of Rotterdam, an import declaration can be drawn up in the Netherlands in which any customs debts are paid. For excise purposes, an eAD must be drawn up for Belgium in order to pay the excise debts in the Member State of destination. *To receive an eAD after import, the importer or their external partner must have the necessary registered consignor or bonded warehouse authorization.
Option 2: After arrival in the European Union at the port of Rotterdam, a transit declaration can be made in the Netherlands for transit of the excisable products to Belgium. An import declaration can then be drawn up in Belgium after the goods have arrived for payment of customs duties and excise debts.
