EXTP007-Excise Tax Public Clarification on deficient or missing goods within a Designated Zone and Excise Tax relief Process

EXTP007 -Excise Tax Public Clarification on deficient or missing goods within a Designated Zone and the process destruction of Excise Goods within a Designated Zone and requesting an Excise Tax relief

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

On 21 June 2022, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Federal Tax Authority (FTA) published a new Public Clarification EXTP007 (pdf) (Clarification) on excise goods. The Clarification sets out the scenarios where relief from excise tax may be granted for excise goods that are found to be deficient, shortage, considered as wastage, or where goods are intended to be destroyed.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF PUBLIC CLARIFICATION

The Public Clarification covers two types of wastage in relation to excisable goods:

1. Wastage of excisable goods already released for consumption in the UAE (i.e. outside a DZ)

There will be no Excise Tax relief on products which have been subject to tax previously, but later considered as wastage. Examples include:

• Goods that cannot be sold or used in the course of business.
• Expired or damaged goods before they can be legitimately sold.
• Wastage in the course of production; or
• Goods that cannot be sold due to lack of consumer demand.

2. Wastage of excisable goods within the DZ

There are cases where excisable goods are considered as leaving the DZ and released for free circulation:

• Where there is a deficiency or shortage in quantity in the DZ;
• Where there is a deficiency or shortage in quantity during the transfer of goods between DZs; or
• While the goods are held in a suspension arrangement in accordance with the GCC Common Customs Laws.

As an exception to the general rule, a deficiency or shortage in quantity of excisable goods will not be considered to be released for consumption, subject to the following conditions:

• The warehouse keeper notifies the FTA within 30 days of discovering the deficiency or shortage in the stock; and
• There is a legitimate cause for the shortage or deficiency which is accepted by the FTA.
• Where the production process includes multiple stages where exercisable goods are produced at every stage, the deficiency or shortage arising from every stage should be declared separately.

PROCESS FOR OBTAINING AN EXCISE TAX RELIEF FROM THE FTA

Step 1: Submission of the lost and damaged declaration

The taxable person owning the goods should notify the FTA within 30 days of discovering the shortage/deficiency by following the steps outlined below:

• The taxable person will be required to fill out the lost and damaged declaration “EX203B” through the FTA e-services portal;
• The declaration submitted to the FTA must contain the following information:
  • the registration number (TRN) of the owner of the goods;
  • the registration number of the warehouse keeper;
  • information on the intended place of destruction (if any) of the goods (e.g. at a specified disposal facility);
  • the reference number of the designated area in which the goods are held;
  • the date of entry of the goods into the designated area;
  • the date on which the defect, damage or shortage of goods was discovered;
  • the reason for the notification (i.e. the cause that led to the shortage or deficiency of the goods) and the reason for the request for approval of destruction, if applicable;
  • the supporting documents validating the reason for the notification indicated above;
  • the description of the type of goods to be destroyed, including the item code; and
  • the value of the excise tax that would have been due on these goods.
• The taxable person will then submit the declaration, which will be automatically sent to the DZ warehouse keeper for approval;
• The submission of the declaration by the taxable person and the subsequent approval of the DZ warehouse keeper should all be completed within 30 days from the date of discovery of the deficiency or shortage.

Step 2: FTA’s review of the declaration

The FTA will respond within 30 days from the date of receipt of the declaration on whether such deficiency/shortage is a result of a legitimate cause.

The FTA’s decision would be as follows:

• Accepting the declaration and stated reason of deficiency or shortage and granting a full or partial relief of Excise Tax; or
• Rejecting the declaration where the reason provided was seen to be illegitimate, or the request is not submitted within 30 days from the date of discovery of the deficiency or shortage.

It is worth noting that where the declaration is related to goods intended to be disposed or destroyed, the FTA would inform the warehouse keeper whether any inspection is required prior to commencing with the destruction or disposal of the goods, or he can proceed with the same without FTA’s inspection.

In either case, the taxable person is required to provide evidence of the destruction or disposal of goods prior to obtaining the relief from Excise Tax, e.g destruction certificate from the respective authority.

LEGITIMATE CAUSES FOR DEFICIENCY OR SHORTAGE OF GOODS

The legitimate cause should fall under one of the following cases:

1. Force majeure, i.e. circumstances beyond control, e.g flood, fire or theft as evidenced by police reports, insurance claims or photographic evidence of damage;
2. Natural wastage and shortage, i.e. unintentional damage, shortage, contamination or other reasons which make the goods unfit for consumption, e.g deficiency due to storage conditions or shortage due to loss of moisture, as evidenced by photographic evidence, records of goods expiry date, inventory report indicating a shortage in quantity of goods due to moisture loss, reports indicating there was insufficient time or demand for selling the goods before its expiry date.
3. Wastage or shortage in the course of production, i.e. where a quantity of excisable goods becomes unusable due to the manufacturing process, and up to an allowable threshold as evidenced by production reports showing the difference between input and output which includes the percentage of product wastage. Where the wastage threshold is above a certain tolerance level without good cause, the application may be rejected and the FTA may trigger a tax audit.

IMPLICATIONS

Taxable persons who produce or store excise goods within a designated zone, should comply with the process outlined by the FTA, in coordination with the warehouse keeper, to avail relief from accounting for excise tax on the deficient, shortage and wastage or when excise goods are intended to be destroyed.