Amendment to Customs and Excise review and appeals legislation
Published 3 March 2021
© Crown copyright 2021
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/amendment-to-customs-and-excise-review-and-appeals-legislation/amendment-to-customs-and-excise-review-and-appeals-legislation
Who is likely to be affected
Businesses approved by HMRC to carry out an activity under any of the due diligence schemes listed below.
Specifically, this measure will affect those businesses that wish to appeal against a decision by HMRC to revoke their approval:
- Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme
- Warehousekeepers and Owners of Warehoused Goods
- Registered Dealers in Controlled Oil
- Tobacco Products Machinery Licensing
- Raw Tobacco Approval Scheme
- Fulfilment Houses
General description of the measure
There is currently no mechanism to allow suspensive relief to a business that has been issued with a revocation of its approval to trade in a certain area. Removing that ability to trade could cause the business to fail before their appeal can be heard, leaving its appeal right effectively removed.
This measure will amend legislation to enable HMRC to temporarily approve a business in certain circumstances. Granting temporary approval in these circumstances will protect the right of appeal and ensure businesses remain viable during the appeal process.
In order to be successful in an application for temporary approval, a business will need to provide evidence to support its application. Any temporary approval granted would be subject to case specific monitoring conditions.
Policy objective
The objective of this measure is to protect a business’ appeal rights and ensure that existing powers are applied fairly.
Background to the measure
This measure has not had previous announcement or consultation, as implementation of an effective solution at the earliest opportunity is beneficial.
Detailed proposal
Operative date
The measure will have effect on and after the date of Royal Assent to Finance Bill 2021 and will come into force on a future day as determined by regulations made under this legislation.
Current law
Current appeals law is contained within Chapter 2 of Finance Act 1994 (particularly section 16). Current relevant approval law is contained within the following:
- Sections 92 and 100G of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979
- Section 88C of the Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979
- Section 8L of the Tobacco Products Duty Act 1979
- Section 49 of Finance (No.2) Act 2017
- The Tobacco Products Manufacturing Machinery (Licensing Scheme) Regulations 2018
Proposed revisions
Legislation will be introduced in Finance Bill 2021 to amend Chapter 2 of Finance Act 1994, giving HMRC a power to temporarily approve businesses whose previous approval to trade has been removed, and following the lodging of an appeal against revocation by the affected business.
Summary of impacts
Exchequer impact (£m)
| 2020 to 2021 | 2021 to 2022 | 2022 to 2023 | 2023 to 2024 | 2024 to 2025 | 2025 to 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
This measure is not expected to have an Exchequer impact.
Economic impact
This measure is not expected to have any significant economic impacts.
Impact on individuals, households and families
There is expected to be no impact on individuals as this measure only affects businesses. The measure is not expected to impact on family formation, stability or breakdown.
Equalities impacts
It is not anticipated that there will be impacts for those groups sharing protected characteristics.
Impact on business including civil society organisations
This measure is expected to have a negligible impact on approximately 50 businesses a year. Any revoked business in the excise regimes identified will have a new opportunity to apply for temporary approval in the event that they face revocation action.
Providing this option is a way of safeguarding the right to appeal of such a business, who may go out of business waiting for the appeal to be heard. Pursual of this application is optional for business. In relevant cases, one-off costs would include familiarisation with the changes and could also include preparing evidence to support the application. There is expected to be no continuing costs.
Customer experience could see an improvement as there is currently no opportunity available to apply for the temporary approval in relevant circumstances, meaning that a business could fail awaiting appeal without the ability to seek suspensive relief. This measure can safeguard appropriate businesses to the point of their substantive appeal hearing.
This measure is not expected to impact civil society organisations.
Operational impact (£m) (HMRC or other)
The additional costs for HMRC in implementing this change are anticipated to be negligible.
Other impacts
There may be an impact on HM Courts and Tribunals Service. A Justice Impact Test will be completed with Ministry of Justice to quantify any such impacts.
Other impacts have been considered and none has been identified.
Monitoring and evaluation
The measure will be monitored through information collected from applications received and the number of appeals to the decision in those cases.
Further advice
If you have any questions about this change, please email Excise Alcohol Policy at holding.movement@hmrc.gov.uk.