Excise (Volume of Liquid Fuels – Temperature Correction) Determination 2016 (No. 2)

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au F2016L01519 Not in force Legislative Instrument

Legislation content

Explanatory Statement

 

Excise (Volume of Liquid Fuels - Temperature Correction) Determination 2016 (No. 2)

 

General outline of determination

  1. This Explanatory Statement is provided in accordance with sections 15G(4) and 15J  of the Legislation Act 2003 (‘Legislation Act’).
  2. Under section 65 of the Excise Act 1901 (‘Excise Act’) the CEO may make rules for determining the volume of excisable goods.

 

Revoking of previous instrument

3.        Excise (Volume of Liquid Fuels – Temperature Correction) Determination 2016 (No. 1) (‘previous instrument’) was registered on 22 February 2016 and is is repealed on the commencement of this determination.

4.        The new instrument amends directions on the manner of incorporation of the extrinsic materials that are referenced within the determination in accordance with Section 14 of the Legislation Act.

5.        Aside from the amended directions the circumstances set out in the previous determination remain unchanged.

 

Date of effect

6.        The determination will have effect from the day after it is registered.

 

What is the determination about?

7.        This instrument is made under section 65 of the Excise Act.  It provides rules for working out the excisable volume of liquid fuel that is being entered for home consumption which will in turn be used for the purposes of working out the amount of excise duty payable on such fuel.

 

What is the effect of the determination?

8.        The determination specifies the methods available for determining the volume of excisable liquid fuel. The determination also specifies the types of fuel and aggregated clearances as factors that permit the use of a particular method.

9.        Compliance cost impact: Minor – There will be no or minimal impacts for both implementation and ongoing compliance costs. The legislative instrument is minor or machinery in nature.

 

Impact of the instrument

10.    The volume of liquid fuel must be determined at the time of delivery for home consumption using one of the permissible methods.

11.    Pursuant to Method 1, a person who has aggregated clearances of liquid transport fuels exceeding 50,000 litres per accounting period must, depending on the type of fuel, use either the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) volume correction factors or the Practical Alcohol Tables. Both available methods are used to convert the volume of fuel at ambient temperature to volume of fuel at 15o Celsius.

 

Revised computerised software editions of the above measurement standards installed in metering equipment may also be used to calculate the volume of liquid transport fuels in litres at 15 Celsius during dispensation.

 

Example:  If 1 litre of diesel has a density of 840 kg/m3 at 15o Celsius, then 30,000 litres of diesel at 30o Celsius would need to be adjusted by the volume correction factor of 0.9873 m3 (as per the ASTM Petroleum Measurement Tables) to determine its volume at 15o Celsius.  Application of the relevant factor would result in an adjusted volume of 29,619 litres.  Excise duty is then calculated on 29,619 litres for a person who has aggregated clearances of transport fuels exceeding 50,000 litres per accounting period.

 

12.    A person who does not have aggregated clearances of liquid transport fuels exceeding 50,000 litres per accounting period and does not have a requirement on their periodic settlement permission to correct to 15º Celsius on all their fuel clearances may either correct the volume of fuel to 15 degrees Celsius (Method 1) or use the measured volume of fuel at ambient temperature (Method 2).

 

Example:  Following on from the example at paragraph 11 if that person’s aggregated clearances of liquid transport fuels are less than 50,000 litres per accounting period, that person may either correct the volume of fuel to 15o Celsius (i.e. 29,619 litres) or use the measured volume of fuel at ambient temperature (i.e. 30,000 litres).

 

13.    A person who has clearances of fuels classified to sub-items 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.15, 10.16, 10.25, 10.26, 10.27 and 10.28 of the Schedule to the Tariff Act in any quantity may use either Method 1 or 2.

 

14.    A person must use one Method for the duration of an accounting period, unless authorised in writing by the CEO to do otherwise.

 

15.    Aggregated clearances means the volume of liquid fuel delivered for home consumption in an accounting period of 12 months from all excise licensed establishment/s based on historical data or the volume of liquid fuels reasonably expected to be delivered for home consumption in an accounting period if no historical data is available.

 

16.    The period adopted for the calculation of aggregated clearances is the accounting period adopted for income tax purposes as provided in section 18 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936.

 

17.    Liquid transport fuels are defined as gasoline (including that used in an aircraft), diesel, kerosene (for use in an aircraft), fuel oil, fuel ethanol, biodiesel and blends consisting primarily of gasoline or diesel.

 

18.    For transport fuels classified as gasoline (including that used in an aircraft), diesel, kerosene (for use in an aircraft), fuel oil, biodiesel and blends consisting primarily of gasoline or diesel, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Petroleum Measurement Tables Volume Correction Factors, Volume VIII are used to convert the volume of the fuel to 15° Celsius.

 

19.    For transport fuels classified as fuel ethanol, the Practical Alcohol Tables are used to convert the volume of the fuel to 15° Celsius.

 

20.    To convert the volume of the fuel to 15° Celsius a person must use the editions of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Petroleum Measurement Tables Volume Correction Factors, Volume VIII and the Practical Alcohol Tables, that are current at the time of commencement of the determination.

 

Consultation

21.    Subsection 17(1) of the Legislation Act requires that the CEO undertake an appropriate level of consultation that is reasonably practicable to undertake before making a legislative instrument. 

 

22.    Because there is no substantive change to the scope of the previous instrument, representative organisations were notified to invite members to submit comments on the content of this instrument. No substantive feedback was received. 

