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Excise and excise equivalent goods issues

Learn which excise and excise equivalent transactions and governance issues attract our attention.

Last updated 30 January 2026

We have an ongoing focus on the risks associated with:

  • licence and permission obligations
  • record keeping
  • releasing goods without the proper authority to deal.

Information about these can be found in our detailed web content:

We have increased our focus on illicit alcohol products that reach retailers and consumers without excise or customs duty obligations being met.

Arrangements that attract our attention involve excisable or customable alcohol products entering the Australian domestic market without the required excise or customs duty being paid. This is illegal and we treat it very seriously.

Arrangements that attract our attention around illicit alcohol include:

  • unlicensed manufacture
  • licensed manufacture or storage of unreported product
  • selling illicit alcohol
  • diversion of illicit alcohol.

QC69476