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Fuel and petroleum excise and key terms

Understand your excise obligations and key terms if your business manufactures, produces or stores excisable fuel.

Last updated 2 July 2024

Excise duty

Excise duty is a commodity-based tax on:

If you manufacture, produce or store these excisable goods in Australia, you:

If you deliver excisable fuel or petroleum products from an excise-licensed premises into the Australian domestic market (for home consumption), you need to lodge an excise return and pay excise duty.

Home consumption is a term used in the Excise Act 1901 to refer to how excise duty is only imposed on goods that will be used (or consumed) in the Australian domestic market. If those goods are exported, there is no excise duty payable.

Fuel and petroleum products subject to excise

These are examples of fuel or petroleum products that are excisable goods if you manufacture, produce or store them in Australia:

  • petroleum fuels, such as petrol and diesel
  • gaseous fuels, such as liquified petroleum gas or liquefied natural gas
  • biofuels, such as biodiesel and fuel ethanol
  • crude oil and condensate
  • solvents, such as white spirits and turpentine
  • lubricants, such as oils and greases
  • recycled petroleum products.

Importing fuel and petroleum products

Fuel and petroleum products that you import into Australia are a type of excise equivalent good (EEG).

Instead of paying excise duty on imported fuel and petroleum products, you generally pay an equivalent customs duty.

If you use imported fuel (excluding biofuel) to manufacture excisable fuel products, you still need to pay excise duty on the final product.

Excise guidelines for the fuel industry

We publish the Excise guidelines for the fuel industry on our Legal database. This provides a broad outline of the excise laws and compliance obligations for the fuel industry. It's a reference tool to help you get things right and contains more detailed information and examples.

Excise statistics

We publish statistics and data on aspects of the excise system, see Taxation statistics – excise and fuel scheme statistics.

Key excise terms

General excise terms

General excise terms and their meanings

Term

Meaning

Automatic remission

An excise remission that does not require you to apply to cancel the liability to pay excise duty.

In all cases you must maintain appropriate records.

Deliver into the Australian domestic market

When excisable fuel and petroleum products are released into domestic consumption. The term used in the legislation is 'deliver for home consumption'.

Normally this will be by delivering the goods away from the excise-licensed premises but also includes:

  • using those goods yourself
  • selling the goods for consumption on site.

'Home consumption' is explained in the table below.

Entity-level licence

An excise-equivalent warehouse licence, excise manufacturer licence or excise storage licence that covers multiple premises.

Excisable goods

Goods that are subject to excise duty as specified in the Schedule to the Excise Tariff Act 1921.

Excise duty

A commodity-based tax on alcohol, tobacco, and fuel and petroleum products manufactured or produced in Australia.

Excise drawback

A repayment of the excise duty you've paid (either directly or in the purchase price) on goods that you subsequently exported.

Excise-licensed premises

One that is licensed by us, under the Excise Act 1901. The premises covered will be specified on the excise licence.

Excise refund

A refund you can claim from us for excise duty you've paid on goods delivered for domestic consumption in certain situations. Any refund you receive is assessable income for income tax purposes, so you need to include it in your tax return.

Excise remission

A remission cancels the liability to pay excise duty.

Excise licence

An excise licence enables you to legally manufacture, produce and / or store excisable goods in Australia. There are different types and they each have conditions and obligations you need to comply with.

Excise equivalent goods (EEGs)

Imported alcohol, tobacco, or fuel and petroleum products that would be subject to excise duty if they were manufactured or produced in Australia. Instead of paying excise duty on EEGs, you generally pay an equivalent customs duty.

Excise-equivalent warehouse licence

A warehouse licence that authorises the warehousing of excise-equivalent goods. It doesn't include a warehouse licence that covers an outwards duty free shop, an inwards duty free shop, or storage of goods other than fuel to be supplied as aircraft or ship stores.

Home consumption

Refers to the destination of the excisable goods as being within Australia rather than exporting them.

Movement permission

Enables you to legally move underbond excisable goods between excise-licensed premises or to a place of export.

Periodic settlement permission (PSP)

Allows you to:

  • deliver excisable goods into the Australian domestic market over a specified period (settlement period)
  • defer when you lodge your excise return and pay excise duty until a specified date.

Underbond

Excisable goods are underbond while they are subject to our control. Our control ceases when excisable goods have been delivered into the Australian domestic market, exported or a remission has been applied.

The excisable goods are no longer underbond in the following examples:

  • the product has been delivered into the Australian domestic market for home consumption under a periodic settlement permission
  • a remission has been applied in relation to the product.

 

Excisable fuel terms

Excisable fuel terms and their meanings

Term

Meaning

Bunker fuel

Ships' bunkers are generally described as:

  • oil carried as fuel on oil-burning ships
  • ships' fuel not listed on the manifest of cargo.

Bunker fuel includes all types of petroleum products – for example fuel oil, aviation fuel or diesel. This is used by ships as fuel or to power auxiliary equipment, including helicopters.

If you import or acquire bunkers used in commercial shipping operations, you may have obligations and entitlements to various duty and tax requirements, including:

  • customs duty
  • excise duty
  • fuel tax credits
  • refunds of duty.

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