- Excise duty (accisa) is always due on goods irregularly released from temporary storage, including in cases of theft, as theft does not qualify as force majeure or unforeseeable circumstance.
- The Italian Supreme Court (Cassazione) confirmed that theft of goods under excise suspension is considered irregular release for consumption, making the excise tax payable.
- The Court’s interpretation aligns with EU law, specifically Directive 92/12/CEE, and recent EU and Italian case law, which restricts the definition of force majeure to truly unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.
- The burden is on the operator to prove they took all reasonable precautions to prevent such events; otherwise, excise duty remains due.
Source: eutekne.info
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
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