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Customs operational policy

View the operational policy documents for the services and initiatives under the 2018 Act.


This table lists Customs internal operational policy documents covering the services and initiatives introduced under the Customs and Excise Act 2018.

Customs rulings (publication)
Operational policy about situations when the publication of Customs rulings is required.

Types of rulings

Topic Document name Document description Relevant webpage
Excise CCA licence application - alcohol Operational policy about CCA licence requirements including information that must be provided, risks to be considered, terms, conditions and restrictions, and when a CCA licence is refused. Apply for a licence
Types of CCA - alcohol Operational policy about the Customs-controlled areas relevant to alcohol products. Customs-controlled Areas 
Entry and payment for alcohol products Operational policy about the timeframes and requirements for lodging an excise entry. Lodge your excise entry

Change your entry or payment timeframe
Remissions Operational policy about the conditions and criteria for remission of excise duty, excise equivalent duty and/or tariff duty on excisable goods (alcohol) that suffer loss. Includes remission by application to Customs, and approving LMA licensees to self-assess their qualification for remission. Claim excise duty remission or refund
Use of off-site storage - alcohol Operational policy about the conditions and criteria for licensing an area for off-site storage (OSS), and authorising removal of specified alcohol product from the licensed manufacturing area (LMA) to a Customs-controlled Area (CCA) licensed for off-site storage. Apply for a licence
Product movement - excise unpaid - alcohol Operational policy about movement of alcohol product from a CCA. Covers movements of product authorised in a licensee’s alcohol excise plan, and processing applications and issuing permits for other product movements. Moving excisable items
Revoke, suspend or surrender CCA licence - alcohol Operational policy about the requirements for surrender of a Customs-controlled Area (CCA) licence, or Customs revoking or suspending a CCA licence, and for closing down a CCA. Amend, surrender or transfer your licence
Imports Provisional values Operational policy about the provisional values scheme including criteria for importers to automatically qualify or to apply to use provisional values, and requirements for providing the final Customs value. Provisional values
Customs ruling (valuation of imported goods) Operational policy about valuation rulings including fees, maximum timeframe to make a ruling, requirements for application withdrawal, and post-importation lodgement. Valuation rulings 
Customs rulings (publication) Operational policy about situations when the publication of Customs rulings is required. Types of rulings
Storage of business records Operational policy about storage of business records outside New Zealand, including when authorisation is required or not, criteria for authorisation, and potential terms and conditions. Storing business records
Penalties, fines and fees Administrative penalties Operational policy about issuing administrative penalties, including types of errors that attract penalties, penalty levels and payment requirements. Administrative penalties 
Compensatory interest and late payment penalties Operational policy about application of compensatory interest and late payment penalties including when they are charged and rates. Compensatory interest
Compensatory interest and late payment penalties - remissions, refunds and exemptions Operational policy about the conditions and criteria for granting remissions and refunds of compensatory interest and late payment penalties. Compensatory interest
Operational Policy - Formal warnings This policy outlines why Customs may issue a formal warning, verbal or written, to a person or entity whose behaviour Customs considers amounts to a criminal offence, and what content is to be included in the formal warning. This policy also covers how the warning is administered.  
Doing business with Customs Administrative review Operational policy about administrative reviews including the purpose, the scope of decisions and assessments eligible for review, and for conducting a review. Administrative review
Storage of business records Operational policy about storage of business records outside New Zealand, including when authorisation is required or not, criteria for authorisation, and potential terms and conditions. Storing business records