Cap. 382 Art. 8AIrregularity.

(1) When an irregularity occurs in relation to excisable goods which are moving under a duty suspension arrangement from a Member State to Malta or when excisable goods are in transit and pass through Malta, which irregularity gives rise to their release for consumption in accordance with article 4(4)(a), the Commissioner, on detecting such an irregularity, shall inform the competent authorities of the Member State of dispatch.

(2) When it is possible for the Commissioner to determine where the irregularity under sub-article (1) occurred, the release for consumption shall take place in the Member State where the irregularity occurred.

(3) When it is not possible for the Commissioner to determine where the irregularity under sub-article (1) occurred, it shall be presumed that it has occurred in Malta.

(4) When excisable goods moving under a duty suspension arrangement, notwithstanding that they have Malta as their destination, fail to arrive in Malta, and during the movement no irregularity giving rise to their release for consumption in accordance with article 4(4)(a) has been detected, an irregularity shall be deemed to have occurred in the Member State of dispatch at the time when the movement began, unless, within a period of four months from when the movement began, evidence is provided to the satisfaction of the Member State of dispatch of the end of the movement, or of the place where the irregularity occurred:

Provided that where the person who guaranteed payment in accordance with article 10 has not been, or could not have been, informed that the goods have not arrived at their destination, a period of one month from the date of communication of this information by the Commissioner shall be granted to enable him to provide evidence of the end of movement, or of the place where the irregularity occurred.

(5) If before the expiry of a period of three years from the date on which the movement began, the Commissioner ascertains that the irregularity referred to in sub-article (4) actually occurred in Malta, he shall inform the competent authorities of the Member State where the excise duty was levied, which shall reimburse or remit it as soon as evidence of the levying of the excise duty in the other Member State has been provided.

(6) For the purpose of this article:

(a) the movement of excisable goods under a duty suspension arrangement shall end, in the cases referred to in article 8B(1)(a)(i), (ii), and (iv) and article 8B(1)(b) when the consignee has taken delivery of the excisable goods and, in the cases referred to in article 8B(1)(a)(iii) when the goods have left the territory of the Community;

(b) the movement of excisable goods under a duty suspension arrangement shall begin in the cases referred to in article 8B(1)(a), when the excisable goods leave the authorised tax warehouse of dispatch, and in the cases referred to article 8B(1)(b) upon their release for free circulation in accordance with Article 201 of Regulation (EU) No. 952/2013;

(c) "irregularity" means a situation occurring during a movement of excisable goods under a duty suspension arrangement, other than the one referred to in article 14(5), due to which a movement, or a part of a movement of excisable goods, has not ended in terms of paragraph (a) of this sub-article.