Excise and environmental taxes

Excise duties are special taxes on e.g. packaging, spirits, wine, beer, chocolate and gambling. Some excise duties are also called environmental and energy taxes, such as taxes on electricity and various mineral oil products.

Generally speaking, your business must register for excise duties if it manufactures goods in this country or purchases excisable goods abroad.

There are several types of registration (warehouse keeper, consignee, temporary consignee, consignor, distance selling). The form of registration depends on the individual excise law.

In recent years, we have seen a relaxation and removal of taxes on certain healthy foods, such as nuts, as well as the removal of taxes on tea and certain plastic products. Whether the trend of eliminating or reducing taxes will continue after the recent change of government is unknown.   

Manufacturing or sourcing abroad

As a manufacturer, trader or importer of taxable goods or goods with components of taxable goods, businesses must pay special attention to the obligation to register and pay taxes.

For example, there is a tax on:

• Spirits, beer and wine
• Packaging tax / unit tax on beverage packaging
• Chocolate, sweets and sugar confectionery of all kinds and products containing these ingredients
• Is / consume-is
• Games, with and without bet
• Cigarettes, chewing, snuff and other smoking tobacco and cigarette paper
• Light bulbs and electrical fuses
• Coffee and coffee products
• Insurances
• Registration tax on motor vehicles etc.
• Disposable tableware, bags and certain other packaging
• Raw materials, tires, pesticides, batteries, etc.
• Mineral oil products etc.

Certain taxes are referred to as harmonized taxes, which includes goods that are subject to taxes throughout the EU. This includes wine, beer, spirits, tobacco or certain mineral oil products. However, the tax rates are not harmonized.

When you buy or sell wine, beer, spirits, tobacco or certain mineral oil products without tax (tax suspension) from one EU country to another EU country, you must use EMCS, which is a control exchange tool of the tax authorities within the EU. It is mandatory for companies to use EMCS - Excise Movement and Control System. In EMCS, the accompanying document is electronic and the receipt of goods is also electronic.

Which companies and industries are most often covered?

At inforevision, we have for many years assisted our customers with excise duties, assessment, declaration and payment. At inforevision, excise duties have often been relevant for the following types of companies and industries:

• Chocolate shops for the manufacture of chocolate and other sugar confectionery products
• Candy stores, when purchasing from abroad
• Retail, wholesale and other intermediary activities, intermediary activities in excisable goods
• Supermarkets
• Wine and spirits importers
• Breweries, primarily beer
• Ice cream dairies / ice cream shops with own production
• Coffee and tea shops, typically with purchases from abroad
• Car repair shops, bulbs, tires and accumulators
• All types of businesses within the gambling industry
• Toy and electronics companies and more.

Our excise duty assistance covers, among other things:

We have extensive experience in assisting with the handling of excise duties etc. and can assist with the following tasks, among others:

• Assessment of tax liability and scope, including correct registration for relevant taxes
• Calculation and calculation of the amount of taxes and reporting
• Tax exemption and tax refund
• Optimization of excise and tax payments
• Taking a stand and assisting in the resumption of old periods
• Cases / inquiries from tax authorities