EAIG30100 - Completion of Forms EX601 and EX601(CS): how to complete
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-05)


Alcoholic Ingredients ReliefYou should use Form EX601 and, where necessary, its continuation sheet (Form EX601(CS)) to notify
- any excise assessment
- any assessment to an excise civil penalty, and
- an assessment to both duty and penalty.
General notes on completion

The EX601 can be found on the SEES database.

You should
- enter whole pounds in the 'due to' and 'due from' columns
- enter 'due to' and 'due from' amounts on separate lines
- ensure under-declarations are rounded down and over-declarations are rounded up, and
- always record either an 'assessment code' or a 'penalty code' for each line.
Notifying assessments for amounts which are not excise duty

When notifying an excise assessment for an amount which is not excise duty (amounts deemed to be amounts due as excise duty under section 12A of the Finance Act 1994) you should amend the statement on the form which begins 'HMRC …' as follows
- after the word 'amounts, delete 'of excise duty' and replace with the words 'specified below', and
- delete the sentence 'Payment of any assessment to duty is due under Section 116 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979'. (Section 116 of CEMA is only concerned with the payment of excise duty.)
Completion of EX601 on SEES

SEES Input Screen - main Table

Recipient Name

Enter the name of the person who is the subject of the assessment or penalty. If the person is registered with HMRC (or approved, authorised, etc), make sure that you enter the correct registration details. If the person is a private individual, enter their name.

Address

Enter the address of the person who is the subject of the assessment or penalty. If the person is registered with HMRC (or approved, authorised, etc), make sure that you enter the correct registration address. If the person is a private individual, enter their home address.

Post code

Enter the post code of the person who is the subject of the assessment or penalty. If the person is registered with HMRC (or approved, authorised, etc), make sure that you enter the correct post code details. If the person is a private individual, enter their home post code.

Use the Caseflow Scanning Address?

Click the appropriate button in accordance with your local Caseflow guidance.

Assessment Reference Number

It is a mandatory requirement to obtain an Assessment Reference Number (ARN) for any assessment or penalty that you notify on Form EX601.

Enter the ARN issued to you by the accounting centre.

Total Duty/penalty due TO HMRC

Enter the total amount of lines 1 to 8 showing duty/penalty due to HMRC. Do not include amounts from any EX601(CS) continuation sheet.

Total duty due FROM HMRC

Enter the total amount of lines 1 to 8 showing duty/penalty due to HMRC. Do not include amounts from any EX601(CS) continuation sheet.

Date of Signature (optional)

Enter on the SEES input screen, or add to printed EX601 before issue.

Name of Issuing Officer (optional)

Enter on the SEES input screen, or add to printed EX601 before issue.

Excise Reference + and Regime Indicator required?

If you require these click the 'Yes' button on the SEES input screen and enter the details in the boxes that will appear. Otherwise click the 'No' button.

Net Amount due

Enter the net amount of all amounts due to and from HMRC. Also include any amounts on continuation sheets EX601(CS). Specify whether the net amount is due to HMRC or due from HMRC.

Is Net Amount due TO or FROM HMRC

If the answer is 'Yes' click on the 'Yes' button. Otherwise click the 'No' button.

Accounting Centre

Select the appropriate accounting centre from the drop-down list.

Date of letter/form issue

SEES will populate this with the current date. If this is not the date the form will be issued, you should amend it to the appropriate date on the SEES input screen.

As the notification date is the date we use for assessment time limit purposes, you should check that the start date for each assessment line is still within time.

SEES Input Screen - Details of Dates + Penalties

From

On each line used, you must enter here the dates on which the assessments or liability to a penalty started. This may result in single-line assessments or penalties covering periods ranging from one day to possibly several years.

If the assessment or penalty covers only one day, enter the same date in both 'From' and 'To' fields.

What ever the circumstances, you must enter a date. You should also ensure that the 'From' date on assessment lines does not exceed the applicable assessment time limit(s).

When dealing with authorised traders on fixed accounting periods you should allocate assessments and penalties to the return period in which the liability arose, showing the 'From' date for each prescribed accounting period. However, if you are unable to allocate duty under-declarations to specific periods, or you have difficulty doing so, you may enter the assessment as a single-line bulk assessment.

Where you have split the liability to periods, enter each period liability on a separate line. Enter assessments in chronological order, with the oldest liability on Line 1. You should also enter penalties in chronological order.

