Notice Of Substituted Rates Of Excise Duty - Notice No. 2 (2014)

Overview

The Excise Tariff Act 1921 was enacted to provide for the imposition of excise duties on certain goods, including tobacco products. This legislative framework was designed to address the need for a structured approach to taxing specific goods, thereby generating revenue for the government while also influencing consumption patterns through taxation. The Act is administered by the Parliament of Australia, aiming to ensure a consistent and regulated application of excise duties across various goods, including tobacco. This legislative measure was introduced to fill the gap in fiscal policy related to the regulation and taxation of specific goods, ensuring that these duties are applied in a transparent and systematic manner. The policy objective of the Excise Tariff Act 1921 is to maintain a standardised approach to the imposition of excise duties, thereby contributing to both revenue generation and regulatory control over the consumption of taxed goods.

Scope and Application

The Excise Tariff Act 1921, as modified by the Excise Tariff Proposal (No. 1) 2013, pertains to the imposition of excise duties on specific goods within Australia. The Act applies to various goods, including tobacco, and mandates the payment of excise duty at the rates specified in the Schedule of the Tariff Act. The notice issued under subsection 6AA of the Excise Tariff Act by Brett Martin, the delegate of the Commissioner of Taxation, sets out the substituted rates of excise duty effective from 1 March 2014. These rates apply to goods categorised under specific items in the Schedule, such as the rate of $0.40639 per stick for item 5.1 and $508.01 per kilogram of tobacco content for item 5.5. The Act's reach is nationwide, applying uniformly across all states and territories within Australia, with no stated exclusions or exemptions in this notice, apart from those specified in the Excise Tariff Proposal (No. 1) 2013. The application of the Act may be further extended or restricted by subordinate instruments as required.

Key Provisions

The Excise Tariff Act 1921 (the Tariff Act) establishes a framework for imposing and regulating excise duties on specific goods. The Act includes a schedule that classifies various goods and the corresponding rates of excise duty. In Notice No. 2 (2014), the delegate of the Commissioner of Taxation, Brett Martin, provides a notification (under section 6AA of the Tariff Act) regarding the substitution of excise duty rates for certain goods. Effective from 1 March 2014, the notice specifies new rates for goods classified under items 5.1 and 5.5 of the Schedule to the Tariff Act (section 6AA). The notice stipulates that the excise duty rate for goods classified under item 5.1 is set at $0.40639 per stick, and for those under item 5.5, the rate is $508.01 per kilogram of tobacco content. These substituted rates apply to all goods classified under the specified items as of the effective date. The Tariff Act mandates that these rates must be adhered to for compliance purposes, ensuring that the correct excise duty is applied to the relevant goods. Parties governed by the Tariff Act, including manufacturers, importers, and suppliers of the specified goods, must ensure they charge and account for the new excise duty rates as outlined in the notice. This involves updating their billing and record-keeping systems to reflect the new rates. Failure to comply with these updated rates could lead to discrepancies in reported excise duties, which could result in penalties or audits by the Australian Taxation Office. Non-compliance with the substituted excise duty rates, as notified, could result in civil and criminal consequences. The potential penalties for breaches of the Tariff Act include fines and, in severe cases, criminal charges. The maximum penalties are not explicitly stated in the notice but are typically detailed in other sections of the Act or related legislation. Such penalties serve as a deterrent against non-compliance, ensuring that all parties remain compliant with the specified excise duty rates.