The authorities of a Member State in which a consignor of excise goods is established may grant assistance to that consignor where the latter fails to receive a report of receipt referred to in Article 24(4) of Directive 2008/118/EC, a report of export referred to in Article 25(3) of that Directive or, in the situations referred to in Article 33(1) of that Directive, a copy of the accompanying document referred to in Article 34 thereof.

Granting of such assistance shall be without prejudice to the tax obligations of the assisted consignor.

Where a Member State grants assistance pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article and considers it necessary to obtain information from another Member State, it shall request such information in accordance with Article 8. The other Member State may refuse to obtain the information requested if the consignor has not exhausted all the means available to him to obtain proof that the movement of excise goods between Member States has ended.