The following “Streamlining the administration of excise and excise-equivalent customs goods” changes are now law. A message from the ATO.

Aligning excise and customs reporting with other indirect taxes.

From 1 July 2023, eligible businesses can apply to lodge their excise and customs returns on a quarterly basis to simplify reporting and payment requirements.

Eligible businesses include those that manufacture or store alcohol, or deliver excisable alcohol or excise-equivalent goods into the Australian domestic market, and have an aggregated annual turnover of less than $50 million.

A number of conditions must be met to be granted permission to change your lodgment cycle to quarterly. You need to have all your lodgments and payments up to date before you apply. We will assess applications on a case-by-case basis.

For more information, visit Application for a periodic settlement permission.

System updates and processing delays

From September 2023, there will be new functions in our online services when you lodge your excise returns and amendments. To enable the new functions in our online services, processing of excise lodgments will be delayed between August and September. During this time, continue to lodge and pay by the due date, however your lodgments won’t be processed until the system changes are complete.

If you’re not already using online services, register now here. 

The National Distilling Institute (NDI), set up in 2023, is a nationally recognised training organisation focusing on vocational training for students all over Australia. It is a joint venture between the Australian Distillers Association and National Food Institute. It will partner with other training organisations to deliver Certificate IV in Artisan Fermented Products (Distilling), which is Nationally accredited in Australia under the Australian Skills Quality Authority ASQA.

Since the conference, NDI has had a deep dive into the learning outcomes and believes we will get better educational outcomes for the industry by delivering, Micro-Credentials and short courses in the coming months and then developing Certificate IV in Artisan Fermented Products (Distilling). We will not develop Certificate III in Food Processing (Distilling) at the moment as discussed at the conference.

Certificate IV in Artisan Fermented Products (Distilling) qualification reflects the role of those using artisanal methods to produce fermented food and/or beverage products specialising in distilled spirits.

Individuals with this qualification apply a broad range of specialised skills and knowledge in varied contexts that involve selecting and operating equipment, coordinating resources and finding solutions to routine and non-routine problems as they arise.

NDI seeks Australian-qualified Trainers and Assessors who want to work with the National Distilling Institute to teach Certificate IV in Artisan Fermented Products (Distilling). If you are interested in being a trainer but don’t have your Qualification, we would like to speak to you also.

We are looking for trainers or Subject matter experts with relevant experience in Distilling or a specific area associated with distilling.

To be a trainer, you must have your Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. NDI is keen to discuss whether you have this qualification or want it.

We would like to hear if you are ready to help build the industry through structured, accredited education.

If you are interested, please email Seb Costello using the link below.

CONTACT SEB

If you've been looking for a supplier of quality consumables and equipment for your spirits production, large or small, we're here to help. From top of bottle and oak alternatives, right through to turn key filling, labelling and packing, Grapeworks Tanium can provide the solution.

A note from our conference sponsors Grapeworks and Tanium.

Click here to view our distillery catalogue or visit our website to view some of the range of products we provide and if you don't see exactly what you're looking for, just give us a call. We've been supplying to business's just starting up with manual equipment, through to the supply and installation of fully automated filling, labelling and packing off lines.

Specialising in the production of quality top of bottle closures, we're able to provide you with a large selection of stock colours or complete your brand presentation with a premium custom designed closure.

Call now for a quote or to discuss your production or installation requirements or email us.

Entries close this Friday!

Entries for Australia’s premier distilled spirits competition, the Melbourne Royal Australian Distilled Spirits Awards, close this Friday, 23 June.

With categories for both what’s in the bottle as well as what’s on the bottle, this is the final call for entries to Australia’s largest distilling competition.

For details of what’s new in 2023, including the new Design Award, please view the Entry Booklet.

Enter now for your chance to take home gold!

Enter Now

 

Trophy Presentation Tickets Now Available

Melbourne Royal invites you to celebrate the medal and trophy winners of the 2023 Australian Distilled Spirits Awards on Thursday 3 August at a cocktail function in the Victoria Pavilion at Melbourne Showgrounds.

Don’t miss the Australian distilling industry’s night of nights!

Buy Tickets

The Queensland Government is in the process of updating its Craft Brewing Strategy (including renaming the strategy to include distillers), and you should have recently received a survey to provide input. This represents a great opportunity to have our voice as an industry heard, including the common goals that we’ve been working on as the QDA.

As a refresher, here are some of the key points QDA has been advocating for with the QLD government.

Please make sure you take the opportunity the survey provides, including sharing how the above points can support your own business to grow, provide more employment and contribute to the QLD economy.

The Alcohol School, sponsored by 'Lallemand Biofuels and distilled Spirits' is educating distilled spirits and fuel ethanol producers in the multidisciplinary sciences of ethanol production.

Lallemand supplier and Australian Distillers Association Associate member and conference sponsor IMCD encourage members who have an interest in ethanol production to attend the course. The course is designed to provide our delegates with detailed information on unit processes; formulated for lab, plant, and management personnel and is organized around lectures, laboratory demonstrations, seminars, and lab visits. This important resource is becoming more valuable as the market growth is making the need for continual education a must.

Location: The Westin Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok. 

Dates:  18-21 July 2023.

For more details on the four day event, please review the agenda below.

AGENDA

  

If you would like to talk to Sue Mills from IMCD, who will be attending the event, for more information on the content and why you should consider attending please contact Sue on her email below.

SUE MILLS

To register for the event please download the booking form below.

BOOKING FORM

A message from our conference 2023 Sponsor Fermentis.

There are some interesting trends happening today in the world of fermented beverages that are affecting the world of spirits. Consumers are choosing spirits and cocktails over other beverages, and they are choosing more premium brands and specialty options. This trend is motivating producers to innovate in all categories of spirits, at both the industrial and artisan level.

