ATO Interpretative Decision

ATO ID 2004/669 (Withdrawn)

Excise

Excise: Distillation and alcohol concentration methods
FOI status: may be released
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Issue

Is an apparatus consisting of a fermenter, an air pump and a condensation unit (the apparatus), a still as defined in section 6 of the Distillation Act 1901 (Distillation Act).

Decision

Yes, the apparatus is a still as defined in section 6 of the Distillation Act.

Facts

The apparatus consists of the following items:

a fermentation tank with optional heater belt to maintain the 'wash' within a certain temperature range that enhances fermentation

•
an air pump; and
•
a condensation chamber.

Ethanol is produced in the apparatus as follows:

•
sugar is dissolved in water and added to the fermentation tank
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water is added to top up the fermentation tank
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yeast/nutrient is added to form a 'wash'
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a heat belt (if needed), maintains the wash within a certain temperature range that enhances fermentation
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the wash is allowed to ferment
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air is pumped through the wash, evaporating ethanol and water.
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the air containing ethanol vapour is passed through a condensation chamber condensing the evaporated ethanol to a liquid, which is collected
•
the ethanol depleted air from the condensation chamber is again passed through the wash to repeat the cycle.

Reasons for Decision

A still is defined in section 6 of the Distillation Act as:

Still means any apparatus for or capable of distilling spirits and any part thereof and any apparatus connected or used in connexion therewith.

Based on this definition, any apparatus capable of distilling spirits is a still.

Distillation is not defined in the Distillation Act, but for convenience in interpreting that Act, section 5 outlines the ordinary course of distillation. Subsection 5 (iii) states:

The wash is distilled in a still by heating to evaporation and condensing the vapour. The liquor product is spirits and the residue of the wash is spent wash...

The Macquarie Dictionary Revised Third Edition defines 'distil' as

1. to subject to a process of vaporisation and subsequent condensation, as for purification or concentration.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) in Carlton & United Breweries Ltd v. Chief Executive Officer of Customs when considering the evidence of Dr G Stevens, a reader in chemical engineering and an acknowledged international expert in distillation processes noted in paragraph 6:

6. Dr Stevens gave a broad definition of "distillation", quoting from a standard text as follows:
"The function of distillation is to separate, by vaporisation, a liquid mixture of miscible and volatile substances into individual components or, in some cases, into groups of components. The separation of a mixture of alcohol and water into its components ... are examples of distillation."
From an interchange between Dr Stevens and Mr R. Gillham of this Tribunal during the hearing, it is plain that distillation processes extend over a broad range - from the unsophisticated pot still to the very sophisticated processes used in the distillation of petroleum products. However, despite the sophistication of some of the processes, the basic element remains constant, namely separation by vaporisation and subsequent condensation. Consequently, Dr Stevens regarded the DAB process, which involves separation by vaporisation, as being a process involving distillation.

The operation of the apparatus meets the requirements of distillation as defined above, namely separation by evaporation and subsequent condensation of the vapour.

The process used by the apparatus is distillation, and the apparatus is being used to distil spirit (in the form of ethanol). Therefore the apparatus is a still as defined in section 6 of the Distillation Act.

Date of decision:  22 July 2004

Legislative References:
Distillation Act 1901
   section 5
   subsection 5(iii)
   section 6

Case References:
Carlton and United Breweries Ltd v. Chief Executive Officer of Customs
   42 ALD 321

Other References:
Macquarie Dictionary (Revised Third Edition)

Keywords
Alcohol
Ethanol
Spirits

Business Line:  Excise

Date of publication:  13 August 2004

ISSN: 1445-2782

history
  Date: Version:
  22 July 2004 Original statement
You are here 16 March 2007 Archived

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