Scam messages have been sent in the Finnish Tax Administration’s name. Read more about scams

EMCS registrations for excise taxation

EMCS, or the Excise Movement and Control System expands on 13 February 2023. EMCS is used for movements of products subject to harmonised excise duty in the EU. Such products include alcohol, some tobacco products and liquid fuels. Starting 13 February 2023, the system also covers movements of products released for consumption, not only movements of duty-suspended products. Because of the change, new registrations become available for operators.

New registrations for consignors and consignees of products released for consumption – valid as of 13 February 2023

If you regularly move EU harmonised excise products for which excise duty is paid in the country of departure, you can register, starting 21 November 2022, as:

  • a certified consignee
  • a certified consignor.

As of 13 February 2023, you can also act as:

  • a temporary certified consignee
  • a temporary certified consignor.

In the above cases, you do not need to register. 

What are the requirements for registering as a certified consignee or a certified consignor?

You can register as a certified consignee or a certified consignor if you, in the course of your gainful activities, 

  • import products for which excise duties are paid in another Member State 
  • or dispatch products for which excise duties are paid in Finland to another Member State
  • and you conduct the activity on a regular basis.

Early registration as a certified consignee or consignor is recommended

You can register as of 21 November 2022. It is advisable to register in good time so that the Tax Administration has enough time to process your registration. You can start using your new registration in EMCS on 13 February 2023.

If you are a certified consignee, you have a unique excise duty number. You do not have to file an advance notice on an individual consignment, nor pay a guarantee separately for each consignment. Further, your period of payment for excise duties is longer than that of casual operators. As a certified consignee, however, you must deposit a guarantee associated with your registration, such as a bank guarantee. 

If you are a certified consignor, you have a unique excise duty number. You do not need to file an advance notice separately on each consignment. No guarantee is required from the consignor.

How to register as a certified consignee or a certified consignor?

You can register as a certified consignee or a certified consignor under Excise taxation: Authorisations and registrations in MyTax.

You can register as of 21 November 2022. The Tax Administration will process your registration, but it will not come into force until 13 February 2023. 

Go to MyTax

How to file an excise duty registration notice in MyTax

Regular taxpayer: How to file and pay excise duties

As of 13 February 2023, you can also act as a temporary certified consignee or consignor

You can also act as a temporary certified consignee or a temporary certified consignor.

  • If you act as a temporary certified consignee, file an advance notice on each consignment in MyTax and pay a guarantee. After this, you will automatically receive a temporary registration and an excise duty number. The temporary registration is valid for 3 months.
  • When you act as a temporary certified consignor, file a certified consignor’s notice on each consignment in advance. You can find the notice under Advance notices in MyTax starting 13 February 2023. No guarantee is required. After this, you will automatically receive a temporary registration and an excise duty number. The temporary registration is valid for 3 months.

How to file an advance notice and deposit a one-off guarantee

Casual taxpayer: How to take care of excise duties, advance notices and one-off guarantees

If you move EU harmonised excise products for which excise duty has not been paid yet, you can act as

  • an authorised warehouse keeper
  • a registered consignee
  • a registered consignor
  • a temporary registered consignee.

A temporary registered consignee does not need an authorisation, but it must file an advance notice and deposit a guarantee separately for each consignment. Other operators will need an authorisation granted by the Tax Administration. Read more: Excise duty authorisations

Read more:

Page last updated 3/8/2023