Excise duty permits for duty suspension procedures

General information

In order to apply for a permit to operate a tax warehouse (as a manufacturer or storage business), a registered consignee or a utilising business, the application must be submitted to the Customs Authority Austria (→ BMF)^{German text}, together with all the relevant supporting documentation. Once the permit(s) is/are issued, you will be able to access EMCS and the Austrian electronic excise registration system (EVA) via FinanzOnline or the Business Service Portal using your excise number.

Applications must be made in writing, but there is no specific form required to do so. The forms available on the Federal Ministry of Finance website are designed to help you make your application, and set out all the relevant requirements for a permit to be issued. With this in mind, we recommend you use these forms when submitting your application, but there is no requirement to do so.

Within the type of permit being sought (e.g. manufacturer, storage business, registered consignee etc.), it is possible to combine multiple categories of goods in a single application (for example, alcohol, beer etc.). The goods category applicable to some types of goods is composed of a main category (for example, alcohol) and a sub-category (for example, spirits and/or ethyl alcohol etc.).

Keepers of tax warehouses, registered consignees and utilising businesses will receive an excise number if they are issued with a permit. This number entitles them to make use of arrangements suspending duty. In this regard, a distinction is drawn between intra-Community arrangements suspending duty (where an ATV number is used for tax warehouses and registered consignees) and the domestic procedure (when the ATN number is used for utilising businesses). Great care should be taken to ensure that excise numbers are used correctly, and we strongly advise that you should contact potential business partners directly regarding such matters.

Tax warehouses

Tax warehouses are businesses approved by the Customs Office that are permitted to manufacture and/or store, modify and process (in the course of standard inventory handling), receive and dispatch excise goods under duty suspension. These goods become subject to excise duty from the moment they are released for free circulation. In Austria, a distinction is drawn between approved manufacturers and approved storage businesses dealing with such goods.

The first time a tax warehouse (manufacturer or storage business) is approved, the business will simultaneously be issued with a permit to act as a tax warehouse-keeper. Separate excise numbers will be issued to the warehouse-keeper and all the tax warehouses associated with the application.

As a rule, before the issue of a permit a security must be paid amounting to the tax that could be expected to be generated from the goods subject to excise duty being released from the warehouse into free circulation over the course of one calendar month (special provisions apply to alcohol). This security can also be provided in the form of a bank guarantee.

Minimum throughput, minimum turnover, minimum storage duration
The minimum throughput, turnover and, where applicable, the minimum storage duration of goods varies according to the category of goods concerned. For more information, please contact the Customs Office.

Forms

• Application for a manufacturer's permit (VSt 18)^{German text}
• Application for a storage permit (VSt 19)^{German text}
• Bank guarantee for tax warehouses (VSt 16)^{German text}

Registered consignors

A registered consignor permit issued by the Customs Office entitles the holder to transport excise goods exclusively from the point at which they enter the EU under duty suspension to tax warehouses, registered consignees or utilising businesses in the tax territory. The duty suspension procedure starts at the moment the excise goods are released for free circulation under customs law at the point of import, and ends when the goods are received at the tax warehouse (in the tax territory or another EU Member State) or the registered consignee's business, or at the point of preferential use by the utilising business.

There is currently no specific form to apply for a registered consignor's permit. Instead, you can submit an informal application to the Customs Authority Austria (→ BMF)^{German text}, stating all the required details and including all the required supporting documentation. More information is available from the Customs Authority Austria.

Registered consignees

Registered consignees are permitted to procure excise goods under duty suspension from other EU Member States. However, they are not entitled to store or forward goods under duty suspension. Accordingly, they already become liable for tax when they obtain the excise goods.

A distinction is made between consignees with long-term permits and consignees with permits issued on a case-by-case basis (e.g. permit holders who are entitled to obtain a maximum of 4 to 6 shipments under duty suspension in the course of a calendar year). Registered consignees who receive excise goods on a case-by-case (as opposed to a regular) basis are not issued with an excise number.

Before the permit is issued, a security must be provided amounting to the tax that could be expected to be generated from the goods concerned over the course of a calendar month (special provisions apply to alcohol). This security can also be provided in the form of a bank guarantee.

Direct supply of goods
If the delivery address for a consignment deviates from the office address or the residential address of the registered consignee, the goods concerned are deemed to have been supplied directly. If you wish to apply for a permit as a registered consignee with direct supply of goods, you must fill in the accompanying form for delivery addresses (VSt 20–1) as part of your application.

Forms

• Application for a registered consignee permit (VSt 20)^{German text}
• Form for additional delivery addresses (VSt 20-1)^{German text}
• Bank guarantee form for registered consignees (VSt 15)

Utilising businesses

Utilising businesses (referred to in Austrian legislation as "Verwendungsbetriebe") are entitled to obtain excise goods tax-exempt (i.e. under duty suspension) and to use them outside of a tax warehouse for a specific purpose without being subject to tax. This tax exemption is only triggered at the point at which the excise goods are used for the intended purpose. The decisive factor for the tax exemption is not their purchase, but rather their use for a legally defined, favored purpose. Utilising businesses are issued with an Austrian domestic excise number, and can also apply for a certificate proving their entitlement to obtain the goods tax-exempt (for example if they handle alcohol or mineral oil).

Form

Utilising businesses, natural and legal persons (VSt 23)^{German text}