Excise amendment
How to amend an excise return.
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When you should amend your return
You need to amend your return if you have made an error and need to change the product details that you previously reported in an Excise return. You can only apply to claim a refund when amending your return where the difference between the original and amended product details results in a credit.
For all other refund types refer to Refunds and drawbacks for excisable alcohol or Excise refunds, drawbacks and remissions on fuel.
Lodging an amended return
The easiest way to amend your return is by using online services.
Amending your return online means you can:
- quickly and easily lodge without downloading a PDF form
- easily edit your product details from your original return
- have your excise duty amounts automatically calculated
- view your amended returns and transaction history
- view the amount owing or refundable in your excise account after amending your return.
How to access the online form
To amend a previously lodged return using online services:
- select Lodgments
- select Excise duty return
- select the return period to be amended from your History tab and click on the relevant period hyperlink to view the original return then select Edit. A return can only be amended once online. If you wish to lodge further amendments you need to contact us
- for each tariff item to be amended, provide the correct quantity that should have been provided and indicate whether the Remission scheme for alcohol manufacturers should be applied (if applicable). Other fields, such as the date, duty rate and units cannot be amended
- once all adjustments have been made, tick the Declaration box and select Submit.
For help when completing the online form, you can:
- hover over or click the (?) icon for quick tips or smart help
- click on the (?) Help button on the right side of the screen for all Help topics.
If you need assistance to lodge online contact us.
If the amended excise duty payable is more than on the original return you need to pay the difference to the ATO. If the amount payable on the original return has not been paid, pay the amended total excise duty payable rather than the difference.
If the amended excise duty payable is less than the original return, you will be asked to provide additional information to apply for a refund of the excise duty overpaid.
Check that your financial institution details are correct as your refund will be paid into your nominated account. Your refund may be offset against other taxation debts or some Australian Government debts.
If you are unable to amend your return using online services or you need to amend a return that was not lodged through online services, you can use the PDF amendment form.
The PDF amendment form
The Excise amendment PDF form is designed to be completed on a desktop or laptop computer (not on a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet). You'll need to use Adobe ReaderExternal Link software to view the form.
Because this is an electronic form, you can type your answers straight into the boxes provided.
Some questions will only be displayed if we need you to answer them. If you want to see all the questions before filling in the form, select the Print form with all questions button to print a copy.
How to get the PDF form
Double-clicking the form won't open it. The form will not load on a mobile device, tablet or within a browser.
To complete the form, you must save it to your desktop computer or laptop (with the latest version of Adobe Acrobat installed) by following these steps.
- To download, right click on Excise amendment form (NAT 4286, PDF 1.42MB)This link will download a file.
- Select Save target as (or a similar option depending on your internet browser) to save it to your computer.
- To open your saved form right click on the PDF file in the folder it was saved in, select Open with then select Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.
- Enable Protected View and JavaScript if prompted before filling in the form. If they are not enabled, additional questions will not be displayed and the form will be incomplete.
- Once it's complete, save it using the Save form button at the end of the form.
Note: Update your default app for PDF file types to Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to open all PDF files with Adobe Acrobat.
Help completing the form
Follow these instructions to help you to complete the Excise amendment PDF form.
Your details
Provide the legal name of the person or business liable to pay excise duty. Do not provide a business name if it's different to the legal name. A business name is a name registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
It's not compulsory to provide your Australian business number (ABN), however it will help us process your amendment promptly.
If you operate your business as a trust, enter the ABN of the trustee in its capacity as trustee for the trust.
Your client account number is linked to your ABN and is used to identify your excise account with us.
Original excise return lodgment details
If you don't have a periodic settlement permission
Provide the original return number you want to amend. This number is on your delivery authority.
If you have a periodic settlement permission
A periodic settlement permission (PSP) allows you to:
- Deliver excisable goods into the Australian domestic market (for home consumption) over the specified settlement period.
- Defer lodging your excise return and paying excise duty until a specified date.
Provide your settlement permission number and the settlement period of the return you want to amend.
Indicate if the return you are amending was a nil return (if you originally reported that no goods were delivered into home consumption during the settlement period).
Reason for amendment
Describe the reason for the amendment – for example, detection of an error in transcribing the quantity dispatched.
