When you have to pay WET

Explains at what stage you pay wine equalisation tax (WET) and who doesn't have to pay WET.

If you make wine, import wine into Australia or sell it by wholesale, you normally have to pay WET. It's a once-off tax on the value of the wine and applies when you sell or deal with wine:

• through wholesale sales
• through some retail sales (for example, cellar door sales and retail sales of repackaged bulk wine)
• for own use where WET has not already been paid
• by importing into Australia.

With the exception of imports, WET is only payable if you are registered or required to be registered for GST. It is designed to tax the last wholesale sale of wine in Australia, usually this is a sale from a wholesaler to a retailer.

If you import wine, WET is payable directly to the Department of Home AffairsExternal Link at the time of importation.

Transactions are exempt from WET when:

• the transaction happens 'under quote' (the buyer quotes their ABN to the seller in the approved form)    
  • this typically happens when there is an earlier wholesale transaction, such as between a producer and distributor, before the wine reaches the retailer
   
• the wine is GST-free – for example, when it's being exported and WET has not already been paid on the wine.

Watch the below webinar for more information on how the WET system works.