United Kingdom Statutory Instruments

(a) where there has been any failure to comply with or contravention of any condition imposed under - 


(i) regulation 4(1) or regulation 5(1) above, or

(ii) regulation 7(5) below; or



(b) for any other reasonsable cause.

(a) the time of their removal from any registered premises for home use;

(b) the time of their consumption;

(c) the time when there is any contravention of, or failure to comply with, duty suspension arrangements;

(d) the time when the contravention of, or failure to comply with, duty suspension arrangements first came to the attention of the Commissioners;

(e) the time of their receipt by a REDS;

(f) the time of their receipt by the person who arranged for a REDS to account for the duty on them;

(g) the time of their receipt by a person approved as an occasional importer under regulation 15 of the Excise Goods (Holding, Movement, Warehousing and REDS) Regulations 1992;

(h) in the case of tobacco products that are not received by the person or at the place to which they were consigned, the time when they are charged with duty;

(i) the time when premises cease to be registered premises;

(j) the time when they are found to be missing from registered premises.

    (3) In the case of chewing tobacco that is imported into the United Kingdom having been consigned from another member State, except where paragraph (2) above applies, the excise duty point is the time the chewing tobacco is received by the importer, owner or other person beneficially interested in it.

    (4) If tobacco products have been relieved from payment of duty and there is a contravention of any condition subject to which the relief was afforded, the excise duty point is - 

(a) the time of that contravention, or

(b) if that time cannot be readily ascertained, the time when that contravention first came to the attention of the Commissioners.

(a) cigarettes, or

(b) hand-rolling tobacco other than hand-rolling tobacco intended for retail sale in loose form that is supplied by the manufacturer or importer in packets that each contain not less than 500 grams.

(a) recycled;

(b) repackaged; or

(c) otherwise disposed of to the satisfaction of the Commissioners,

(a) before the words "The duty" insert "(1)", and

(b) at the end of the regulation insert - 

    " (2) Where the removal for home use of any tobacco product takes place on a day upon which an increase in the rate of duty chargeable on that product takes effect then if that removal takes place after 11.59 am on that day the time of removal is deemed to be the time at which that increase takes effect."

     HM Customs & Excise

     Tax Practice - Excise Social Regimes

     Alcohol & Tobacco

     3W Ralli Quays

     3 Stanley Street

     Salford M60 9LA

The Regulations implement Council Directive 92/12/EEC (OJ No. L76, 23.3.1992, p.4) (as amended) and Council Directive 95/59/EC (OJ No. L291, 6.12.1995, p.40) (as amended). They have been notified to the European Commission and the other member States in accordance with Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ No. L204, 21.7.1998, p.37) (as amended).

These Regulations replace the Tobacco Products Regulations 1979 (S.I. 1979/904). The principal changes introduced by these Regulations are:

(a) to define the tobacco products which must carry the fiscal mark and the circumstances in which the mark is required;

(b) to allow the Commissioners discretion in the registration of tobacco factories and all registered stores;

(c) to extend the requirement for formal notice of revocation to all registered tobacco premises;

(d) to allow imported tobacco products to be received into registered stores;

(e) to provide for certain requirements (for example conditions of registration) to be imposed by the Commissioners;

(f) to restrict the repayment of duty to tobacco products that are returned to registered premises; and

(g) to remove the relief from duty on tobacco products manufactured from home grown tobacco that was afforded by the Tobacco Products Regulations 1979.

Content of the Regulations
Regulation 1 contains the citation and commencement.

Regulation 2 revokes the Tobacco Products Regulations 1979 and subsequent amending Regulations.

Regulation 3 defines certain terms used in the Regulations.

Regulation 4 provides for the registration of tobacco factories and forbids the manufacture of tobacco products, except for the purposes of research or experiment, in premises other than registered factories.

Regulation 5 provides for the registration of premises for the safe storage of tobacco products. Such premises are termed "registered stores".

Regulation 6 deals with the revocation of premises' registrations.

Regulation 7 requires notice to be given of the opening times for registered premises. It also requires notice of changes to registered premises and allows the Commissioners to impose, in a notice, further requirements on the occupiers of registered premises.

Regulation 8 allows imported tobacco products to be received into registered stores without payment of duty. It also covers the identification, delivery up for examination, and repacking of tobacco products in registered stores.

Regulation 9 deals with the removal of tobacco products from registered premises and sets time limits for the removal of tobacco products from registered factories. It also provides for the time of removal for duty purposes, in the afternoon of the day of a duty increase, to be different from the actual time of removal so that tobacco products bear duty at the higher rate.

Regulation 10 is concerned with "electronic removal".

Regulation 11 provides for the removal of tobacco refuse from registered premises under certain circumstances.

Regulation 12 lists the excise duty points for tobacco products.

Regulation 13 lists the persons liable to pay the duty at the excise duty point.

Regulation 14 is concerned with when the duty must be paid and the point at which the weight of tobacco products, except cigarettes, is determined for the purposes of calculating the duty due on them. It also requires that manufacturers keep a "Production Account".

Regulation 15 requires that manufacturers and importers provide certain brand and price details of tobacco products. It also requires the notification of any deficiencies of tobacco products in registered premises.

Regulation 16 is concerned with financial security (bonds, guarantees etc.) for the duty on tobacco products in registered premises.

Regulation 17 is concerned with payment days in the case of duty deferment.

Regulation 18 is concerned with the application and approval procedures for duty deferment.

Regulation 19 is concerned with the payment of duty where duty deferment arrangements apply.

Regulation 20 provides for returns to be made in accordance with the Commissioners' requirements.

Regulation 21 is concerned with fiscal marks and defines the "specified tobacco products" that may be required to carry a fiscal mark.

Regulation 22 stipulates when "specified tobacco products" are required to carry a fiscal mark and requires that the products in question be packaged in packets bearing a fiscal mark.

Regulation 23 lists the circumstances when "specified tobacco products" are not required to carry a fiscal mark and must not carry a fiscal mark.

Regulation 24 lists the circumstances under which "specified tobacco products" bearing a fiscal mark may be removed from registered premises or excise warehouses without payment of duty. It also deals with restrictions on removal to home use.

Regulation 25 details the circumstances under which a person who possesses, transports etc. unmarked product will not be guilty of the offence laid down in section 8G(4) of the Tobacco Products Duty Act 1979 (possession and sale etc. of unmarked tobacco).

Regulation 26 allows for the credit of duty, in certain circumstances, on tobacco products returned to registered premises and requires the destruction or obliteration of any fiscal marks when duty drawback is claimed.

Regulation 27 amends the Excise Warehousing (Etc.) Regulations 1988 (S.I. 1988/809).

Regulation 28 amends the Excise Goods (Holding, Movement, Warehousing and REDS) Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/3135) and, in relation to most tobacco products, disapplies Part II (determination of the duty) and Part III (payment of the duty) of those Regulations. Both Parts continue to apply to tobacco products in excise warehouses and Part III also continues to apply in the case of UK distance selling arrangements.