Excise movement and control system (EMCS) updates
From January 2011 businesses must use a new electronic system designed to capture information relating to the movement of excise goods in duty suspension (alcohol, tobacco and oil products) within the EU. The system is known as the Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS) and will replace the current paper Administrative Accompanying Document (AAD).
The EMCS will connect 150,000 businesses across the 27 EU member states. Each member state is responsible for developing their own national system which will link to other states through a central system maintained by the European Commission.
HMRC have recently published a number of updates relating to the introduction of the EMCS. The updates relate to the following:
- The HMRC online service demonstrator has been updated to include an EMCS section.
- HMRC are to release a beginner’s guide to using EMCS on their website.
- A new application form is available for businesses which wish to apply to become a registered consignor.
- Details of fallback procedures and paper forms which must only be used from 1 January 2011 onwards if EMCS is not available.