What areas are required to be licensed by Customs as a CCA?
Are any areas exempt from the requirement to be licensed?
How do I apply for a CCA licence?
Is there a licence fee payable?
What if I choose not to become licensed?
Which goods are subject to excise duty?
How is excise duty collected and paid to Customs?

What areas are required to be licensed by Customs as a CCA?

Section 10(a) of the Customs and Excise Act 1996 states that any area that is used for the manufacture of goods subject to excise duty — alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, motor vehicle fuels, and some food preparaqtions containing alcohol, must be licensed by Customs as a CCA.

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Are any areas exempt from the requirement to be licensed?

Any area within a person’s private house or dwelling that is used by that person to manufacture:
 

• Tobacco that has been grown by that person on his or her own land, exclusively for his or her own personal use and not for sale to any other person.
• Beer, wine, or spirits, exclusively for his or her own personal use and not for sale to any other person.

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How do I apply for a CCA licence?

Your fi rst approach should be to discuss with Customs the type of operation or business you are seeking to become involved in. Customs staff will be able to advise you of requirements for a business dealing with the manufacture or sale of goods subject to excise duty. The licensing process begins with application being made on Form 1 — Application for a Customs Controlled Area Licence.

Once the application form has been completed, it should be forwarded to the Customs offi ce nearest to the locality that you intend to operate from. Accompanying the application form should be a diagrammatic plan of the area that you wish to operate from. The plan should show all exits, windows, and the location where excisable goods will be stored and/or manufactured.

Customs staff will arrange to visit the premises intended to be licensed and inspect these for overall security, cleanliness and suitability for the intended function.

Granting of a CCA licence

Once Customs consider that the proposed premises are satisfactory for their intended purpose/function, they will discuss your future obligations as the holder of a CCA licence (licensee). Customs will prepare a procedure statement which will detail any terms and conditions of the licence, and will then issue a licence to operate a CCA.

The procedure statement agreement will set forth the conditions of being licensed and the operating procedures that must be adhered to. In short, the procedure statement is all about good record keeping and preserving the integrity of the excisable products being manufactured or sold by the licensee.

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Is there a licence fee payable?

There is no licence fee payable for premises that have been licensed expressly for the manufacture of excisable goods.

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What if I choose not to become licensed?

It is an offence to operate without a CCA licence in circumstances where such a licence is required by law. In these circumstances as per section 189 of the Customs and Excise Act 1996, failure to become licensed is punishable by a fi ne not exceeding $5,000 in the case of any individual, or not exceeding $10,000 in the case of a body corporate. Your liability to pay excise duty while unlicensed remains. There may also be additional excise duties applied to those excise duties that were unpaid prior to you becoming licensed.

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Which goods are subject to excise duty?

Broadly speaking, tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, motor vehicle fuels and some food preparations containing alcohol are all subject to excise duty at varying rates. These rates may be found in the Third Schedule to the Customs and Excise Act 1996, or at the rear of the Working Tariff Document of New Zealand, or on the Customs website under the Manufacturers section.

The excise rates on tobacco products and alcoholic beverages, motor vehicle fuels, and some food preparations containing alcohol are subject to annual review.

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How is excise duty collected and paid to Customs?

The licensees of a CCA manufacturing excisable products are responsible for collecting excise duty on all such goods leaving their premises or being consumed within them. In most instances, that excise duty is required to be returned to Customs on a monthly basis.

Excise returns are due no later than 15 working days from the end of the calendar month to which the return relates.

Excise duty payments for tobacco products and motor vehicle fuels are due no later than 15 working days from the end of the calendar month in which the product was removed from or consumed within the CCA.

Excise duty payments for alcohol-based beverages and foods are due on the last working day of the month following the month in which they were removed from or consumed within the CCA.

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Back to Fact Sheet 25