HM Customs and Excise  4
                                                  17 March 1998
                                                               
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EXCISE TRADERS TO HAVE EXTENDED RIGHTS OF APPEAL


The Chancellor announced today a measure that will extend the
right of businesses  which pay excise duty to appeal to the
VAT and Duties Tribunal.  The change will  affect distillers
and other warehousekeepers in particular. 


DETAILS

1.   This change extends the situations where Customs can
issue assessments to  recover money due. As a consequence, the
circumstances when businesses will be  able to ask Customs to
review assessments and appeal to the VAT and Duties  Tribunal
will be wider.

2.   The change will take effect once the Finance Bill is
passed, from a date to be  announced.


NOTES FOR EDITORS

1.   Excise duty assessment provisions were introduced under
section 12 of the  Finance Act 1994. These gave excise
officers the power to issue assessments,  against which
traders could appeal to the VAT and Duties Tribunal. The
Finance Act  1997 extended the scope of these assessment
powers to include arrears of amounts  which are not actual
excise duty  (such as recovery of rebates, repayments and 
remissions). 

2.   There remain certain situations where the Commissioners
do not possess the  legal power to issue assessments, but do
have the legal power to recover excise  arrears by demanding
payment. The measure extends the assessment mechanism  to
include these type of situations, and thereby extends a
trader's right to a  Departmental review and right of appeal
to the VAT and Duties Tribunal if there is a  dispute over any
assessed amount.

3.     The estimated revenue effect of this measure is
negligible. 

4.     Details for traders are available in Budget notice BN
71/98, which is available  from Customs and Excise Business
Advice Centres and from the Customs and  Excise Internet site.

Press enquiries only to HM Customs and Excise, Public
Relations Office, New  King's Beam House, 22 Upper Ground,
London, SE1 9PJ.  
Telephone:  0171 865 5468/5471

Others should contact their local Excise and Inland Customs
Business Advice  Centre, listed under Customs and Excise in
the telephone book. 
Customs and Excise Internet address: 
http://www.open.gov.uk/customs/c&ehome.htm

This news release can also be found at :
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk. Other Treasury material can
also be found at  this address.