Excise Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. E-14)

Breweries

Marginal note:Definitions

4 In this Act,

beer concentrate

beer concentrate means any product

• (a) that has an alcoholic strength in excess of 11.9% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume,

• (b) that is either

  • (i) made by dehydrating a fermented liquor (other than wine, as defined in section 2 of the Excise Act, 2001) that is brewed in whole or in part from malt, grain or any saccharine matter without any process of distillation and that has an alcoholic strength not in excess of 11.9% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, or

  • (ii) intended, before being offered for consumption as a beverage, to be transformed by dilution or hydration into a fermented liquor (other than wine, as defined in section 2 of the Excise Act, 2001) that has an alcoholic strength not in excess of 11.9% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, if the production of the product

    • (A) involves in whole or in part brewing malt, grain or any saccharine matter, and

    • (B) does not involve any process of distillation,

• (c) that is not intended or marketed for consumption as a beverage without further transformation on the premises where it is to be consumed as a beverage, and

• (d) for which the manner of the further transformation is approved by the Minister; (concentré de bière)

beer

beer or malt liquor means any product (other than wine, as defined in section 2 of the Excise Act, 2001) containing more than 0.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume that is

• (a) a fermented liquor that is brewed in whole or in part from malt, grain or any saccharine matter without any process of distillation and that has an alcoholic strength not in excess of 11.9% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, or

• (b) beer concentrate; (bière ou liqueur de malt)

brewer

brewer means any person who conducts, works, occupies or carries on any brewery, either personally or by an agent; (brasseur)

brewery

brewery means any place or premises where any beer is manufactured, and all offices, granaries, mash-rooms, cooling-rooms, vaults, yards, cellars and store-rooms connected therewith or in which any material to be used in the manufacture of beer is kept or stored, where any process of manufacture is carried on, where any apparatus connected with that manufacture is kept or used or where any of the products of brewing or fermentation are kept or stored, shall be held to be included in and to form part of the brewery to which they are attached or appurtenant; (brasserie)

malt

malt means any substance prepared by steeping grain or leguminous seeds in water, allowing the grain or seeds to germinate, and checking the germination by drying. (malt)

Bonded Manufacturers

Marginal note:Definitions

5 In this Act,

bonded manufactory

bonded manufactory means any place or premises licensed to use spirits or other goods subject to excise in the manufacture of articles under formula approved by the Minister, and every place or premises where any of those articles are warehoused, stored or kept shall be held to form a part of the bonded manufactory to which it is attached or appurtenant; (fabrique-entrepôt ou manufacture-entrepôt)

bonded manufacturer

bonded manufacturer means a person who carries on under bond and subject to ministerial regulations the manufacture of articles in the production of which goods subject to excise are used in combination with other materials. (fabricant entrepositaire ou manufacturier entrepositaire)

Tobacco and Cigars and Manufacturers thereof

Marginal note:Definitions

6 In this Act,

accredited representative

accredited representative means a person who is entitled to the tax exemptions specified in Article 34 of the Convention set out in Schedule I to the Foreign Missions and International Organizations Act or Article 49 of the Convention set out in Schedule II to that Act; (représentant accrédité)

Canada twist

Canada twist, otherwise called tabac blanc en torquettes, means the unstemmed, unflavoured and unpressed leaf of tobacco grown in Canada, twisted and made into coils by a manufacturer of tobacco duly licensed under this Act; (tabac canadien en torquette ou tabac blanc en torquette)

casing

casing and case refer to the operation of adding to raw leaf tobacco any flavouring materials, but moistening by water alone is not casing; (aromatisation)

cigar

cigar means every description of cigar, cigarillo and cheroot and any roll or tubular construction intended for smoking that consists of a filler composed of pieces of natural or reconstituted leaf tobacco, a binder of natural or reconstituted leaf tobacco in which the filler is wrapped and a wrapper of natural or reconstituted leaf tobacco; (cigare)

