An excise movement guarantee is a financial guarantee required by HMRC so that excise goods, such as wine, beer and spirits, can move under duty suspension. It covers the excise duty that could become due if goods fail to reach their destination or the rules are broken in transit.
This guide explains what a movement guarantee is, why it matters, who needs one and how to move your goods under the Kanns Logistics guarantee. We believe shared knowledge leads to better decisions and stronger partnerships, for businesses shipping goods and for those representing them.
The origins of excise duty
Excise duty in England dates back to 1643, when Parliament introduced it during the Civil War to raise revenue from goods such as beer, ale and spirits, and it was kept after the Restoration of Charles II. The system has been reformed many times since, but excise remains an important source of government revenue.
Technology has transformed how excise is controlled. The Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS) became mandatory in 2011 to record and monitor the movement of duty-suspended goods. Since leaving the EU, the UK continues to use EMCS for movements to and from ports and airports and between excise warehouses, breweries and distilleries. The movement guarantee gives HMRC the assurance it needs for goods travelling under duty suspension.
Why a movement guarantee is required
1. Control and compliance
Excise movements are tightly regulated to prevent fraud, smuggling and other illicit activity. The guarantee helps make sure businesses follow the rules.
2. Facilitating trade
With a guarantee in place, goods can move under duty suspension between transit points and registered excise premises, supporting UK producers, importers and exporters.
3. Financial protection
The guarantee works like insurance for HMRC. If goods go missing or rules are broken and excise revenue is lost, it covers the shortfall.
Who needs a movement guarantee?
In short, anyone moving duty-suspended goods.
Importers & exporters
Every importer and exporter moving goods under duty suspension needs a movement guarantee, whether it is their own or a forwarder’s.
Freight forwarders
Few forwarders hold their own guarantee. Those that do, like Kanns Logistics, can offer it to customers as a value-added service.
UK producers
Producers of beer, wine and spirits need a guarantee to move goods within the UK or to overseas markets, again either their own or a forwarder’s.
Moving goods under our guarantee
Request the form
Ask us for the latest movement guarantee authorisation form for your shipment.
Complete and sign
A director, company secretary or other authorised signatory completes every box marked with an asterisk.
We approve and book
We confirm use of our guarantee number and arrange the transport.
Opened and closed
The EMCS movement is opened, tracked and closed when the goods arrive.
Request the authorisation form
Movement guarantee questions
As part of our AEO-F procedures, a completed form confirms who is responsible for the duty liabilities and risks of moving goods under excise control.
Yes. You need a form for every shipment and for every physical movement within it. For example, three containers on one booking need three forms, because each container is a separate movement.
Yes. It must be completed, signed and returned to us before we can collect any cargo. The form protects both us and the dispatching or receiving warehouse, and the EMCS movement must not be started without our approval to use our guarantee number.
Because of the duty amounts and the risk involved, we only accept signatures from UK-based companies holding a UK EORI number. If you are based overseas, talk to us about other ways we can support your shipments under our guarantee.
So we can track every consignment and confirm every EMCS movement is closed. For exports, we manage all transport from collection in the UK to the final destination; for example, for a container to Singapore we collect from the UK door and arrange everything through to arrival at Singapore port. For imports, we control all transport from the port of arrival to the destination warehouse.
Every box marked with an asterisk must be completed before we can authorise use of the movement guarantee.
Yes, as long as it is made by a director, company secretary or other authorised signatory of a UK company registered at Companies House, and is dated and time-stamped.
We update the form to reflect current terms, conditions and legislation, and we always send you the latest version. Earlier versions are no longer valid, so please don’t keep blank copies for future use.
A director, company secretary or other authorised signatory of either the UK booking party using the guarantee or the authorised warehouse storing the goods.
Incoterms are an agreement between buyer and seller. They don’t change the conditions for using our guarantee. The form must be completed by the party using the guarantee, which will always be the excise warehouse or the UK booking party, never a party based outside the UK.
The form commits the business to the duty liability, so it must be signed by someone with authority to bind the company: a director, company secretary or other authorised signatory.
Yes. A small fee applies for each movement. It depends on the duty liability and our team will confirm it when we quote.
Under our trading conditions, a customer is any person at whose request or on whose behalf we carry out business or provide advice, information or services.
Official guidance: for more detail, see HMRC’s Excise Notice 197: receive goods into and remove goods from an excise warehouse.