Excise duty authorisations and registrations
Authorised warehouse keepers, registered consignees, registered consignors and tax representatives need an authorisation granted by the Tax Administration. Authorisations are applied for electronically. The authorisation must be valid when activities subject to excise taxation are conducted.
Before an authorisation is granted, the applicant must deposit a guarantee for the payment of excise duties (available in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish), if so requested. The guarantee is imposed by the Tax Administration. The guarantee is chiefly required if the authorisation concerns products subject to harmonised excise duty in the EU. Such products include alcohol, liquid fuels and some tobacco products. The amount and type of guarantee are determined by the Tax Administration.
You can submit an application for an authorisation in MyTax. The processing of the application usually takes several months. The decision on the authorisation is subject to a fee.
Request an authorisation in MyTax
In the authorisation decision, the Tax Administration confirms the terms and conditions which are essential for purposes of control and taxation and which the authorisation holder must comply with.
Types of excise duty authorisations
There are four types of excise duty authorisations:
- Authorised warehouse keeper’s authorisation and tax warehouse authorisation
- An authorised warehouse keeper can manufacture products subject to excise duty and process, hold in possession, receive and dispatch such products under a duty suspension arrangement. The manufacturer of products subject to excise duty usually needs an authorised warehouse keeper’s authorisation.
- Registered consignee’s authorisation
- A registered consignee’s authorisation is granted to a person who in his gainful employment receives excise products under the duty suspension arrangement from another EU Member State or from a place of import located in Finland.
- Registered consignor’s authorisation
- A registered consignor’s authorisation is for dispatching excise products under the duty suspension arrangement as part of gainful activities after the products have been imported from a non-EU country and released for free circulation.
- Tax representative’s authorisation
- A tax representative’s authorisation is granted to a person authorised by a distance seller operating in another EU Member State to act as its tax representative in Finland.
- Read more about distance selling of excise products to Finland
Occasional consignees do not need an authorisation – a one-off guarantee must be paid
If you receive excise products occasionally as part of your gainful activities, you do not need an excise duty authorisation. However, you must file an advance notice and pay a one-off guarantee for each imported batch of products subject to harmonised excise duty before the products are dispatched to Finland. These products include alcohol, tobacco and liquid fuels.
If you receive products under the duty suspension arrangement, you must submit an advance notice as a temporary registered consignee.
If you receive products released for consumption, i.e. products for which the excise duty has already been paid, you act as a temporary certified consignee.
Read more:
Certified and temporary certified consignees in excise taxation
How to register for excise duties
For products subject to national excise duty, an advance notice must be filed but a guarantee payment is not required. These products include soft drinks, beverage containers, cigarette paper and electronic cigarette liquids.
You can file an advance notice and set a guarantee in MyTax.
File an advance notice and set a guarantee in MyTax
You can also file an advance notice and set a guarantee by submitting a paper form, if electronic filing is not possible for example because of technical problems.
After you have received the products, file an excise duty return in MyTax.
General conditions for an authorisation
The Tax Administration grants an authorisation if the applicant has attended to their tax-related obligations without negligence and has paid a guarantee related to the authorisation. The authorisation must be valid during the company’s activities subject to excise taxation.
No authorisation is granted if the applicant
- has a ban on business operations
- is a corporate entity or partnership whose director has a ban on business operations
- has substantially neglected or – based on their previous negligence – can be expected to neglect their accounting or taxation obligations
- is bankrupt.
The applicant must be an adult and their competency may not be limited.
If the application concerns alcohol products, the applicant also has to contact the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) in order to obtain the licences required by alcohol legislation.
The conditions of the authorisation can be changed
The Tax Administration can change the terms and conditions of the authorisation if necessary. The authorisation holder must inform the Tax Administration if the details given in their request for authorisation are substantially changed.
If the authorisation holder neglects their obligations under the authorisation, the Tax Administration first requests them to remedy the negligence. If the authorisation holder does not remedy the negligence despite the request, the Tax Administration can impose a negligence penalty of up to €5,000. If new cases of negligence occur, the Tax Administration can also cancel the authorisation.
Cancelling an excise duty authorisation
The Tax Administration cancels an excise duty authorisation if the holder no longer meets the conditions for the grant of the authorisation. The authorisation holder can also request cancellation.
Before cancelling the authorisation, the Tax Administration first asks the authorisation holder to provide an explanation. The authorisation holder is also given an opportunity to correct the omissions or remedy the negligence within a certain time.
If the authorisation is cancelled, the Tax Administration issues a decision on the matter. After the cancellation, the Tax Administration returns the guarantee payment, unless it is used to cover the taxpayer’s taxes.
The excise duty authorisation expires if the authorisation holder is declared bankrupt.
Further information:
Excise duty authorisations — other pages
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