Excise duty on chemicals in certain electronic goods

Companies in Sweden that manufacture, receive or import duty-liable electronic goods for business purposes must pay excise duty on them. From 1 October 2020, you must also pay excise duty on duty-liable goods transported to Sweden from another EU country – even if they have not been purchased for the buyer’s own business purposes. This is known as distance selling, and it applies when annual sales of duty-liable goods during the current or previous calendar year amount to more than SEK 100,000. The same rules apply regardless of whether goods are transported to Sweden by the seller, or by someone else on behalf of the seller.

An exempt seller is a seller who is not an approved stockist, registered consignee, or registered EU trader, whose annual sales of duty-liable goods to Sweden during the present or past calendar year do not amount to more than SEK 100,000. Such sellers also have to pay excise duty on duty-liable goods transferred for business purposes through distance selling, if total annual sales of duty-liable goods to Sweden during the present or past calendar year amount to more than SEK 100,000.

Approved stockist: if you manufacture, import or receive goods

If you have been granted approval as a stockist, you can manufacture electronic goods, import or receive them from other EU countries, or import them from non-EU countries, without being liable to pay excise duty on the goods. However, you must pay duty on them later on – for example, if you deliver the goods to a buyer who is not an approved stockist, or if you transport them to a retail outlet for retail sales purposes regardless if it is your own outlet or someone elses.

If you facilitate distance selling of duty-liable goods from exempt sellers, you must however pay excise duty on the goods when you import them to Sweden.

• Application: Approved stockist Opens in new window.

Registered EU trader: if you sell goods as a distance seller

If you engage in distance selling of duty-liable electronic goods for business purposes, or facilitate distance selling of goods from exempt sellers, you can apply for approval as a registered EU trader. You will become eligible to pay excise duty on the goods when they are imported into Sweden.

• Application: Registered EU trader Opens in new window.

Registered consignee: if you import or receive goods

If you import duty-liable goods to Sweden – or receive them in Sweden – for business purposes, you can apply to become a registered consignee. You will become eligible to pay excise duty on the goods when they are imported into Sweden.

Form:

• Application: tax on chemicals in certain electronic goods – registered consignee Opens in new window.

Excise-duty-liable goods

Electronic goods that are subject to excise duty on the chemicals they contain are defined using Combined Nomenclature (CN) classification codes. The Combined Nomenclature is a tool for classifying goods, set up to meet the requirements of the Common Customs Tariff and the EU’s external trade statistics. The CN code that applied on 1 January 2022 will be used to assess whether excise duty is payable on electronic goods.

• Read more about goods on which excise duty is payable (in Swedish)

Excise duty rates

Deductions

It is possible to reduce the excise duty payable on goods if they do not contain chemical compounds of chlorine, bromine or phosphorus. A deduction of 50% or 95% of the total excise duty payable can be made, depending on which chemical compounds are present.

You can deduct 50% of the total excise duty payable on electronic goods if any bromine or chlorine compounds make up a proportion less than 0.1% by weight of the homogeneous material in:

• a circuit board, with the exception of the components of the board
• a plastic part weighing more than 25g
  

This means that to claim your right to a 50% excise duty reduction, the level of bromine and chlorine compounds must not exceed the stated limit in circuit board – irrespective of their weight – and all plastic parts weighing more than 25g.

You can deduct 95% of the total excise duty payable on electronic goods if any bromine, chlorine or phosphorus compounds make up a proportion less than 0.1% by weight of the homogeneous material in:

• a circuit board, with the exception of the components of the board
• a plastic part weighing more than 25g
  

This means that to claim your right to a 95% excise duty reduction, the level of bromine, chlorine and phosphorus compounds must not exceed the stated limit in circuit boards – irrespective of their weight – and all plastic parts weighing more than 25 g.

• Legislation relating to excise duty on chemicals in certain electronic goods (in Swedish) External link, opens in new window.
  

If you choose to make a deduction, you must have supporting materials proving that you have the right to do so. The relevant supporting materials are determined according to the circumstances of each particular case. One way of supporting your right to make a deduction is to save the declaration of contents or any other accompanying documentation that states which substances the goods contain. You could also have the goods tested and produce a laboratory certificate listing the substances they contain.

Specific tax return – excise duty on chemicals in certain electronic goods

If you are not an approved stockist, registered consignee, or registered EU trader working with electronic goods, you must use the specific excise duty tax return form, “Särskild skattedeklaration” (in Swedish). You must declare and pay excise duty every time you:

• manufacture excise-duty-liable electronic goods for business purposes
• sell duty-liable electronic goods through distance selling for business purposes, if annual sales of duty-liable goods to Sweden amount to more than SEK 100,000 during the current or previous calendar year
• carry out distance selling of excise-duty-liable electronic goods from exempt sellers for business purposes, if total sales to Sweden during the current or previous calendar year amount to more than SEK 100,000, or
• import or receive duty-liable electronic goods from another EU country

From 1 October 2020, excise duty must always be paid by the party that sells duty-liable electronic goods through distance selling for business purposes, or facilitates distance selling of such goods.

• Specific excise duty tax return (SKV 5320) Opens in new window.
• Fill in the form by following the instructions outlined (in Swedish) here. Opens in new window.
  

Send the return to the address on the back of the form. The return must reach the Swedish Tax Agency no later than five days after the transaction took place. An authorised signatory must sign the form.

Payment of tax on chemicals in certain electronic goods

If you are an approved stockist, registered consignee or registered EU trader, you must pay the excise duty on chemicals in certain electronic goods by the latest date on which the return is due to reach the Swedish Tax Agency.

This does not apply, however, if you are not an approved stockist, registered consignee or registered EU trader who has:

• manufactured, imported or received duty-liable electronic goods for business purposes from another EU country
• sold duty-liable electronic goods through distance selling, or facilitated distance selling from exempt sellers
  
  In this case, you must pay the excise duty five days after the goods were manufactured or imported into Sweden, at the latest.

The excise duty is considered paid once the funds reach the Swedish Tax Agency’s account. You should allow a few days for clearance. You can pay the duty in one of the following ways:

• Transfer the money to your tax account using the Bankgiro number 5050-1055.
• Order a Bankgiro paying-in slip from the Swedish Tax Agency.

When you make a payment, you need to provide an OCR or reference number, which you can generate by entering your organisation number in the e-service below.

• Generate the correct OCR number (In Swedish) Opens in new window.
• Order a Bankgiro paying-in slip through our e-service Opens in new window.

• Payments from abroad Opens in new window.

If you make payments from a country other than Sweden, you should use the following account details:

IBAN: SE56 8000 0890 1196 4624 0516
BIC/SWIFT: SWEDSESS
Bank: Swedbank AB, SE-105 34 Stockholm
Payee: Skatteverket, SE-831 87 Östersund

You must provide both IBAN and BIC details when making a payment.
In order for your payment to be entered correctly, you must also provide your Swedish corporate identity number.

The Swedish Tax Agency cannot accept payment by cheque. Payments must be made according to the process outlined above.

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