Certified consignor and temporary certified consignor in excise taxation

Certified consignor 

A certified consignor is a company or self-employed individual whose gainful activities include regular dispatch of EU harmonised excise products released for consumption in Finland or another EU country. On the products released for consumption, excise duty has been paid in Finland. Products subject to harmonised excise duty include alcohol, certain tobacco products and liquid fuels.

When the products are moved, the Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS) must be used.

Certified consignors must register with the Tax Administration but they do not need to file excise duty returns on a regular basis.

Register with the register of excise duty taxpayers in MyTax. 

How to file an excise duty registration notice in MyTax

The Tax Administration will send you a decision on the registration.

A certified consignor can request an excise duty refund

If excise duties were paid in Finland but the products were sent to another EU country for commercial purposes, the certified consignor can apply for a refund of the excise duty paid in Finland.

A precondition for the refund is that EMCS was used when the products were moved. Refunding requires that the consignee in another EU country  has made a report of receipt in EMCS or the consignor has a document replacing the report of receipt or can provide some other account showing that the products were received in another EU country. The account must be submitted to the Tax Administration if so requested.

Temporary certified consignor 

A temporary certified consignor is a company or self-employed individual whose gainful activities include regular dispatch of EU harmonised excise products released for consumption under EMCS, or the Excise Movement and Control System.On the products released for consumption, excise duty has been paid in Finland.

The right to act as a temporary certified consignor concerns only a certain time, a certain consignee and a certain volume of products.

  • Before dispatching products, submit  a notice of temporary certified consignor on each consignment. You can find the notice (as of 13 February 2023) under Excise duties, Advance notices in MyTax.  Ask the consignee for the excise duty number needed for the notice.   No guarantee is required. How to file an advance notice and deposit a one-off guarantee
  • After this, you will automatically receive a temporary registration and an excise duty number for one consignment. The temporary registration is valid for 3 months.  
    • The excise duty number is needed for movements under EMCS, but only when the products are subject to harmonised excise duty in the EU. Such products include alcohol, some tobacco products and liquid fuels.
    • Note: In situations where a temporary certified consignee will receive your products, we recommend that you deal with your registration a few days before you dispatch the products. This is due to delays before a registration becomes valid in some member countries.
  • Fill in the details on the product, the consignor and the consignee in the e-SAD document of the EMCS system in MyTax. You will also need the excise duty number provided by the consignee. Note that you cannot submit the e-SAD earlier than 7 days before dispatching the products.
  • When you have filled in the details, EMCS will provide you with an ARC code (Administrative Reference Code), which must accompany the products when they are moved. The code can be printed on paper, for example. 
  • After this you can dispatch the products.

A temporary certified consignor can request an excise duty refund

If excise duties were paid in Finland but the products were sent to another EU country for commercial purposes, the consignor can apply for a refund of the excise duty paid in Finland.

A precondition for the refund is that EMCS was used when the products were moved. Refunding requires that the consignee in another EU country  has made a report of receipt in EMCS or the consignor has a document replacing the report of receipt or can provide some other account showing that the products were received in another EU country. The account must be submitted to the Tax Administration if so requested.

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Page last updated 5/6/2024