The Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer, Peter Dutton, introduced legislation today to implement certain elements of the Government's fuel tax reforms and to clarify and simplify excise law to reduce compliance costs for excise manufacturers, importers and administering authorities.
The Excise Tariff Amendment (Fuel Tax Reform and Other Measures) Bill 2006 (the tariff bill) amends the fuel items in the schedule (the list of products subject to excise) so that there are only two rates of duty, one for aviation fuel and one for other fuels.
In conjunction with the fuel tax credits system to be legislated through the Fuel Tax Bill 2006, this legislation will remove the effective excise on burner fuels and provide effective excise relief for a wide range of business users.
This bill also amends the fuel items to recognise that fuels, particularly diesel, can now be manufactured from a range of sources in addition to the traditional feedstocks such as crude oil. In addition, the bill aligns the excise rate for snuff tobacco with the rate for other tobacco.
The Excise Laws Amendment (Fuel Tax Reform and Other Measures) Bill 2006 works in conjunction with the tariff bill to:
- clarify the arrangements for using imported inputs to excise manufacture.
- streamline and clarify the current arrangements for concessional spirits (alcohol that is used for a purpose other than consumption as an excisable beverage).
- strengthen controls over tobacco leaf, which has a high potential excise liability, and acts against a beer excise revenue avoidance practice.
- make improvements to excise licensing provisions to make renewal periods consistent and to allow better capacity for licensing to used as a compliance tool to protect the excise revenue.
- amend certain provisions of the Excise Act to remove a number of prescriptive and interventionist requirements that are no longer in step with modern administrative or business practice. Along with the streamlined schedule, this will assist excise manufacturers in understanding and complying with the legislation.
- repeal a number of Acts (Coal Excise Act, Spirits Act and Distillation Act) that impose obligations on affected businesses, but which are no longer considered necessary. Those provisions of the Spirits Act and Distillation Act that continue to be required are transferred to the Excise Act.
- repeal a number of fuel related Acts that are no longer required because of the fuel tax reforms.
The changes are intended to apply from 1 July 2006.