Volume of alcohol rules – summary for excise declarants

Volume of Alcohol Rules 

The Customs (Volume of Alcohol) Rules explain how to calculate the volume of alcohol in a product when excise duty is based on litres of alcohol (LAL).  

Use the information on this page to calculate the volume of alcohol in your products. You may need to refer to the Volume of Alcohol Rules for technical information when making your calculations. 

Volume of Alcohol Rules (PDF, 48 KB) 

How to calculate volume of alcohol 

Calculate the volume of alcohol by multiplying the quantity of the product by its alcoholic strength. 

For example, the volume of alcohol in 100 litres of beer with 14% alcohol by volume (abv) would be 14 LALs.  

• 100 × 0.14 abv = 14 LALs 

When you make an excise entry (also referred to as a declaration in TSW), input information into the fields shown below.  

A = supplementary quantity: the quantity of the beverage in litres 
B = percentage volume of alcohol: the alcoholic strength of the beverage (TSW will convert this to a percentage) 
C = statistical quantity: the volume of alcohol  

How to measure alcohol strength

There are several ways to measure alcohol strength. Which method you use will depend on:

• the type of alcohol product you are measuring
• volume manufactured.

Targeted strength (any alcohol product)

• This is the alcohol percentage the manufacturer aims for.
• It may be declared only if confirmed by testing.
• If testing shows a different result, the tested strength must be used.

Analysis (any alcohol product)

• The result obtained from analysing or testing the alcohol strength.

Weighted mean strength (beer only)

• You can use a weighted average strength when calculating strength across multiple entries. Refer to the Volume of Alcohol Rules (PDF, 48 KB) for further details.
• If the deviation from declared strength exceeds 0.04% ABV, Customs may require you to use the tested (weighted mean) strength for future entries.

Label strength (Beer, where the licensee manufactures no more than 2 million litres per year)

Either one of the following applies:

• Alcohol strength must have been verified by three consistent tests, within a six-month period
• The label strength is equal to or greater than the target strength.

Concentrates

If you're entering an excise entry for a concentrate or partially diluted alcohol product, duty is based on the product as it is at the time of entry, not what the product will become after dilution or mixing.

Methods of verifying alcohol strength measurements

The alcohol strength (ABV) must be verified as accurate using an approved method. You may choose which approved method you use to verify your ABV measurement.

• Servo Chem Automatic Beer Analyser
• Headspace gas chromatography
• Gas chromatography with liquid injection
• Distillation with gravimetric or density meter
• Near Infrared Spectroscopy
• Hydrometric testing

• only for use with spirits
• Customs may require alternate testing if a hydrometer reading is believed to be inaccurate.

Tolerance and accuracy

While small tolerances are allowed for measurement accuracy, this doesn’t remove the requirement to pay the correct amount of duty. Keep records of your equipment calibration and measurement practices to show that your processes are consistent and reliable.