Excise equivalent goods (imports)
To ensure consistent treatment with goods manufactured in Australia, the following imported products are subject to customs duty at a rate equivalent to excise duty:
- alcohol
- tobacco
- fuel and petroleum products.
These imported goods are called excise equivalent goods (EEGs) and are a type of customable good (that is, a good subject to customs duty). EEGs can be used in the manufacture of excisable goods.
If you import these goods, this information will help you understand your customs duty obligations, including registration, licensing, lodgment, payment and record keeping.
From 1 July 2019, changes occurred for imported tobacco in order to help combat the illegal tobacco trade in Australia.
You will need to interact with both us and the Department of Home Affairs, including their Australian Border Force division (Home Affairs) for EEG matters.
On this page:
Find out about:
Customs duty
Customs duty is a tax on goods imported into Australia.
See also:
Excise duty
Excise duty is a commodity-based tax on:
If you manufacture, produce or store these excisable goods in Australia, you:
- generally, need to have an excise licence
- may need to pay excise duty.
See also:
What underbond means
EEGs are underbond if customs duty has not yet been paid.
Customs warehouses storing underbond customable goods
We (the ATO) administer customs warehouses that store underbond EEGs. If those customs warehouses keep underbond customable goods other than EEGs, we administer them as well as the EEGs.
You must get our permission to move any underbond customable goods kept at an ATO-licensed customs warehouse to another location, including to other licensed premises.
Find out about:
Exporting customable goods
If you intend to export the customable goods you will need to declare them to the Department of Home Affairs – Australian Border Force (Home Affairs) on an Export DeclarationExternal Link.
Imported alcohol, tobacco, fuel and petroleum products are known as excise equivalent goods (EEGs) and are subject to customs duty at a rate equivalent to excise duty. Businesses that import these products need to understand and meet their customs obligations.