Liquor

The Victorian Liquor Subsidy Guidelines set out the basis on which a subsidy will be paid and the obligations imposed on those claiming the subsidy.

What is the Victorian subsidy?

The Victorian liquor subsidy was introduced to offset the impact of series of Commonwealth taxes on the Victorian wine industry. 

Am I eligible?

You can claim the subsidy if you:

• hold one of the following licences under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 (the Act):
  • a pre-retail licence, issued under section 12 of the Act
  • a producers licence, issued under section 13 of the Act
  • a limited licence, issued under section 14 of the Act
• have paid the wine equalisation tax (WET) or excess duty, which are 2 mutually exclusive Commonwealth taxes
• in relation to transactions on which WET has been paid, the subsidy is only available once the Commonwealth producer rebate has been exhausted
• in relation to transactions on which the Commonwealth Wine Tourism and Cellar Door Grant has been accessed and claimed, if a producer has a shortfall under the Wine Australia Grant (i.e. they receive less than the amount of eligible transactions claimed), they are still eligible under the Victorian liquor subsidy for the amount of the shortfall only
• the Victorian Government requires subsidy recipients to acknowledge the subsidy on its invoices. 

The Commissioner’s determination requires all subsidy recipients to make and keep records of sales and purchases for 5 years. The Victorian liquor subsidy guidelines outlines the licensing requirement, tax requirements, invoicing requirement and record-keeping obligations.

Claiming a subsidy

If eligible to apply for a Victorian liquor subsidy, please provide the following documents in the liquor subsidy claim form:

• If this is your first claim for the financial year:
  • provide a copy of your liquor licence
  • attach your working tables.
• For all claims:
  • provide a sample invoice showing the Victorian subsidy is acknowledged
  • provide copies of your Business Activity Statements for the financial year.
• If the claim period is not after the date which the producer rebate provided by the Commonwealth was exhausted:
  • provide a copy of sales lodged with Australian Taxation Office to receive the producer rebate
  • provide a copy of sales which the Victorian liquor subsidy is claimed.
• For all WET sales/applications to own use (AOUs), provide records showing the method by which the notional wholesale selling price method has been calculated (if applicable).
• For sales/uses of a wine producer’s own product, provide a record indicating the type of sale, showing that the claim relates to a type of sale or use (e.g. cellar-door, mail-order, AOU) that is eligible for a subsidy under the guidelines.
• For low alcohol wine sales, provide evidence indicating that each wine sold/claimed was a low alcohol wine under the guidelines.

You must also keep records of the sales for 5 years and provide these to us on request.

Complete the liquor subsidy claim form

For all enquiries about liquor licensing, please contact the Victorian Liquor Commission.