Excise Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. E-14)

164 [Repealed, 1995, c. 36, s. 14]

Marginal note:Illegal possession

165 Where any two or more persons are found together and they, or any one of them, have in their or his possession any spirits liable to seizure under this Act, each of those persons having knowledge of the fact of the possession is guilty of an offence and punishable in accordance with the provisions of this Act as if the goods were found in his possession.

Marginal note:Attaching to packages of spirits any unauthorized label

166 Every person who, except as authorized by the Trademarks Act, attaches to any bottle, flask or other package of spirits any label, stamp or other device containing any statement or information other than the name of the spirits and the name of the bottler and his place of residence, unless the form and wording thereof have been first approved by the Minister, is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction,

• (a) for a first offence, to a fine not exceeding fifty dollars, and

• (b) for each subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars,

and in addition thereto in either case to an additional fine equal to eleven cents per litre on the reputed contents of the bottles, flasks or other packages so illegally labelled or stamped.

PART IIIBreweries

Interpretation

Marginal note:Provisions additional to Part I

167 The provisions of this Part are to be construed as additional or supplemental to the provisions of Part I applicable to breweries.

Licences

Marginal note:Conditions of licence

• 168 (1) A licence to carry on the trade or business of a brewer may be granted to any person who has complied with the requirements of this Act, if the granting of the licence has been approved by the district inspector, and the person has, jointly with a guarantee company approved by the Minister, entered into a bond to Her Majesty in an amount determined by the Minister that is not less than five thousand dollars.

• Marginal note:Conditions of bond

  (2) The bond entered into under subsection (1) shall be conditioned on the rendering of all accounts and the payment of all duties and penalties that the person to whom the licence is to be granted becomes liable to render or pay under this Act, and on the person faithfully complying with all the requirements of this Act according to their true intent and meaning, with regard to the accounts, duties and penalties, as well as to all other matters and things whatever.

Marginal note:Fee for licence

• 169 (1) A person to whom a licence for brewing is granted shall pay to the collector of the district or excise division in which he proposes to carry on the trade or business of a brewer a licence fee prescribed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Manufacture of malt products

  (2) No person shall manufacture a product if malt or malt and other ingredients are infused and the resultant wort is used in the manufacturing process, unless a formula is submitted and approved by the Minister, and the person manufacturing the product has, jointly with a guarantee company approved by the Minister, entered into a bond to Her Majesty in the sum of five thousand dollars conditioned on the complete manufacture of the goods in accordance with the formula and compliance with such other conditions as are prescribed by ministerial regulations.

Duties of Excise

Marginal note:Duties — beer or malt liquor

• 170 (1) There shall be imposed, levied and collected on every hectolitre of beer or malt liquor, other than beer concentrate, the duties of excise set out in Part II of the schedule, which duties shall be paid to the collector as provided in this Act.

• Marginal note:Duties — beer concentrate

  (1.1) There shall be imposed, levied and collected, and paid to the collector as provided in this Act, on beer concentrate the duties of excise determined by the following formula:

  A × B × C

  where

  A

  is the quantity in litres of beer concentrate,

  B

  is the maximum quantity, determined in hectolitres, of any particular beer product that can be transformed in a manner approved by the Minister from a litre of that beer concentrate, and

  C

  is the rate of duties of excise set out in Part II of the schedule that is applicable in respect of a hectolitre of that particular beer product.

• Marginal note:Wastage allowance

  (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where beer or malt liquor is produced by a person licensed under section 168 to carry on the trade or business of a brewer, an allowance prescribed by the regulations shall be made for loss in production based on the duty assessed on the beer or malt liquor produced, but the allowance shall not exceed five per cent thereof.

Marginal note:Reduced rates — production

• 170.1 (1) With respect to the first 75,000 hectolitres of beer and malt liquor brewed in Canada per year by a licensed brewer and any person related or associated with the brewer, there shall be imposed, levied and collected on each of those hectolitres the duties of excise set out in Part II.1 of the schedule, which duties shall be paid to the collector as provided in this Act, and section 170 does not apply to those hectolitres.

• Marginal note:Exclusion — beer concentrate

  (1.1) Despite subsection (1), the duties of excise set out in Part II.1 of the schedule do not apply to beer concentrate or beer transformed from beer concentrate and that beer concentrate or beer transformed from beer concentrate does not count toward the determination under subsection (1) of the first 75,000 hectolitres of beer and malt liquor brewed in Canada per year.

• Marginal note:Reduced rates — packaging

  (2) If the beer or malt liquor described by subsection (1) is packaged by a licensed brewer (in this subsection, referred to as the “packaging brewer”) other than the licensed brewer or related or associated person referred to in that subsection, there shall be imposed, levied and collected on every hectolitre of beer or malt liquor packaged by the packaging brewer duties of excise at the rates that applied to the beer or malt liquor under subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Exclusion of exports

  (3) In subsection (1), the reference to “first 75,000 hectolitres of beer and malt liquor brewed in Canada” does not include beer or malt liquor that is exported or deemed to be exported under section 173.

• Marginal note:Treatment of contract production

  (4) If, at any time, beer or malt liquor is brewed by a licensed brewer for another licensed brewer under an agreement with the other brewer, subsection (1) applies as though it had been brewed by the brewer who has brewed the greater volume of beer and malt liquor during the year up to that time.