cigar manufactory

cigar manufactory means any place or premises where raw leaf tobacco is worked up into a cigar, and every workshop, office, store-room, shed, yard or other place where any of the raw material is or is to be stored, where any process connected with the manufacture or preparation of cigars is or is intended to be carried on or where any of the products of the manufacture are or are intended to be stored shall be held to be included in and to form part of the cigar manufactory to which they are attached or appurtenant; (fabrique de cigares ou manufacture de cigares)

cigar manufacturer

cigar manufacturer means any person who, either personally or by an agent, carries on the manufacture of cigars, and the casing, packing, cutting, pressing, grinding, rolling, drying, crushing or stemming of any raw leaf tobacco, or otherwise preparing raw leaf tobacco for manufacture into cigars, is a working of a cigar manufactory and an acting as a cigar manufacturer within the meaning of this Act; (fabricant de cigares ou manufacturier de cigares)

cigar stamp

cigar stamp means any stamp required by this Act and the ministerial regulations to be affixed to a cigar, or a package, carton, box, crate or other container containing cigars, entered for consumption or imported into Canada, to indicate

• (a) in the case of cigars manufactured in Canada, that the duties of excise have been paid on the cigars, and

• (b) in the case of cigars imported into Canada, that the additional customs duty has been paid under the Customs Act and the Customs Tariff on the cigars; (estampille de cigares)

cigarette

cigarette means every description of cigarette and any roll or tubular construction intended for smoking, other than a cigar or a tobacco stick, and where any cigarette exceeds one hundred and two millimetres (102 mm) in length, each seventy-six millimetres (76 mm) or fraction thereof shall be deemed to be a separate cigarette; (cigarettes)

excise tax

excise tax means the taxes levied under section 23 of the Excise Tax Act; (taxe d’accise)

foreign duty free shop

foreign duty free shop has the meaning assigned by subsection 2(1) of the Excise Tax Act; (boutique hors taxes à l’étranger)

foreign ships’ stores

foreign ships’ stores has the meaning assigned by subsection 2(1) of the Excise Tax Act; (provisions de bord à l’étranger)

manufactured tobacco

manufactured tobacco means every article, other than cigars, made by a tobacco manufacturer from raw leaf tobacco by any process whatever, and includes cigarettes, tobacco sticks and snuff; (tabac fabriqué ou tabac manufacturé)

raw leaf tobacco

raw leaf tobacco means unmanufactured tobacco or the leaves and stems of the tobacco plant; (tabac en feuilles)

standard leaf tobacco

standard leaf tobacco, as applied to any kind of tobacco, means that which consists of ten per cent of water and ninety per cent of solid matter; (tabac en feuilles régulier)

tobacco manufactory

tobacco manufactory means any place or premises where raw leaf tobacco is worked up into manufactured tobacco, and every workshop, office, store-room, warehouse, shed, yard or other place where any of the raw material is or is to be stored, where any process connected with the manufacture or preparation of manufactured tobacco is or is intended to be carried on or where any of the products of the manufacture are or are intended to be stored shall be held to be included in and to form part of the tobacco manufactory to which they are attached or appurtenant; (fabrique de tabac ou manufacture de tabac)

tobacco manufacturer

tobacco manufacturer means everyone who manufactures tobacco for himself, or who employs others to manufacture tobacco, other than cigars, whether the manufacture is by casing, packing, cutting, pressing, grinding, rolling, drying, crushing or stemming of any raw leaf tobacco, or otherwise preparing raw leaf or manufactured or partially manufactured tobacco, by the putting up for use or consumption of scraps, waste, clippings, stems or deposits of tobacco, resulting from any process of handling tobacco, or by the working or preparation of raw leaf tobacco, scraps, waste, clippings, stems or deposits of tobacco, by sifting, twisting, screening or any other process; (fabricant de tabac ou manufacturier de tabac)

tobacco marking

tobacco marking means any information required by this Act and the regulations to be printed on or affixed to

