GOV.UK
When a Stamp May Be Applied: Registered Consignees
Registered Consignees are revenue traders (governed largely by provisions under part 3 of the Excise Goods (Holding, Movement and Duty Point) Regulations 2010) who are permitted to receive duty suspended goods from other Member States but are not permitted to hold them, or dispatch them, in duty suspension. The duty point on excise goods is created at the point the goods are received by the Registered Consignee. Duty is accounted for at this point, but paid by deferment at a later date.
Registered Consignees are able to acquire goods which have already had duty stamps affixed by their suppliers in other Member States. Their suppliers may already have applied the duty stamps themselves, either incorporated into the bottle label, or they might have obtained freestanding stamps. Alternatively, the Registered Consignees can acquire freestanding stamps themselves from HMRC’s contractor and send them to their suppliers for application overseas before the goods enter the UK. Registered Consignees can also obtain the design of the stamps and pass this to their suppliers so that the stamp can be incorporated into thebottle label.
One of the conditions of the duty stamps scheme is that stamps must be affixed to bottles before the duty point. The effect of this would be that Registered Consignee , could not have stamps affixed in the UK. So, in order that registered consignees can acquire unstamped goods and affix stamps in the UK, there is an exception that allows them to apply stamps after receipt of the goods and therefore after the duty point. In these circumstances, the goods must be held in the UK at premises notified at the time of ordering the stamps and stamped within 14 days of receipt of the goods. The offence for possessing or transporting unstamped goods is disapplied for that 14 day period unless the unstamped goods are held at premises other than those notified at the time of ordering the stamps.
Registered Consignees retain responsibility for ensuring that the stamps are affixed to product within the 14 days, even when they have passed them on, or arranged for direct delivery to, theperson actually receiving the goods.