ATO Interpretative Decision
ATO ID 2003/852 (Withdrawn)
Excise
Do the brewer's name and address need to appear on beer labels?FOI status: may be released
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This ATO Interpretative Decision is withdrawn from the database because it contains a view in respect of provisions of the Excise Act 1901 and the Excise Regulation 1925 that were repealed with effect from 1 July 2006. Despite its withdrawal, this ATO ID continues to be a precedential view in respect of the removal of beer prior to 1 July 2006.This document incorporates revisions made since original publication. View its history and amending notices, if applicable.
This ATOID provides you with the following level of protection:
If you reasonably apply this decision in good faith to your own circumstances (which are not materially different from those described in the decision), and the decision is later found to be incorrect you will not be liable to pay any penalty or interest. However, you will be required to pay any underpaid tax (or repay any over-claimed credit, grant or benefit), provided the time limits under the law allow it. If you do intend to apply this decision to your own circumstances, you will need to ensure that the relevant provisions referred to in the decision have not been amended or repealed. You may wish to obtain further advice from the Tax Office or from a professional adviser.
Issue
Do both the name and address of the brewery, or a serial number allotted by the Collector to that brewery, need to appear on a label on a container containing beer that was made in the brewery, in order to satisfy paragraph 213(1)(a) of the Excise Regulations 1925?
Decision
Yes. Either both the name of the brewery and address of the brewery at which the beer was made, or the serial number allotted by Excise to the brewery and the number allotted to the State in which the beer was made, must appear on the label. If the serial number and State number are used instead of the name and address of the brewery, the numbers must be enclosed in a circle or triangle as required by subregulation 213(4) of the Excise Regulations.
Facts
A brewery makes beer under contract on behalf of a person or entity (the owner). The labels supplied to the brewery by the owner have the owner's name and the address of the brewery. Neither the name of the brewery nor the serial number allotted by the CEO to that brewery appear on the label.
Reasons for Decision
Section 77C of the Excise Act 1901 requires that beer not be removed from a brewery unless it is marked or labelled in the prescribed manner. Paragraph 213(1)(a) of the Excise Regulations clearly requires that the label on a bottle of beer must include details which identify the brewery in which the beer was made.
The identity of the brewery rather than the owner of the beer is important for Excise to properly administer the Excise Acts. It is the brewery that is licensed, not necessarily the owner of the beer who may have contracted out its production. It is the licensed excise manufacturer who is responsible under the Excise Acts, and it is the premises where the beer is actually made that are licensed.
The owner of the beer can operate out of an office which may be temporary. Any questions or potential problems the Excise section of the ATO may have regarding the beer can be followed up by contacting the brewery.
If the owner of the beer does not wish the purchaser of the beer to know who made it, the brewery can instead use a code number supplied to the brewery by the ATO which uniquely identifies the brewery to the ATO. The number system must be used in the manner prescribed; that is, placed in either a circle or triangle, enabling the ATO to recognise that the numbers are the serial numbers provided by the ATO.
Date of decision: 29 August 2003
Legislative References:
Excise Act 1901
section 77C
subregulation 213(4)
paragraph 213(1)(a) Related ATO Interpretative Decisions
ATO ID 2003/851
Keywords
Beer
Beer Excise
ISSN: 1445-2782
| Date: | Version: | |
| 29 August 2003 | Original statement | |
| You are here | 16 March 2007 | Archived |