Product details
You need to provide the product details you reported in your original excise return as well as the amended (or additional) product details.
Complete a separate set of product details for each tariff item you are amending or adding.
Original details
Add the line number from the original excise return in which the error occurred and copy the line details as reported in your original return.
Amended details
Line number
If you are amending an error, quote the original line number in which the error occurred and provide the amended details.
If you are adding a new line, use the next number in the sequence from the original return to provide the additional details.
Label A: Tariff item
Excisable goods are classified to a tariff item or subitem in The Schedule to the Excise Tariff Act 1921 (the Schedule). Each tariff item and subitem has a number allocated to it. You need to complete a separate line for each one.
If you don't know which tariff item applies, refer to Excise duty rates for alcohol or Excise duty rates for fuel and petroleum products.
Label B: Quantity in dutiable units
The quantity in dutiable units is the amount or volume of product you have delivered into the Australian domestic market (for home consumption) and are liable to pay excise duty on. This is known as dutiable quantity.
This field also includes the measurement unit you are using to report the volume (or mass). Most excise tariff items listed in the Schedule have a measurement unit specified for that type of good. This is known as a dutiable unit.
The following are examples of dutiable units:
- litres of alcohol
- kilograms of compressed natural gas
- litres of fuel (other than blended fuels).
As excise duty is not payable on the first 1.15% of alcohol content in beer, use the following formula when calculating the dutiable quantity of beer products:
Total litres of beer × (alcohol strength − 1.15%) = dutiable quantity
The alcohol strength for all alcoholic beverages is calculated on the labelled strength or actual strength of the product, whichever is higher.
Reporting dutiable quantity for:
- alcohol - truncate to one decimal place
- fuels - to the nearest litre or kilogram
- crude and condensate - round kilolitres to one decimal place.
Provide the quantity in dutiable units and select the unit type at label B.
Quantity for blended fuels including biofuel blends
Blended fuels are products listed under tariff item numbers 10.7, 10.12 and 10.30.
The dutiable quantity for blended fuels is the total quantity of the blend regardless of whether duty has been paid, in:
- litres, for tariff items 10.7 and 10.12
- litres/kilogram for tariff item 10.30.
Label C: Statistical quantity for blended fuel
Excise tariff items for blended fuel have a second measurement unit type, known as statistical quantity.
The statistical quantity is the proportion of the blended product which is biodiesel, ethanol or water. You need to report this as a whole amount with no decimal places.
Provide the statistical quantity of the product in litres at label C.
Label D: Duty rate
Each excise tariff item listed in the Schedule has a rate of excise duty.
The duty rate for beer is determined by the strength of the product and the size and type of the container.
For blended fuels the rate of duty is the amount of duty worked out under section 6G of the Excise Tariff Act 1921.
Provide the relevant rate of excise duty for your product at label D.
Label E: Excise amount
The excise amount is the amended excise liability (if any) for each line entered on the form. When you fill in the form online, the excise amount is calculated for you by multiplying the quantity in dutiable units (label B) by the rate of excise duty (label D).
If you are reporting blended fuels, and you need to deduct any excise duty previously paid, for more information contact us. You may need to re-lodge your Excise return.
Label F: Apply alcohol manufacturer remission
If you are eligible for the Remission scheme for alcohol manufacturers (Remission scheme), select Yes for each line to which this applies. The remission amount (label F) will equal the excise amount (label E).
If you are not eligible for the Remission scheme, select No for each line to which this applies. The remission amount (label F) will be nil.
If only some of your products are eligible for the Remission scheme, ensure they are entered on separate lines and select:
- Yes for eligible goods, and
- No for goods that are not eligible.
Note: You cannot apply more than $350,000 of the Remission scheme per financial year. If you obtained your manufacturer licence partway through a financial year, you would need to calculate an adjusted cap. Calculate the maximum remission for that year by multiplying $350,000 by the number of days in the financial year that you held your manufacturer licence, divided by 365.
Example: licence obtained partway through the year
Brewery Co obtained their excise manufacturer licence on 1 March. They held the licence for 122 days in the financial year. Brewery Co's adjusted cap is:
$350,000 × 122/365 days = $116,986.30
End of exampleWhat to do when you reach the cap
Once you have reached the $350,000 (or adjusted) cap in a financial year, you can no longer apply the Remission scheme. This means you must select No for all product reported for the rest of the financial year.