• (a) packages, cartons, boxes, crates and other containers containing manufactured tobacco that is not required by this Act and the ministerial regulations to be put up in packages that are required to be stamped with a tobacco stamp,

• (b) a cigar that is not required by this Act and the ministerial regulations to be stamped with a cigar stamp, or

• (c) packages, cartons, boxes, crates and other containers containing cigars that are not required by this Act and the ministerial regulations to be put up in packages that are required to be stamped with a cigar stamp; (mention obligatoire)

tobacco packer

tobacco packer means any person who, subject to ministerial regulations, by himself or his agent, deals in, prepares, packs, stems, reconstitutes or converts Canadian raw leaf tobacco or employs others to do so; (paqueteur de tabac)

tobacco stamp

tobacco stamp means any stamp required by this Act and the ministerial regulations to be impressed on, printed on, marked on, indented into or affixed to a cigarette, or a package, carton, box, crate or other container containing manufactured tobacco, entered for consumption or imported into Canada, or to be affixed to Canadian raw leaf tobacco entered for consumption, to indicate

• (a) in the case of manufactured tobacco manufactured in Canada or Canadian raw leaf tobacco, that the duties of excise have been paid on the manufactured tobacco or the Canadian raw leaf tobacco, and

• (b) in the case of manufactured tobacco imported into Canada, that the additional customs duty has been paid under the Customs Act and the Customs Tariff on the manufactured tobacco; (estampille de tabac)

tobacco stick

tobacco stick means any roll or tubular construction of tobacco intended for smoking, other than a cigar, that requires further preparation to be consumed and, where any tobacco stick exceeds ninety millimetres (90 mm) in length or eight hundred milligrams (800 mg), each sixty millimetres (60 mm) or six hundred and fifty milligrams (650 mg), as the case may be, or fraction thereof shall be deemed to be a separate tobacco stick. (bâtonnets de tabac)

Application

Marginal note:Rates binding and payable by Her Majesty

• 7 (1) The rates and duties of excise imposed by this Act or any other law relating to excise as well as the rates and duties of excise imposed by any law relating to excise or inland revenue enacted and in force since July 1, 1867 are binding on and payable by Her Majesty in respect of any goods manufactured or imported by or for Her Majesty, whether in right of Canada or a province, and whether or not the goods so manufactured or imported belonged at the time of manufacture or importation to Her Majesty, and any and all of those Acts shall be construed and interpreted as if the rates and duties of excise were and are by express words charged on and made payable by Her Majesty.

• Marginal note:Interpretation

  (2) Nothing contained in subsection (1) is intended to impose or to declare the imposition of any tax on, or to make or declare liable to taxation, any property belonging to Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.

• Marginal note:Duties payable after seizure

  (3) Without restricting the generality of subsections (1) and (2), when any goods subject to excise have been seized or forfeited by the government of any province or any public authority established by or under the authority of that government, the duties of excise imposed by this Act are payable and may be recovered in the same manner as if those goods were found in the possession of any private person.

PART IGeneral

Licences

Marginal note:Minister may refuse or suspend licence

• 8 (1) The Minister may, for any reason that he deems sufficient in the public interest, refuse to issue any licence or to grant any privilege authorized by this Act, and may suspend, cancel or revoke a licence granted or any privilege given by this Act.

• Marginal note:Commissioner may act

  (2) The Minister may authorize the Commissioner to exercise on the Minister’s behalf any of the powers conferred on the Minister by this Act.

Marginal note:No licence in places unsurveyed or unsettled

9 No licence shall be issued under this Act, nor shall any business subject to excise be carried on, in any unsurveyed or unsettled tract of country or in any district or place prohibited by order in council.

Marginal note:Business may not be carried on without licence

10 No person, unless licensed to do so, shall carry on any business or trade subject to excise or use any utensil, machinery or apparatus suitable for carrying on that business or trade or, not being licensed as a distiller or licensed to carry on the business of rectifying spirits, import, make or begin to make any still, rectifier or other apparatus suitable for the manufacture or rectification of spirits.