Diageo's UK Tax department consists of 40 members. The department organises work on a team basis. The Indirect Taxes team comprises five dedicated staff plus additional support. The Team has a global remit on VAT (or equivalent) and customs and excise duties. 

The tax manager, duties job

An additional role has been identified to support the Head of the Indirect Taxes Team in ensuring that the business maintains a high level of compliance with all excise duty legislation and requirements, identifying and implementing customs and excise duty opportunities, and promoting best practice and knowledge sharing on all aspects of duties and their impact within the business. The role will be global but will have a particular emphasis on Diageo’s UK and Irish operations. The complex duty arrangements necessitated by Diageo’s demanding and constantly changing business structures, operational changes at a local business level (including SSC and outsourcing related issues) and a more stringent tax audit environment, make this a key role.

Purpose of the Tax Manager, Duties job:

• To be an additional resource on Global Duties
• To assist Head of ITT in working with business finance functions to ensure that excise duty accounting and reporting requirements are fully met and that all cash flow efficiencies available are fully utilised
• To assist with and undertake excise duty compliance and efficiency reviews within DBSC and the various Diageo businesses
• To provide day to day liaison with HMRC duties team in the UK and to assist with all tax authority negotiations on excise duty compliance issues
• To attend meetings with UK/EU tax authorities and to assist with any related correspondence or queries
• To support Head of ITT on Customs Duty related issues, including valuation audits/disputes and evaluation/implementation of duty optimisation measures
• To SAO and AEO implementation and compliance with all other IT based duties reporting requirements  
• Work within Group Tax to foster a team approach to problem solving and ensure that best practice is shared throughout the business
•  To act as first port of call for all routine duty queries, both internally and from the tax authorities

About you

Formal qualifications (AIIT etc) desirable but not essential.  The ideal candidate would have at least five years experience in an in-house duty specific role in a managerial capacity and/or a prior tax authority background specialising in duties at an operational/compliance level. Strong accounting and financial systems (SAP) skills desirable. Intermediate + excel skills essential. Working knowledge of OECD guidelines on transfer pricing an advantage but a good working knowledge of the WTO Valuation Agreement essential. 

• Likely to have spent at least two years as part of a duties team in a large multi-national business at “manager” / “assistant manager” level
• Experience in managing a diverse range of issues and proven track record in managing business stakeholders at all levels essential
• Detailed understanding of excise duty accounting procedures and all related documentation/controls essential
• Detailed knowledge of all requirements and documentation for international movement of excisable goods (including AEO) essential
• Sound understanding of financial systems and interrogation thereof in connection with audit trail tracking and duty accounting and reporting
• A track record of identifying potential opportunities and helping to deliver these
• A track record of identifying areas of risks and able to demonstrate the skill to remove or reduce these

Next step

If you feel your skills meet this outstanding opportunity, please contact our VAT specialist, Andrew Vinell.