LI 2026/D9

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Excise Act 1901

Legislative Instrument

Draft Excise (Mass of CNG) Determination 2026

I, Will Day, Deputy Commissioner of Taxation, make the following determination.

1 Name

This instrument is the Excise (Mass of CNG) Determination 2026.

2 Commencement

This instrument commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

3 Authority

This instrument is made under subsection 65(1) of the Excise Act 1901.

4 Definitions

Note: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in section 4 of the Act, including the following:

(a)

CEO;

(b)

Collector;

(c)

fuel.

In this instrument:

Act means the Excise Act 1901.

accounting period means the 12 month period adopted for income tax purposes under section 18 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, or another period authorised in writing by the CEO for the purposes of this instrument.

aggregated clearances means the total mass of excisable CNG that, during an accounting period, a person:

(a)

expects to deliver for home consumption from all their excise-licensed premises based on historical data, where that data is available; or

(b)

reasonably expects to deliver for home consumption from all their excise-licensed premises, where historical data is not available.

CNG means compressed natural gas.

deliver (or delivered) for home consumption has the meaning given by section 61C of the Act.

excisable CNG means CNG classified to sub-item 10.19C of the Schedule to the Excise Tariff Act 1921.

excise-licensed premises means one or more premises that are covered by a licence relevant for the purposes of this instrument and which is granted under section 39A of the Act.

non-excisable CNG means CNG that is not excisable CNG.

relevant values and factors means, in relation to natural gas supplied by a gas supplier to a person delivering CNG for home consumption, the following factors provided to the person by the supplier in an invoice relating to the supply:

(a)

the heating value and pressure correction factors; or

(b)

the average heating value and average pressure correction factors.

reliable measurement means a consistent and reliable way of indirectly measuring quantities of excisable CNG, including using one or more of the following:

(a)

gas flow meter measuring equipment;

(b)

a vehicle's odometer readings of kilometres travelled;

(c)

route distances in relation to a vehicle that operates on fixed routes;

(d)

kilowatt hours of electricity generated;

(e)

hours of operation of vehicle or equipment;

(f)

average hourly fuel consumption of vehicle or equipment.

settlement period means the period specified in a notice of permission given by the Collector under subsection 61C(1C) of the Act.

standard reference conditions means, in relation to a measured quantity of CNG, the quantity of the dry gas at a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius and an absolute pressure of 101.325 kilopascals.

5 Schedules

Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.

6 Rules for working out the mass of CNG

(1) A person must use the applicable method in section 7 to work out the mass of all excisable CNG they deliver for home consumption from each excise-licensed premises during an accounting period if:

(a)

they have aggregated clearances of 150,000 kilograms or more in the accounting period; or

(b)

the measurement equipment used to measure the excisable CNG at the time it is delivered for home consumption can distinguish quantities of excisable CNG from non-excisable CNG and natural gas.

(2) A person must use the method in section 8 to work out the mass of all excisable CNG they deliver for home consumption from each excise-licensed premises during an accounting period if:

(a)

they have aggregated clearances of less than 150,000 kilograms in the accounting period; and

(b)

they cannot measure the excisable CNG at the time it is delivered for home consumption.

(3) A person must use the method that applies under subsection (1) or (2) for the entire accounting period to work out the mass of all excisable CNG they deliver for home consumption during that period, unless authorised by the CEO in writing to use a different method.

7 Methods for the purposes of subsection 6(1)

Method 1

(1) If a person measures a quantity of excisable CNG in kilograms at the time it is delivered for home consumption, the mass of that quantity of excisable CNG is the measured quantity in kilograms.

Method 2

(2) If a person measures a quantity of excisable CNG in megajoules at the time it is delivered for home consumption, the mass of that quantity of excisable CNG must be worked out by converting the measured megajoules into kilograms by:

(a)

applying the conversion rate in subsection 24(3) of the Excise Regulation 2015 to the measured megajoules; or

(b)

applying an appropriate conversion factor based on the composition of the gas by mole fraction.

Method 3

(3) If a person measures a quantity of excisable CNG in cubic metres at the time it is delivered for home consumption, the mass of that quantity of excisable CNG must be worked out by converting that measured volume into kilograms by using one of the following method statements:

(a)

method statement A is as follows:

(i)

Step 1: measure the volume of the excisable CNG at the time it is delivered for home consumption in cubic metres.

(ii)

Step 2: convert the measured volume in step 1 into megajoules by using the relevant values and factors.

(iii)

Step 3: apply the conversion rate in subsection 24(3) of the Excise Regulation 2015 to the megajoule value calculated at Step 2.

(b)

method statement B is as follows:

(i)

Step 1: measure the volume of the excisable CNG at the time it is delivered for home consumption in cubic metres.

(ii)

Step 2: work out what the measured volume would be if it were measured under standard reference conditions.

(iii)

Step 3: convert the volume worked out at Step 2 into kilograms by applying an appropriate conversion factor based on the composition of the gas by mole fraction.

8 Method for the purposes of subsection 6(2)

Method 4

A person must calculate the mass of excisable CNG they deliver for home consumption for each settlement period during an accounting period using the following method statement:

(a)

Step 1: use a reliable measurement to work out every quantity of excisable CNG delivered for home consumption during the settlement period.

(b)

Step 2: convert every quantity of excisable CNG worked out at step 1 into kilograms by using a reasonable basis for converting each quantity of excisable CNG into kilograms.

(c)

Step 3: add all the quantities of excisable CNG calculated at step 2.

Schedule 1—Repeals

Excise (Mass of CNG) Determination 2016 (No.2) 2016

1 The whole of the instrument

Repeal the instrument

 

Consultation

Subsection 17(1) of the Legislation Act 2003 requires the Commissioner to be satisfied that appropriate and reasonably practicable consultation has been undertaken before they make a legislative instrument.

As part of the consultation process, you are invited to comment on the draft instrument and its accompanying draft explanatory statement.

Please forward your comments to the contact officer by the due date.

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Draft published 11 May 2026

Will Day
Deputy Commissioner of Taxation

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Related Explanatory Statements:

LI 2026/D9 - Explanatory statement

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