Consumers are demanding continual innovation, creativity and "out of the box" thinking. This provides Master Distillers with both a challenge and a huge opportunity - innovate now to appeal to a broader market. In this context, we believe that yeasts can provide an exceptional advantage.

At Fermentis, we invest considerable resources in R&D to develop new products, generate new applications, improve processes, and of course, to continuously improve quality. With yeast, it's possible to explore new aromatic profile and flavours, and generate a diversity of congeners never seen before. For this reason, we have created this Yeast and Fermentation Guide specifically focused on the production of distilled beverages. We hope this guide becomes a useful and dynamic tool for you to create the spirits of your dreams.

To access the guide, please click on the link below.

Yeast and Fermentation Guide

Lock in a two (2) year fixed electricity rate with Blue NRG, only available to members of the Australian Distillers Association

Blue NRG, an Australian owned energy retailer based in Melbourne, recently formed a partnership with the Australian Distillers Association, enabling Australian Distillers Association members to secure an exclusive electricity deal with Blue NRG. This deal is specifically tailored to meet the unique energy needs for businesses of the Australian Distillers Association.

What is the energy deal?

As a business owner, improving efficiencies and boosting productivity is likely top of mind, especially given the current volatile market conditions. We understand that saving on operating costs is crucial for your business, and as part of our newly formed partnership, all Australian Distillers Association businesses have the opportunity to lock in a two (2) year fixed rate for electricity supply for their business.* This offer is valid until 21/07/2023 and is non-binding until an agreement is finalised.

What are the benefits of switching to Blue NRG?

If you are interested in taking up this exclusive electricity offer, please call Blue NRG on 1300 599 888 or email a copy of your most recent bill along with your contact details to indirectsales@bluenrg.com.au and one of our dedicated Business Relationship Managers will contact you to discuss your electricity requirement. Don’t forget to quote: ADA23 to access this exclusive energy deal. Should you not have your bill on hand and would like to talk to us about your electricity requirement, please email us on the above-mentioned email.

ACCESS YOUR OFFER

*This offer is not available to businesses who are located within embedded networks, such as shopping centres who manage their own private network. This offer is only available to members of the Australian Distillers Association with supply addresses located in NSW, QLD, VIC or SA only. This offer cannot be combined with other codes or offers. Blue NRG reserves the right to withdraw the offer before validity date subject to market conditions.

Members would be aware of two recent articles in the paper that discussed the issues around technical standards. The Technical Standards Project Group met during the Annual Conference.

We are aware of two producers in the market that used the term “Single Malt” to describe their product. We are pleased to advise that both of the producers have agreed to cease using the term to describe, market and promote their products that do not meet the definition of whisky. They have both indicated their desire to be a part of the ongoing discussion regarding technical standards.

The Board of Australian Distillers have agreed upon and provided the following Terms of Reference for Naming, definition & classification of spirits.

Support for the Project Group will also be provided by Spirits and Cocktails Australia. We thank them for their assistance. As previously advised, technical support and advice will also be provided by the Scotch Whisky Association and process advice will be provided by the Irish Whiskey Association in relation to Geographic Indicators.

The Technical Standards Project Group will be hosting two webinars in the coming weeks, details will be posted separately. The Project Group will then meet again to discuss the issues raised.

Updates can also be found on the Technical Standards Project Group page in the members portal.

The Australian Taxation Office have recently published Excise Ruling ER 2023/1 – Excise: the meaning of ‘legally and economically independent’ on their webpage. A Ruling Compendium has also been published and is available at this link.

The Ruling sets out the Commissioner’s view of the meaning of ‘legally and economically independent’ for the purposes of the ‘excise remission scheme for manufacturers of alcoholic beverages’ (Remission Scheme) and the ‘excise refund scheme for alcohol manufacturers’ (Refund Scheme). The Remission Scheme replaced the Refund Scheme for eligible alcoholic beverages that entered home consumption on or after 1 July 2021.

The requirement to be ‘legally and economically independent’ is one of the eligibility criteria to receive a remission under the excise remission scheme for manufacturers of alcoholic beverages, or a refund under the former excise refund scheme for alcohol manufacturers.

For an entity to be able to apply the Remission scheme for alcohol manufacturers (AMR), they need to meet all aspects of the eligibility criteria. Eligibility arises as a result of meeting the criteria, and cannot simply be traded.

To be eligible to apply the AMR, an entity must:

• Hold a manufacturer licence authorising them to manufacture alcoholic beverages at the premises specified in their licence

• Have manufactured an alcoholic beverage and entered it into the Australian domestic market

• Have fermented or distilled at least 70% of the alcohol content by volume of the alcoholic beverage

• Be legally and economically independent of any other entity that has received the AMR in the financial year (or, in certain circumstances, a refund)

• For distilled alcoholic beverages, satisfy the still ownership test where required

Where an member/distiller that has not exceeded the $350K annual threshold is approached by an entity that has, with a view to manufacturing additional product for them, eligibility for the AMR ultimately depends on the specific facts and the arrangement between the parties.

It is likely that the requirement to be legally and economically independent (particularly economically independent) of any other entity that has received the AMR would be a key consideration. Further information (including examples) is available in the following ATO View documents.

Excise guidelines for the alcohol industry - Chapter 7 – refer to section 7.3.3

Excise Ruling 2023/1

Members should be aware that you can not trade away your threshold. Members should err on the side of caution and seek advice from the ATO before agreeing to any undertakings.

Members are reminded they must agree to comply with the Australian Distillers Code of Conduct, including complying with applicable laws and codes.