If you reach your cap partway through a reporting period, you will need to use separate lines and select:
- Yes for eligible product lines up to the cap amount
- No for the remaining product lines.
You will need use separate lines, even if the product is the same tariff item.
Excise duty summary
The amounts in the 'Excise duty summary' are automatically calculated from the 'Product details' table.
Total excise amount
This is the total of all the excise duty amounts (label E) from each line in the 'Product details' table.
All excise amounts entered on the 'Original details' lines are totalled in the 'Original' column. All excise amounts entered on 'Amended details' lines are totalled in the 'Amended' column.
Total alcohol manufacturer remission
This is the total of all the Remission scheme amounts (label F) from each line in the 'Product details' table.
All Remission scheme amounts on 'Original details' lines are totalled in the 'Original' column. All Remission scheme amounts on 'Amended details' lines are totalled in the 'Amended' column.
You must monitor the amount of alcohol remission you have applied during the financial year. Once you have reached a total alcohol remission amount of $350,000 (or adjusted amount), you can no longer apply the Remission scheme to any goods entered into the Australian domestic market (for home consumption) for the remainder of the financial year.
Total excise duty payable
This is the total excise duty payable for all lines from the original return and for all lines that have been amended. It is the sum of the total excise amount less any amounts applied under the Remission scheme.
Difference
This amount is the difference between the amended and original total excise duty payable.
If the amended total is more than the original total, the amount shown as the difference is the amount you must pay to us. If the original return has not been paid, pay the amended total excise duty payable rather than the difference.
If the amended total is less than the original total, the amount will be shown as a credit.
Have you paid the excise duty from your original return?
- Select No The amount of credit difference will be applied to your excise liability.
- Select Yes To apply for a refund of the excise duty overpaid you must provide some additional information.
Date the duty was paid
Select the date that the duty payable on the original return was paid.
Reason for the refund claim
Provide a reason for the refund application.
Note: There is a 12 month limit for lodging most refund claims, including where the duty has been paid in error. Any refund amount may be offset against other tax debts or some Australian Government debts.
Declaration
You, or a person who is authorised to act on your behalf (an authorised contact), must complete the declaration. If the business is an business entity, the declaration can only be completed by a primary contact or an authorised contact.
If you lodge this amendment through Online services for business, your electronic credential will be accepted as your electronic signature.
Lodging your amendment
Before you lodge your amendment, make sure you have completed all the mandatory sections.
Keep a copy of your completed amendment form for your records. Lodge the original through:
- secure mail in Online services for business
- practice mail in Online services for agents
- mail to
Australian Taxation Office
PO Box 3007
PENRITH NSW 2740
Lodge through Online services for business
If you use Online services for business to lodge your amendment, it is more secure and will be processed faster than if you lodge by mail.
Follow these steps to lodge through secure mail in Online services for business:
- Fill in the return form
- Save the completed form as a PDF to your computer
- Log in to Online services for business
- Select Communication, then Secure Mail
- Select New message
- Select View more topics from the Topic list
- Select Excise from the Other topics list
- Select Excise returns from the Subject list
- Attach the amendment form
- Provide your contact details and complete the declaration
- Select Send.
You will receive a receipt number once you've lodged your amendment.
Tracking your amendment progress
You can track the progress of your amendment in Online services for business by selecting Your dealings from the Communication menu.
You can also view your excise account to see the financial outcome of your amendment.
Lodge through Online services for agents
Follow these steps to lodge through practice mail in Online services for agents:
- Select Communication, then Practice mail
- Create a New message
- Select View more topics from the Topic list
- Select Excise from the Other topics list
- Select Collections returns from the Subject list
- Select I am enquiring on behalf of client from Enquiry type
- Search for and select your client
- Attach the amendment form
- Provide your contact details and complete the declaration
- Select Send.
You will receive a receipt number once the message has successfully been sent.
Service standards
You can expect your amendment to be processed within 28 days of us receiving all the necessary information.
If your amendment is incomplete, we will contact you for more information. If the information we need isn't provided after a reasonable period, you must relodge the amendment.
Contact us
If you need more information, you can contact us or visit:
How to amend an excise return.Last modified: 08 Sep 2023QC 21422