Bills Digest No. 44 2002-03
Excise Tariff Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2002
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest
does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be
consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the
Bill.
CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Concluding Comments
Endnotes
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Passage History
Excise Tariff
Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2002
Date Introduced:
26 September 2002
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Treasury
Commencement:
Proposed Schedule 1
commences on 14 May 2002 at 7:30 pm in the Australian Capital
Territory. Sections 1 to 3 inclusive commence on the day when the
Act receives the Royal Assent.
To substitute a new definition of the 'volume of
alcohol contained in goods' into the Schedule to the
Excise Tariff Act 1921 (Excise Tariff Act) in conjunction
with proposed changes to the Excise Act 1901 (Excise
Act).
As discussed in the Bills Digest for the Excise
Laws Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2002, the Government undertook to
impose excise duty on the higher of the actual alcoholic strength
or the labelled strength of beverages subject to
excise.(1) This Bill would also allow the Commissioner
of Taxation to establish rules for ascertaining the volume of
alcohol. The Excise Tariff Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2002 complements
proposed provisions in the Excise Laws Amendment Bill (No. 1)
2002.
The Bill would amend the Excise Tariff Act
consequent to the amendments to the Excise Act contained in the
Excise Laws Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2002.
The Excise Tariff Act contains a note in the
Schedule, which deals with the volume of alcohol in goods. The note
reads:
The volume of alcohol contained in goods shall
be taken to be the volume that would be the volume of that alcohol
if the alcohol were measured at a temperature of twenty degrees
Celsius, and a calculation made for the purpose of ascertaining the
volume of alcohol by reference to the specific gravity of alcohol
shall be made on the basis that, at a temperature of twenty degrees
Celsius and in vacuum, the specific gravity of alcohol in relation
to water is 0.79067.
Schedule 1 would repeal this
note and substitute a new note:
-
- Parts (a) and (b) of the proposed note are almost identical
with the current note and contain minor word changes.
-
- Part (c) provides that the volume of alcohol can be ascertained
in accordance with proposed section 77FB of the
Excise Act, that is, in accordance with rules the Commissioner of
Taxation can determine to ascertain the volume of alcohol.
-
- Part (d) provides that the volume of alcohol can be ascertained
in accordance with proposed section 77FA of the
Excise Act, that is, in accordance with the higher of the labelled
or actual alcohol content.
See the Bills Digest for the Excise Laws
Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2002.
-
- Senator the Hon. Helen Coonan, 'Imposition of Excise on Higher
of Labelled or Actual Alcoholic Strength',
Press Release C56/02, 14 May 2002.
Richard Webb
11 October 2002
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
This paper has been prepared for general distribution to
Senators and Members of the Australian Parliament. While great care
is taken to ensure that the paper is accurate and balanced, the
paper is written using information publicly available at the time
of production. The views expressed are those of the author and
should not be attributed to the Information and Research Services
(IRS). Advice on legislation or legal policy issues contained in
this paper is provided for use in parliamentary debate and for
related parliamentary purposes. This paper is not professional
legal opinion. Readers are reminded that the paper is not an
official parliamentary or Australian government document.
IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's
contents with Senators and Members and their staff but not with
members of the public.
ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 2002
Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the
Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior
written consent of the Parliamentary Library, other than by Members
of the Australian Parliament in the course of their official
duties.
Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library,
2002.
Back to top