Do the brewer's name and address need to appear on beer labels?

Do both the name and address of the brewery, or a serial number allotted by the Collector to that brewery, need to appear on a label on a container containing beer that was made in the brewery, in order to satisfy paragraph 213(1)(a) of the Excise Regulations 1925?

Yes. Either both the name of the brewery and address of the brewery at which the beer was made, or the serial number allotted by Excise to the brewery and the number allotted to the State in which the beer was made, must appear on the label. If the serial number and State number are used instead of the name and address of the brewery, the numbers must be enclosed in a circle or triangle as required by subregulation 213(4) of the Excise Regulations.

A brewery makes beer under contract on behalf of a person or entity (the owner). The labels supplied to the brewery by the owner have the owner's name and the address of the brewery. Neither the name of the brewery nor the serial number allotted by the CEO to that brewery appear on the label.

Section 77C of the Excise Act 1901 requires that beer not be removed from a brewery unless it is marked or labelled in the prescribed manner. Paragraph 213(1)(a) of the Excise Regulations clearly requires that the label on a bottle of beer must include details which identify the brewery in which the beer was made.

The identity of the brewery rather than the owner of the beer is important for Excise to properly administer the Excise Acts. It is the brewery that is licensed, not necessarily the owner of the beer who may have contracted out its production. It is the licensed excise manufacturer who is responsible under the Excise Acts, and it is the premises where the beer is actually made that are licensed.

The owner of the beer can operate out of an office which may be temporary. Any questions or potential problems the Excise section of the ATO may have regarding the beer can be followed up by contacting the brewery.

If the owner of the beer does not wish the purchaser of the beer to know who made it, the brewery can instead use a code number supplied to the brewery by the ATO which uniquely identifies the brewery to the ATO. The number system must be used in the manner prescribed; that is, placed in either a circle or triangle, enabling the ATO to recognise that the numbers are the serial numbers provided by the ATO.