• Marginal note:Election for related or associated licensees

  (5) If a licensed brewer is related or associated with one or more other licensed brewers, each of the brewers must file with the Minister an election in a form and manner satisfactory to the Minister that allocates the 75,000 hectolitre quantity amongst the brewers. The election must be filed no later than the filing due date of the first return in which the brewer reports duties that are imposed, levied and collected under subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Brewer formed by business combination

  (6) For the purposes of this section, if, in a year, two or more brewers (each of which is referred to in this subsection as a “predecessor brewer”) are amalgamated, merged or otherwise combined to form a new brewer, the following rules apply:

  • (a) the aggregate production of beer and malt liquor of the new and predecessor brewers for that year will be used for the purposes of applying subsection (1);

  • (b) the new brewer must determine the amount of duty that would have been imposed, levied and collected under subsection (1) on the aggregate production; and

  • (c) the new brewer is liable for and must, within 60 days of the combination, report and pay any difference between the amount calculated under paragraph (b) and the amounts paid by the predecessor brewers.

Marginal note:Definition of inflationary adjusted year

• 170.2 (1) In this section, inflationary adjusted year means 2018 and every year after that year.

• Marginal note:Annual adjustments

  (2) Each rate of duty set out in Part II of the schedule applicable in respect of a hectolitre of beer or malt liquor is to be adjusted on April 1 of an inflationary adjusted year so that the rate is equal to the greater of

  • (a) the rate determined by the formula

    A × B

    where

    A

    is the rate of duty applicable to the hectolitre on March 31 of the inflationary adjusted year, and

    B

    is the amount, rounded to the nearest one-thousandth, or, if the amount is equidistant from two consecutive one-thousandths, rounded to the higher one-thousandth, determined by the formula

    C/D

    where

    C

    is the Consumer Price Index for the 12-month period ending on September 30 of the particular year preceding the inflationary adjusted year, and

    D

    is the Consumer Price Index for the 12-month period ending on September 30 of the year preceding the particular year, and

  • (b) the rate of duty referred to in the description of A in paragraph (a).

• Marginal note:Adjustment — 2023

  (2.1) In respect of the inflationary adjusted year that is 2023, the description of B in paragraph (2)(a) is deemed to be equal to 1.02.

• Marginal note:Rounding

  (3) The adjusted rate determined under subsection (2) is to be rounded

  • (a) in the case of the rates set out in sections 1 and 2 of Part II of the schedule, to the nearest one-hundredth or, if the adjusted rate is equidistant from two consecutive one-hundredths, to the higher one-hundredth; and

  • (b) in the case of the rate set out in section 3 of Part II of the schedule, to the nearest one-thousandth or, if the adjusted rate is equidistant from two consecutive one-thousandths, to the higher one-thousandth.

• Marginal note:Consumer Price Index

  (4) In this section, the Consumer Price Index for any 12-month period is the result arrived at by

  • (a) aggregating the Consumer Price Index for Canada, as published by Statistics Canada under the authority of the Statistics Act, for each month in that period;

  • (b) dividing the aggregate obtained under paragraph (a) by 12; and

  • (c) rounding the result obtained under paragraph (b) to the nearest one-thousandth or, if the result obtained is equidistant from two consecutive one-thousandths, to the higher one-thousandth.

Marginal note:Computation of duty

171 The duty imposed by this Act on beer or malt liquor shall be charged and computed in such manner as may be prescribed by ministerial regulations.

Marginal note:Beer brewed for non-commercial use

• 172 (1) Notwithstanding sections 170 and 171, the duties of excise thereby imposed shall not be levied or collected on beer that is made or brewed by any person for personal or family consumption or to be given away without charge and that is not for sale or commercial use.

• Marginal note:Exempt brewing apparatus

  (2) Any apparatus used only for making or brewing beer in the circumstances described in subsection (1) is exempt from the provisions of this Act respecting the possession of brewing apparatus by unlicensed persons.

• (3) and (4) [Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 7 (2nd Supp.), s. 64]

• Marginal note:Offence and punishment

  (5) Every one who makes or brews beer for personal or family consumption or to be given away without charge and who sells or puts to a commercial use beer so made or brewed is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to the penalties provided by subsection 176(1) for making or brewing beer without a licence.

Marginal note:Drawback on beer exported

• 173 (1) Every licensed brewer who exports beer or malt liquor of his own manufacture is entitled to receive a drawback equivalent to the duty imposed thereon, and the amount of the drawback shall be computed in such manner and by such means as are directed by ministerial regulations.

• Marginal note:Notice of intention to export

  (2) No drawback under this section shall be allowed or paid unless the brewer claiming it gave notice to an officer of his intention to export the beer or malt liquor in respect of which the drawback is claimed and made such declaration respecting the quantity thereof as is required by ministerial regulations.

• Marginal note:Transactions deemed to be exports

  (3) For the purposes of this section and section 174, the delivery of beer or malt liquor

  • (a) for use as ships’ stores, or

  • (b) to or for the use of any person or class of persons designated by the Governor in Council,

  under such conditions as the Governor in Council prescribes, shall be deemed to be an export.

Marginal note:Regulations

• 174 (1) The Governor in Council may make such regulations as to him seem necessary for carrying into effect and enforcing the provisions of this Act respecting the operation of a licensed brewery, the information to be shown on containers, the keeping of records, the making of entries and returns, the sale or removal from a licensed brewery of beer for exportation and the collection of the duties imposed by this Act.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) Regulations made under this section may provide for the destruction of beer that has become unfit for use

  • (a) in storage tanks, bottles, kegs or other containers, before it was shipped from the brewery, or

  • (b) in the containers in which it was shipped from the brewery,

  and for the refunding to the brewer, in whole or in part, of the duty paid on beer so destroyed.

Returns

Marginal note:Every brewer to make returns

175 Every person who carries on business as a brewer shall render to the collector a just and true account in writing, extracted from the books kept as required by this Act, and the account shall exhibit such particulars as may be required by ministerial regulations.