A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax and Luxury Car Tax Transition) Act 1999

No. 63, 1999

An Act to implement A New Tax System by making transitional provisions for the start of the wine equalisation tax and the luxury car tax, and for related purposes

[Assented to 8 July 1999]

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

Part 1—Preliminary

1 Short title

This Act may be cited as the A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax and Luxury Car Tax Transition) Act 1999.

2 Commencement

This Act commences on 1 July 2000.

Part 2—Wine equalisation tax

3 Special GST credit for sales tax paid on stock

(1) You are entitled to a special credit for GST purposes if:

(a) you are registered as at 1 July 2000; and

(b) you have on hand, at the start of 1 July 2000, wine you acquired or imported that is held for the purposes of sale or exchange (but not for manufacture) in the ordinary course of business.

(2) However, this section does not apply to second‑hand goods.

(3) The amount of the special credit is equal to 12/41 of the amount of sales tax that you have borne in respect of the wine.

(4) The special credit is treated as though it were an input tax credit attributable to any one tax period of your choice. However, you are not entitled to it unless you separately identify it in a GST return that you lodge before 22 January 2001.

(5) The Commissioner may make a written ruling determining methods for working out the amount of sales tax that you have borne in respect of specified wine in cases where that amount is not readily ascertainable.

Note: Wine may be specified by name, by inclusion in a specified class or in any other way.

(6) In this section:

wine has the meaning given by Subdivision 31‑A of the A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax) Act 1999.

(7) Other expressions in this section have the same meaning as in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999.

4 Wine tax credits relating to sales tax borne on wine

(1) If, before 1 July 2000, an entity has become liable to sales tax on an assessable dealing with wine, the entity is treated, for the purposes of the A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax) Act 1999, as if the entity has borne wine tax on the wine.

(2) However, the sales tax for which the entity has become liable is not counted to the extent to which:

(a) it has been the basis of a sales tax or wine tax credit entitlement; or

(b) the entity is entitled under section 3 to a special credit for GST purposes in respect of the wine.

(3) If, before 1 July 2000, an entity purchased wine for a price that included sales tax, the entity is treated, for the purposes of the A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax) Act 1999, as if the entity has borne wine tax on the wine. However, the amount of wine tax borne is to be reduced by:

(a) any amount of the sales tax included in that price that has been refunded; and

(b) any amount of sales tax or wine tax credited to the entity; and

(c) any amount of a special credit for GST purposes to which the entity is entitled under section 3 in respect of the wine.

(4) In this section, assessable dealing and sales tax have the meanings given by section 5 of the Sales Tax Assessment Act 1992 as in force immediately before 1 July 2000.

(5) Other expressions in this section have the same meaning as in the A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax) Act 1999.

Part 3—Luxury car tax

5 Application of luxury car tax law

(1) The luxury car tax law does not apply to a supply of a car if:

(a) the car was sold by a retail sale in Australia before 1 July 2000; or

(b) the car was imported into Australia before 1 July 2000, and nobody was entitled to quote under the Sales Tax Assessment Act 1992 for the importation; or

(c) there is an AOU of the car before 1 July 2000, and a special credit under section 16 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Transition) Act 1999 does not arise in relation to the car.

(2) In this section, AOU, import, quote and retail sale have the meanings given by section 5 of the Sales Tax Assessment Act 1992 as in force immediately before 1 July 2000.

(3) In this section, Australia, car, luxury car tax law, and supply have the meanings given in the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Act 1999.

Part 4—Regulations

6 Regulations

(1) The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters:

(a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or

(b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.

(2) In particular, regulations may be made for other transitional measures relating to:

(a) the end of sales tax; or

(b) the start of the wine equalisation tax or the luxury car tax; or

[Minister’s second reading speech made in—

House of Representatives on 24 March 1999

Senate on 31 March 1999]

(49/99)