Bonded warehouse and logistics for products subject to excise duties

The logistics of products subject to excise duties, such as alcoholic beverages, tobacco and fuels, are regulated. In Luxembourg, distributors, producers, wholesalers or traders wishing to outsource logistics to a logistics service provider must ensure that the company in question has obtained the status of state-approved “bonded warehouse”.
Products subject to excise duty
Products subject to excise duty are goods on which special taxes are levied by governments. These taxes are imposed for a variety of reasons, such as regulating the consumption of products that are harmful to health or the environment or generating revenue for the government. Alcoholic products, tobacco and fuels are subject to excise duties.
Excise duties in Luxembourg are administered by the Administration des Douanes et Accises (ADA), a division of the Ministry of Finance. ADA is responsible for collecting, managing and controlling taxes on products subject to excise duties. It also monitors the movement of these products within the country and beyond its borders.
Companies producing or marketing products subject to excise duties must register with the ADA and obtain a specific authorization to operate. They must also regularly declare the quantities of products stored, produced, or sold, as well as the amounts of taxes due. ADA ensures that declarations are accurate and that taxes are paid on time.
In addition, ADA carries out regular checks to ensure that products subject to excise duties are not fraudulently introduced onto the Luxembourg market without having been subject to the corresponding taxes. These checks can be carried out at any time, both at the company’s premises and at the place where the products are stored or transported.
The management of excise duties is therefore an important issue for the Luxembourg government, which must ensure that taxes are properly collected, and that fraud is combated. But it also represents an administrative burden for companies subject to excise duty, who must comply with their tax declaration and payment obligations.
Logistics for products subject to excise duty
In Luxembourg, companies wishing to store goods subject to excise duty must do so in a fiscal warehouse approved by the Administration des Douanes et Accises. Logistics service providers offering storage services for this type of goods must therefore have obtained the status of “bonded warehouse” from the ADA.
This status implies that they comply with the standards and rules governing the storage of goods subject to excise duties:
Traceability – Stock movements
It is vital for the service provider to be able to trace all movements of goods, any stock adjustment and the release for consumption of products subject to excise duties. To achieve this, a Warehouse Management System (WMS) enables all movements to be traced, with information such as date, time, SSCC number, quantities, and item details.
Stock accounting
At any time, the ADA can carry out a physical check of the goods in stock and the movements made. The WMS offers the possibility of making a complete or partial inventory of goods in stock, in real time, since it knows the precise location of each SSCC in the warehouse.
Customs declarations
Depending on the type of product subject to excise duties, customs declarations must be made using a variety of tools, so that the ADA is kept informed of stock movements in and out of the warehouse, as well as releases for consumption in the country. The logistics service provider is obliged to declare each physical movement of goods as soon as it takes place and must also transmit stock levels on a regular basis.
Transport
Transporting goods subject to excise duty imposes security rules such as vehicle sealing, as well as customs documentation, which must accompany the goods during transport.
The management of excise goods by a 3PL logistics provider therefore requires a secure warehouse, an appropriate WMS system and rigorous procedures.