HMAG151801 - Excise duty points: irregular dispatch of excise goods from a warehouse in Northern Ireland where the movement is taking place wholly within the United Kingdom
Source: gov.uk (2025-06-02)


Depending on the scenario the relevant provisions are contained in either The Excise Goods (Holding, Movement and Duty Point) Regulations 2010 (HMDP) or The Excise Goods (Holding, Movement and Duty Point) Regulations 2010 (as amended) in force immediately before 11pm on 31 December 2020 as modified and applied in relation to excise goods in Northern Ireland by Part 1 of the Excise Duties (Northern Ireland Miscellaneous Modifications and Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (as amended) (commonly known as NI HMDP)).

Movement taking place from a warehouse in Northern Ireland to a destination wholly within the United Kingdom

The relevant provisions that apply are contained in The Excise Goods (Holding, Movement and Duty Point) Regulations 2010 (HMDP).

This part applies where excise goods are being consigned from a warehouse in Northern Ireland to a destination wholly within the United Kingdom. Excise goods dispatched from a warehouse in Northern Ireland and moving wholly within the United Kingdom (under duty-suspension arrangements) can only be consigned to:
- another warehouse in the United Kingdom approved in relation to excise goods of that class or description;
- a place from where they will leave the territory of the United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland) or the territory of the EU.Excise goods may not be moved under duty-suspension arrangements unless:
- there is a movement guarantee in place (where required), provided by someone with an approved connection with the goods, and
- the procedures in Parts 8 and 9 of the HMDP regulations are complied with.
This applies where there is a failure to consign excise goods under duty-suspension arrangements from a warehouse in Northern Ireland to another warehouse in Great Britain or to a place where the goods will leave the territory of the United Kingdom (via Great Britain) (as specified in regulation 37(1)(a)) and/or a failure to comply with the movement conditions (as specified in regulation 39). This breach is commonly known as an 'unlawful' or 'illegal' removal.

This section also applies in cases where it later transpires that the movement guarantee recorded on EMCS or Fallback document for a particular duty suspended movement was not valid. For example, if the person shown as providing the movement guarantee was not eligible to provide the guarantee (they are not one of the parties eligible to provide the guarantee) or that person is able to demonstrate that they did not give their permission for their guarantee to be used for that movement.

Where there is an unlawful removal of excise goods from a warehouse based in Northern Ireland and that are being consigned wholly within the United Kingdom, there is a release for consumption under regulations 6(1)(a) and 7(1)(a), with an excise duty point arising under regulation 5.

Excise duty point

Where there is a release for consumption under regulations 6(1)(a) and 7(1)(a), an excise duty point arises under regulation 5. The excise duty point for failing to comply with the excise duty-suspension arrangements is the time when the goods leave the duty-suspension arrangement. In most cases this will be the time when the goods left the warehouse.

Person/s liable to pay the duty

The person/s liable to pay the duty when goods are released for consumption under regulations 6(1)(a) and 7(1)(a) are shown in regulation 8.

Under regulation 8(1) the person liable to pay the duty is the authorised warehousekeeper or any other person releasing the excise goods or on whose behalf the excise goods are released from the duty-suspension arrangement. Where there is an irregular departure from a warehouse following a contravention of the provisions in regulation 7(1)(a)(i) and (ii) the person liable to pay the duty would be the authorised warehousekeeper. In other words, the goods were not consigned to someone authorised to receive them or a fundamental movement condition has not been met.

Under regulation 8(2), any person who was involved in the irregular departure of those goods from the warehouse is jointly and severally liable to pay the duty. For example, if the authorised warehousekeeper has employed a management company to undertake certain duties, including control over the release of the goods, then the management company could be jointly and severally liable for the duty.

Movement taking place wholly within Northern Ireland

In this scenario, the provisions that apply are contained in The Excise Goods (Holding, Movement and Duty Point) Regulations 2010 (as amended) in force immediately before 11pm on 31 December 2020 as modified and applied in relation to excise goods in Northern Ireland by Part 1 of the Excise Duties (Northern Ireland Miscellaneous Modifications and Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (as amended) (commonly known as NI HMDP)).

This applies where the duty-suspended movement is taking place wholly within Northern Ireland, in other words the goods are being dispatched to another warehouse in Northern Ireland, or to a place from where they will leave Northern Ireland or the territory of the EU (as specified in regulation 37(a)).

Excise goods may not be moved under duty-suspension arrangements unless:
- there is a movement guarantee in place (where required), provided by someone with an approved connection with the goods, and
- the procedures in Part 6 of NI HMDP are complied with.
This section applies when there is a failure by the authorised warehousekeeper to consign excise goods under duty-suspension arrangements to a legitimate destination (as specified in regulation 37(a)) and/or a failure to comply with the movement conditions (as specified in regulation 39). This breach is commonly known as an 'unlawful' or 'illegal' removal.

This section also applies in cases where it later transpires that the movement guarantee recorded on EMCS for a particular duty-suspended movement was not valid. For example, if the person shown as providing the movement guarantee was not eligible to provide the guarantee or that person is able to demonstrate that they did not give their permission for their guarantee to be used for that movement.

Where there is an unlawful removal of excise goods in Northern Ireland, there is a release for consumption under regulations 6(1)(a) and 7(1)(a), with an excise duty point arising under regulation 5.

Excise duty point

Where there is a release for consumption under regulations 6(1)(a) and 7(1)(a), an excise duty point arises under regulation 5. The excise duty point for failing to comply with the excise duty-suspension arrangements is the time when the goods leave the duty-suspension arrangement. In most cases this will be the time when the goods left the warehouse.

Person/s liable to pay the duty

The person/s liable to pay the duty when goods are released for consumption under regulations 6(1)(a) and 7(1)(a) are shown in regulation 8.

Under regulation 8(1) the person liable to pay the duty is the authorised warehousekeeper or any other person releasing the excise goods or on whose behalf the excise goods are released from the duty-suspension arrangement. Where there is an irregular departure from a warehouse following a contravention of the provisions in regulation 7(1)(a)(i) and (ii) the person liable to pay the duty would be the authorised warehousekeeper. In other words, the goods were not consigned to someone authorised to receive them or a fundamental movement condition has not been met.

Under regulation 8(2), any person who was involved in the irregular departure of those goods from the warehouse is jointly and severally liable to pay the duty. For example, if the authorised warehousekeeper has employed a management company to undertake certain duties, including control over the release of the goods, then the management company could be jointly and severally liable for the duty.