Helpful excisable alcohol tips
It's important to understand your responsibilities if you deal in excisable alcohol products or excise equivalent goods (EEGs).
See our Alcohol excise terms for explanations of excise terms that you don't understand.
Tips on this page to help you get it right:
Check your product is subject to excise duty
Beer, spirits and other excisable beverages are all excisable alcohol products and are generally subject to excise duty if you manufacture or produce them in Australia.
Wine is subject to wine equalisation tax, not excise duty.
Understanding the classification of your products is an important step to ensure you correctly meet your excise obligations.
If you donate excisable goods, such as beer or spirits, they are still subject to excise duty. You need to report and pay excise duty for them.
Excise treatment for mixed alcoholic beverages
If you mix two or more alcoholic beverages to produce a new alcoholic beverage, the tax treatment will vary depending on both the ingredients and the alcoholic strength of the final product.
Generally, if you mix an excisable alcoholic beverage with another excisable alcoholic beverage, the final beverage is subject to excise duty.
However if you mix an excisable alcohol product (including excisable alcoholic beverages) with an alcoholic beverage wine equalisation tax applies to, you should contact us for assistance to determine the correct tax treatment.
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Understand what triggers an excise obligation
Generally, if you hold an excise licence you need to lodge an excise return and pay excise duty before you deliver excisable products into the Australian domestic market.
However, if you have a periodic settlement permission (PSP) from us, you can defer lodgment and payment until after you deliver the excisable product into the Australian domestic market.
In all situations, payment of excise duty is due at the same time as lodgment of your excise return.
Examples of the activities that trigger an obligation to lodge an excise return and pay excise duty are when excisable goods are:
- moved out of excise-licensed premises and delivered into the Australian domestic market
- consumed at the excise-licensed premises
- given away or donated
- used for tastings with retail customers
- used for samples (except for approved samples).
Approved samples
You may be able to deliver small samples of excisable alcohol products without payment of excise duty if you apply to us for approval.
A small sample would normally consist of less than a saleable amount or an amount that is suitable for the purpose for which the sample is required, like testing and evaluation. For example, an excise-licensed spirit distiller providing a small sample of brandy to a winery so they can test if the brandy is suitable (age, colour and other characteristics) to use in fortifying wine.
Pre-delivery samples (that is, samples that arrive separately to the bulk goods) of product provided to customers in order to secure an order for that product are not considered to be 'samples' that can be approved for delivery without the payment of duty.
You don't include approved samples in your excise return. However, you must keep records of any approved samples you deliver.
For more information and how to apply for approval:
Use the right excise rate
It's important to make sure you're using the right excise duty rates when you calculate your liability and lodge your excise return. Rates change regularly and can change mid-way through a reporting period. When this happens, you need to apply the:
- previous rate to the excisable alcohol delivered into the Australian domestic market before the date the rate changed
- new rate to the excisable alcohol delivered into the Australian domestic market on or after the date the rate changed.
In this situation, you can either lodge:
- one excise return, with separate lines
- two excise returns.
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Make sure you have permission before moving your goods
You need permission from us to move underbond excisable goods or excise equivalent goods (EEGs) between excise or customs-licensed premises or to a place of export.
Goods are underbond until excise duty or customs duty has been paid on them.
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Check the product details in your excise return are correct
Before you lodge your excise return, check each product you added in the Product details section has the correct:
- tariff subitem
- measurement units
- volume
- excise rate.
You can find most of this information on our Excise duty rates for alcohol page.
If your information isn't correct, it may delay the processing of your excise return.
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Correct an error on an excise return
If you have made an error regarding product details on an earlier excise return, lodge an excise amendment to correct it. This includes when you have used the wrong tariff subitem or volume of product.
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Check the quantities of deliveries received
When you receive underbond goods, check the quantities are correct. You may be liable to pay an amount equal to the excise or customs duty on any missing goods if you sign for a full consignment but work out later it's short.
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Account for lost or stolen goods
You will need to account for excisable goods or EEGs that:
- you haven't paid duty on, and
- are lost or stolen.
If the goods are:
- lost during production, you need to apply for a remission of the duty to waive your excise duty liability
- stolen, we consider they have entered into the Australian domestic market so you must pay an amount equal to the excise duty or customs duty on the goods.
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Account for donations
If you donate excisable goods, such as beer or spirits, they are still subject to excise duty. You need to report and pay excise duty on them.
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Manage other registrations
If you're in business, you may need other registrations, licences and permissions. This will depend on your business structure and activities.
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ATO tips to help businesses meet their obligations if they deal in excisable alcohol products or excise equivalent goods.