To

On each line used, you must enter here the date on which the assessments or liability to a penalty finished. This may result in single-line assessments or penalties covering periods ranging from one day to possibly several years.

If the assessment or penalty covers only one day, enter the same date in both 'Start From' and 'To End' fields.

When dealing with authorised traders on fixed accounting periods you should allocate assessments and penalties to the return period in which the liability arose, showing the 'To' date for each prescribed accounting period. However, if you are unable to allocate duty under-declarations to specific periods, or you have difficulty doing so, you may enter the assessment as a single-line bulk assessment.

Where you have split the liability to periods, enter each period liability on a separate line. Enter assessments in chronological order, with the oldest liability on Line 1. You should also enter penalties in chronological order.

Duty due to HMRC

For each line enter here the net liability due to HMRC.

You must use a separate line for each period if you are allocating the liability to different periods, and a separate line for each different type of penalty within that period.

For example, if you are notifying an assessment for a net under-declaration covering several months, together with a schedule 24 penalty and a schedule 41 penalty in the same period, you will need to use three separate lines: one for the under-declaration and one for each of the two different penalties.

You must enter under-declaration and over-declarations on separate lines. You must not record both an amount 'due to' and an amount 'due from' HMRC on the same line.

Duty due FROM HMRC

For each line enter here the net liability due to HMRC.

You must use a separate line for each period if you are allocating the liability to different periods, and a separate line for each different type of penalty within that period.

You must enter under-declaration and over-declarations on separate lines. You must not record both an amount 'due to' and an amount 'due from' HMRC on the same line.

A - Att Code

You must differentiate between assessment liabilities. For assessments select 'A' from the drop down list, for penalties select 'P' from the drop down list.

R - Reason Code

In order to provide the trader and HMRC additional information concerning the excise duty you must review the codes shown on Form EX603 and select a 'Reason Code' from the drop down list. If there is no assessment to duty leave these boxes blank.

M - Method Code

In order to provide the trader and HMRC additional information concerning the excise duty you must review the codes shown on Form EX603 and select a 'Method Code' from the drop down list. If there is no assessment to duty leave these boxes blank.

P -Penalty Type

When you issue a civil penalty you should review the codes listed on Form EX603 and select the appropriate 'Penalty Type' from the drop down list. If you are not applying a penalty, you should leave this box blank.

D - Penalty Rate

If you select the penalty code 2 and 4 you must enter the percentage applied to the duty amount to arrive at the penalty, or if you applied a daily penalty you should enter the number of days that the penalty applied for. If you are not applying a penalty, you should leave this box blank.

S - Account Source

To ensure that assessments and penalties are correctly accounted for, you must enter here the Customs and Excise Core Accounting System (CECAS) code that most closely corresponds to the reason for the assessment or penalty.

Enter the appropriate code from the CECAS account code list

Assessments

The CECAS code is split into two identifiers:
- Account Source (S) The first two digits identify whether the duty related to ex-warehouse receipts, ex-ship receipts etc (see list below); and
- Tax type (T) The last three digits represent the tax type, for example ‘cider’, ‘tobacco products’.
Where possible, you should allocate the assessed debt to the different account sources and tax types, entering each different type on a separate line. However, if such allocation involves you in overly complex or time-consuming calculations, enter the assessment against the account code which represents the greatest part of the assessment.

The account source identifiers relevant to excise assessments are:
- Civil Penalty - 20
- Ex-warehouse receipts - 31
- Ex-ship receipts - 32
- Other receipts - 33
- Ex-warehouse receipts collected by direct debit - 41
- Ex-ship receipts collected by direct debit - 42
- Other receipts collected by direct debit - 43
- Revenue repayments - 53
- Drawback - 63
Penalties

You must ensure that you code the penalty, of whatever type, to the appropriate regime-specific CECAS code. All excise civil penalties are coded under account source 20, with the relevant tax types beginning with an 8 or a 9. (For example, the account code for a fixed civil penalty relating to alcohol is 20967.)

T -Tax Rate

Enter the appropriate code from the table below:

Signing the EX 601

The EX601 should be signed by both the issuing officer and the checking or authorising officer. They should also insert their grades, see EAIG17500 (https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/excise-assessments-interim-guidance/eaig17500).