The Australian Border Force (ABF) has developed a Consultation Paper on ‘Australia’s Maturation Requirements for Certain Unmatured Imported Alcohol’
The ABF administers requirements for the importation of alcohol into Australia under the Customs Act 1901. (The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) administers the Excise Act 1901 for domestically produced goods). Currently, brandy, whisky or rum products cannot be imported into Australia unless it has been matured in wood for a period of at least two years.
Section 105A of the Customs Act requires that a Customs Collector be satisfied that a declared product meets this maturation standard – i.e. of imported brandy, whisky and rum being matured in wood for a period of at least two years – with sufficient evidence – before the product can enter home consumption in Australia.
The Consultation Paper looks to establish a pathway for the importation of unmatured alcohol products based on grape, sugar-cane or grain mash. Such a pathway would allow the importation of unmatured alcohol products that are similar in nature to brandy, whisky or rum without evidence of maturation, provided the goods are not described or labelled as ‘brandy’, ‘whisky’ or ‘rum’.
The ABF welcomes responses from all sectors that have an interest, including: domestic producers, international producers and importers, peak bodies and other major industry stakeholders, and members of the public. This consultation is open until Saturday 30th November 2019.
As your licensed Customs Brokers and International freight forwarder, Colless Young offers you professional guidance on all your imports, including tariff classifications, standards and requirements.
