1.This section will update the legislation relating to ship and aircraft stores to provide flexibility to facilitate trade practices and increase controls on areas of revenue risk. This will enable HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and Border Force to work with the Industry to improve compliance and is in line with our wider commitment to bring customs and excise law up to date to protect customs and excise revenues
2.This section introduces Schedule 21 which contains provision about goods shipped or carried as stores on ships or aircraft.
3.Paragraph 1(1) of the Schedule introduces the amendment to section 1 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (CEMA).
4.Paragraph 1(2) removes the reference to ‘relevant journey’ in section 1(4)(a)(i) of CEMA and replaces it with a ‘journey made by the ship or aircraft’.
5.Paragraph 1(3) removes section 1(4A) of CEMA which defines “relevant journey” for the purposes of section 1(4).
6.Paragraph 2 substitutes subsection (1) to section 39 of CEMA with a new subsection to provide that surplus stores may remain on board a ship or aircraft without payment of duty or be entered for warehousing
7.Paragraph 3 introduces a new section 60A to CEMA, which provides a new power to make regulations about stores.
8.New subsection (1) of section 60A provides that the Commissioners may make regulations in relation to goods for use on a ship or aircraft stores.
9.New subsection (2) of section 60A provides for what can be included in the regulations.
10.New subsection (2)(a) provides that the regulations may specify the circumstances when goods can be shipped or carried as stores without payment of duty or on drawback.
11.New subsection (2)(b) provides that the regulations may include provision requiring authorisation to be obtained, in specified circumstances, for goods to be shipped or carried as stores without payment of duty.
12.New subsection (2)(c) provides that the regulations may include provision about obtaining such authorisation.
13.New subsection (2)(d) provides that the regulations may include provision about the circumstances when such authorisation can be withdrawn.
14.New subsection (2)(e) provides that the regulations may include for the supply, shipping or carriage of goods as stores without payment of duty to be subject to specified conditions or restrictions.
15.New subsection (2)(f) provides that the regulations may include provision about the procedures to be followed when supplying goods to be shipped or carried as stores without payment of duty.
16.New subsection 3 of section 60A provides that where the regulations provide for goods to be shipped or carried as stores without payment of duty they may also include provision requiring duty to be paid on such goods where they are consumed on a journey of a specified description or consumed in specified circumstances in port and provision about the persons by whom such duty is payable and the way in which, and the time at which, it is to be paid. It also provides for the regulations to make provision for goods, in specified circumstances, to be treated as having been consumed on a journey or in port.
17.New subsection 4 of section 60A provides that the regulations may make different provision for different cases and incidental, supplemental, consequential or transitional provisions or savings.
18.New subsection 5 of section 60A provides that ‘specified’ in the section means specified in the regulations or specified by the Commissioners under the regulations.
19.Paragraph 4 amends the heading to section 61 of CEMA, omits subsections (1) to (4) of that section (which are replaced by the regulation making powers in new section 60A) and makes some consequential amendments.
20.Paragraph 5 amends section 103 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 1987 by removing subsections (1), (2) and (4) to (7).
21.Paragraph 6 introduces a new section 60B to CEMA to provide for penalties when any provision made by or under the regulations, or any condition or restriction imposed under the regulations, are contravened and to provide that any goods in respect of which a person contravenes a provision of the regulations are liable to forfeiture.
22.New subsection 60B(1) provides that the new section 60B to CEMA applies if a person contravenes any provision made by or under the regulations made under section 60A or any condition or restriction imposed under the regulations.
23.New subsection 60B(2) provides that the contravention will attract a penalty under section 9 of the Finance’ Act 1994
24.New subsection 60B(3) provides that any goods in respect of which a person fails to comply with a provision, or a condition or restriction, imposed by or the regulations are liable to forfeiture
25.New subsection 60B(4) provides that a person is not liable to a penalty under section 9 of the Finance Act 1994 if that person is liable to a penalty under Schedule 55 or 56 to the Finance Act 2009 .
26.Paragraph 7 amends Schedule 55 to the Finance Act 2009 by inserting a new item 20A in the Table in paragraph 1 of that Schedule to provide for a penalty for a failure to make a return under regulations under new section 60A of CEMA.
27.Paragraph 8 amends Schedule 56 to the Finance Act 2009 by inserting a new item11GA in the Table in paragraph 1 of that Schedule to provide for a penalty for a failure to make payments under regulations under new section 60A of CEMA on time.
28.Paragraph 9 amends paragraph 2 of Schedule 5 to the Finance Act 1994 to provide that any decision about granting or withdrawing authorisation for goods to be shipped or carried as stores without payment of duty is a decision which is subject to review and appeal.
29.Paragraph 10 contains commencement provisions and provides that the power to make regulations in the Schedule comes into force on Royal Assent and that the other amendments made by the Schedule come into force in accordance with provisions in an order made by the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
30.Paragraph 11 contains commencement provisions and provides that the amendments to Schedules 55 and 56 to the Finance Act 2009 come into force when paragraphs 7 and 8 of the Schedule are brought into force by an order made by the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
31.The measure will amend the law to clarify that surplus stores can remain on board a ship or aircraft without payment of duty and make provision for the introduction of procedures to account for duty retrospectively on stores consumed in port or on an intra-UK flight and impose penalties for failing to do so. It will also make provision to allow the Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to make regulations for an authorisation procedure to control goods moving from warehouses to be shipped as stores, in order to address an area of revenue risk, and to specify the circumstances in which goods can be shipped or carried as stores without payment of duty. These circumstances will include the journeys on which stores can be shipped or carried without payment of duty. The measure also imposes a penalty for contravening any provision, or condition or restriction, imposed by or under the regulations.