 

 

Related Rulings/Determinations:

 

Previous Rulings/Determinations:

Excise (Volume of Fuels – Temperature Correction) Determination 2009 (No. 1) – F2009L02547

Excise (Volume of Liquid Fuels – Temperature Correction) Determination 2011 (No. 1) – F2011L02373

Excise (Volume of Liquid Fuels – Temperature Correction) Determination 2015 (No. 1) – F2015L01732

Excise (Volume of Liquid Fuels – Temperature Correction) Determination 2016 (No. 1) – F2016L00133

 

Subject references:

Excise

Excisable goods

Excise Duty

 

 

Legislative references:

Excise Act 1901 section 65

Excise Tariff Act 1921 (Schedule)

Legislative Instruments Act 2003 section 26

Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 section 18

 

Case references:

Other references:

American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Petroleum Measurement Tables Volume Correction Factors Volume VIII (at the time of publication this reference is available from http://www.astm.org )

 

Practical Alcohol Tables (PAT) (at the time of publication this reference is available from http://bookshop.europa.eu )

 


Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

 

This Statement is prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Excise (Volume of Liquid Fuels - Temperature Correction) Determination 2016 (No. 2)

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

 

Overview of the Legislative Instrument

 

Excise (Volume of Liquid Fuels - Temperature Correction) Determination 2016 (No. 2) amends and replaces Excise (Volume of Liquid Fuels - Temperature Correction) Determination 2016 (No. 1). The determination provides rules for working out the excisable volume of liquid fuel that is being delivered for home consumption which is then used for the purposes of working out the amount of excise duty payable on such fuel.

 

Human rights implications

 

This legislative instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms as it is considered to be minor or machinery in nature. It provides greater certainty in relation to excise obligations around the measurement of liquid fuels.

 

Conclusion

 

This legislative instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overview

The Excise (Volume of Liquid Fuels - Temperature Correction) Determination 2016 (No. 2) was enacted to provide rules for determining the volume of excisable liquid fuel for home consumption, which is essential for calculating the applicable excise duty. This determination was introduced to address the need for consistent and accurate measurement of liquid fuel volumes, particularly in relation to temperature corrections, to ensure compliance with excise obligations. The instrument was made by the Commissioner of Taxation under the authority of section 65 of the Excise Act 1901 and is intended to offer clarity and certainty in the measurement process for excise purposes. It replaces the previous Excise (Volume of Liquid Fuels - Temperature Correction) Determination 2016 (No. 1) and modifies the incorporation of extrinsic materials as per Section 14 of the Legislation Act 2003. The policy objective of this determination is to streamline the process for calculating the volume of liquid fuels, thereby ensuring that excise duties are correctly applied based on accurate volumetric measurements.

Scope and Application

The Excise (Volume of Liquid Fuels - Temperature Correction) Determination 2016 (No. 2) applies to entities involved in the delivery of liquid fuels for home consumption, particularly those with significant volumes of such fuels. The determination is made under section 65 of the Excise Act 1901 and provides rules for calculating the excisable volume of liquid fuels to determine the applicable excise duty. It specifies methods for volume measurement, taking into account temperature variations, and is applicable to various types of liquid fuels, including gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and biodiesel. The geographic reach of the Act is nationwide, impacting entities across all states and territories in Australia. The determination does not specify exclusions or thresholds but mandates the use of specific methods based on the type and quantity of fuel and the entity's aggregated clearances. The determination extends its application through the use of extrinsic materials referenced within it, such as the ASTM Petroleum Measurement Tables and Practical Alcohol Tables.

Key Provisions

The Excise (Volume of Liquid Fuels - Temperature Correction) Determination 2016 (No. 2) is a legislative instrument that establishes rules for calculating the volume of liquid fuel for excise duty purposes. It specifies the methods available for determining the volume of excisable liquid fuel, such as the use of American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) volume correction factors or Practical Alcohol Tables, depending on the type of fuel and the aggregated clearances of liquid transport fuels (section 11). The determination also sets out the circumstances under which different methods can be used (section 12). It is important for the determination to be made at the time of delivery for home consumption using one of the permissible methods. The determination further stipulates that a person must use one method for the duration of an accounting period unless authorised in writing by the CEO to do otherwise (section 14). The Excise (Volume of Liquid Fuels - Temperature Correction) Determination 2016 (No. 2) imposes several obligations on the parties it governs. Firstly, it requires that the volume of liquid fuel must be determined at the time of delivery for home consumption using one of the permissible methods (section 10). Secondly, depending on the type of fuel and aggregated clearances, the determination mandates the use of either the ASTM volume correction factors or the Practical Alcohol Tables to convert the volume of fuel at ambient temperature to volume of fuel at 15° Celsius (section 11). Additionally, it requires the use of one method for the duration of an accounting period unless authorised in writing by the CEO to do otherwise (section 14). The Excise (Volume of Liquid Fuels - Temperature Correction) Determination 2016 (No. 2) does not explicitly outline specific offences, penalties, or consequences for breach within its text. However, non-compliance with excise duty regulations generally can lead to significant legal and financial repercussions. Under the Excise Act 1901, penalties for non-compliance can include fines and imprisonment. For instance, section 109 of the Excise Act provides for penalties for contravening certain provisions, which can include fines up to 10,000 penalty units or imprisonment for up to five years, or both. Additionally, failure to correctly determine and declare the volume of liquid fuel can result in underpayment of excise duty, leading to further penalties and interest charges as per the Excise Act.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.