HMDWBK2500 - Overview: What qualifies as an eligible destruction?

Planned destructions

Where duty paid goods are the subject of a planned destruction because they are not of 'satisfactory quality' as defined in section 14 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979, they may be eligible for drawback, provided the destruction is carried out in accordance with the conditions contained in Schedule I to the Drawback Regulations.

Accidental destructions

It is the revenue trader's responsibility to protect his goods by insuring them against normal risks and therefore drawback is not payable in such circumstances. The only exception to this rule is where goods are accidentally destroyed during removal:

• for export, or
• to warehouse for export,

and destruction takes place within the UK after leaving the premises at which they were available for inspection.

Goods may also be eligible for drawback where they are destroyed in circumstances where a risk is not classed as normally insurable. This would include, for example, goods destroyed by, or as a result of:

• civil commotion;
• riot;
• terrorism;
• war;
• explosion;
• earthquake; or
• any other fortuitous event; provided that, in the opinion of the Commissioners, it would not have been reasonable to insure the goods against the risk of destruction by, or as a result of, the event.