Excise duties on energy products – Exemptions and refunds
general assembly on February 16, 2022
The Belgian Court of Audit examined the excise duty exemption schemes for energy products and the way in which the General Administration for Customs and Excise of the Belgian Federal Department (FPD) for Finance controls their application. It found that the objectives of the exemption schemes are sometimes contradictory and are not evaluated in a complete and quantified manner. In particular, coordination between the levels of government is necessary to ensure consistency of the policies pursued. The Court also noted shortcomings in the execution of the FPD’s tasks: lack of monitoring and available data, objectives insufficiently based on a risk analysis, shortcomings in the excise duty refund process applying to diesel for professional use.