S.L. 382.4 Art. 3Interpretation. 

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:

"Act" means the Excise Duty Act and terms and expressions used in these regulations shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning assigned to them in the Act; (COUNCIL DIRECTIVE (EU) 2020/262)

"authorised tax warehouse keeper" means a natural or legal person authorised by the Commissioner to produce, process, hold, store, receive or dispatch excise goods under a duty suspension arrangement in an authorised tax warehouse in the course of his business;

"certified consignee" means a natural or legal person authorised by the Commissioner, in order to receive excise goods, in the course of the business of that person, which have been released for consumption in the territory of one Member State and then moved to the territory of another Member State;

"certified consignor" means a natural or legal person authorised by the Commissioner, in order to dispatch excise goods in the course of the business of that person, which have been released for consumption in the territory of one Member State and then moved to the territory of another Member State;

"computerised system" means the computerised system referred to in Article 1 of Decision (EU) 2020/263 on computerising the movement and surveillance of excise goods (recast);

"duty suspension arrangement" means a tax arrangement applied to the production, processing, holding, storage, or movement of excise goods whereby excise duty is suspended;

"importation" means the release of goods for free circulation in accordance with Article 201 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013;

"irregular entry" means an entry of goods within the territory of the Union, which have not been placed under release for free circulation in accordance with Article 201 of Regulation (EU) No 952/ 2013 and for which a customs debt under Article 79(1) of that Regulation has been incurred, or would have been incurred if the goods had been subject to customs duty;

"Member State of destination" means the Member State to which excise goods are to be delivered or used in accordance with the provisions of Maltese and European Union law;

"registered consignee" means a natural or legal person authorised by the Commissioner, to receive in the course of the business of that person and under the conditions established by the Commissioner, excise goods moving under a duty suspension arrangement which originate from the territory of another Member State;

"registered consignor" means a natural or legal person authorised by the Commissioner, to only dispatch excise goods under a duty suspension arrangement upon their release for free circulation in accordance with Article 201 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013;

"reimbursement" means the refunding of an amount of excise duty that has been paid;

"release for consumption" means any of the following:

(a) any departure of excise goods, including irregular departure, from a suspension arrangement;

(b) any holding or storage of excise goods, including cases of irregularity, outside a duty suspension arrangement where excise duty has not been levied pursuant to the applicable provisions of Maltese and European Union law;

(c) the production, including processing of excise goods, and irregular production or processing, outside a duty suspension arrangement;

(d) any importation into Malta of excise goods, unless the excise goods are placed, immediately upon importation, under a duty suspension arrangement, or the irregular entry of excise goods, unless the customs debt was extinguished under paragraphs (e), (f), (g) or (k) of Article 124(1) of Regulation

(EU) No 952/2013;

"remission" means the waiving of the obligation to pay an amount of excise duty that has not been paid;

"tax warehouse" means a place where excise goods are produced, processed, held, stored, received or dispatched under a duty suspension arrangement by an authorised warehouse keeper in the course of his business, subject to certain conditions laid down by the Commissioner;

"territory of a Member State" means the territory of a Member State to which the Treaties are applicable, in accordance with Articles 349 and 355 of the TFEU, with the exception of third territories;

"third countries" means any State or territory to which the Treaties are not applicable;

"third territories" means the Canary Islands, the French territories referred to in Articles 349 and 355(1) of the TFEU, the Åland Islands, the Channel Islands, the Island of Heligoland and the territories of Büsingen, Ceuta, Melilla and Livigno;

"Union" or "territory of the Union" mean the territories of the Member States.