7. Importation Requirements

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7. Importation Requirements

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Whisky
Australia

This section provides information on the importation process (shipment, customs, licenses required, and test requirements).

7.1 Shipment Declaration

General Food

The Biosecurity Import Conditions systems portal (BICON) [1] provides details of the relevant import documentation including shipment declarations, based on import ‘Cases’ for relevant products. Cases are determined based on ingredients, not products. For example, a food may fall into a particular case because it contains egg products. Section 7.5 below provides some information about Cases appropriate to alcoholic beverages.

Cases include a statement on whether the good requires an Import Permit. If an Import Permit is required, the issued permit will outline specific conditions and Manufacturer Declarations that must accompany the shipment. If an Import Permit is not required, the BICON Case will include information on specific conditions and Manufacturer Declarations that must accompany the shipment. Note: alcoholic beverages do not require an import permit (refer to Section 7.5).

In addition, there are commercial documents required for shipments. Typically, the documentation package would include a commercial invoice, packing list, packing declaration (sea freight only, this is a list of the physical packaging materials used since some countries use restricted materials such as hay, chaff, straw, and bamboo), fumigation certificate (as required for pallets, etc.), certificate of origin (assists with customs' fees reduction where Australia has a Free Trade Agreement – refer to Section 7.6), and perhaps a Phytosanitary certificate. Copies of all required documents should accompany the goods to facilitate the release of the goods. Any missing documents will lead to delays in the clearance of the goods, which may incur holding fees at the customs/quarantine bond facility. DAFF has information and FAQs on the minimum documentation requirements on its website [2] and also documentation templates [3], the use of which is optional.

Category

Alcoholic beverages

Same as "General Food" above.

Product

Whisky

Same as "Category" (alcoholic beverages) above.

7.2 Customs Procedure

General Food

The Customs Act 1901 [4] relates to customs law and border-related revenue. Part IV of the Act deals with the importation of goods. The Act is enforced by various departments, including the Australian Customs Service and the Australian Federal Police. Australian Border Force is responsible for the customs clearance. Shipments require an Import Declaration of which there are various types which are described in detail on the Australian Border Force website [5].

Customs charges apply and are commercially calculated on a number of factors. There is an online guide [6] on calculating fees, goods and services tax (GST), and excises. Some of these are reduced or waived if there is a Free Trade Agreement between the exporting country and Australia, which is why an accurate certificate of origin is important. The list of Free Trade Agreement countries is updated regularly and can be found on the Austrade website [7].

Category

Alcoholic beverages

Same as "General Food" above.

Product

Whisky

Same as "Category" (alcoholic beverages) above.

7.3 Manufacturing License

General Food

A manufacturing license is generally not required for imported foods unless any import condition on a permit requires this. However, the FSC requires that food products be manufactured under a ‘suitable quality system’ that controls any foodborne hazards of concern. Systems such as HACCP or one set up to meet the requirements of Codex Alimentarius would be appropriate.

Category

Alcoholic beverages

Same as "General Food" above.

Product

Whisky

Same as "Category" (alcoholic beverages) above.

7.4 Test for Importation

General Food

Imported foods need to meet the requirements of the FSC including any compositional requirements and general limits in Chapter 1 for microbial and chemical contaminants and toxicants. (More information on the latter is provided in Section 8 of this guidebook).

Where an import declaration requires a certificate of analysis to accompany the goods, this should address any required testing specifications under the FSC and any that are defined in the BICON Case (refer to Section 7.5 below for BICON information). There are also occasions where additional tests or treatments are applied, usually in response to a biosecurity risk. The DAFF website includes a reference list of testing requirements under food types [8] which is updated regularly. Alcoholic beverages are not covered under any of the current lists.

If testing of imported food is required upon arrival, DAFF will issue a Food Control Certificate (FCC) to inform the importers if the food needs to be inspected, what tests are required, and whether the food will be subjected to a holding order while testing occurs. DAFF does not generally accept results from testing conducted overseas. While it is unlikely that this would occur for an import of an alcoholic beverage, importers should be aware that this test mechanism exists.

Category

Alcoholic beverages

Same as "General Food" above.

Product

Whisky

Same as "Category" (alcoholic beverages) above.

7.5 Other Notes or Requirements for Importation

General Food

Overview of the import process

All goods entering Australian territory are subject to biosecurity controls under the Biosecurity Act 2015 [9] which is designed to manage diseases and pests that may cause harm to human, animal, or plant health or the environment. In addition, imported foods need to comply with the Imported Food Control Act 1992 [10], which is designed to ensure the compliance of food imported into Australia to relevant national food standards and public health and safety requirements. Within this Act, a ‘relevant national standard’ means both:

the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (FSC) [11], and
the Country-of-Origin Food Labeling Information Standard 2016 [12]

Unless exempt, all foods being imported must meet the requirements for:

Compliance with relevant parts of the FSC and the Country-of-Origin labeling
Requirements under the Imported Foods Inspection Scheme (IFIS)
Compliance with the Biosecurity requirements, which may include an Import Permit and other documentation and transport requirements (e.g., pallets and packaging, fumigation, etc.) for each shipment.

Imported Food Inspection Scheme (IFIS)

The Imported Food Control Act 1992 [13] sets up the Imported Food Inspection Scheme (IFIS) [14] under which imported food is inspected and controlled using a risk-based border inspection program. The Act [13] and the Imported Food Control Regulations 2019 [15] outline the requirements of the scheme.

Foods are categorized by risk based on advice from FSANZ. There are three classifications for foods coming into Australia [15,16]:

(1) Risk food – After conducting a risk assessment, FSANZ provides advice to DAFF on foods that pose a medium to high risk to public health. These are known as 'risk foods', which are inspected and tested against a pre-determined list of potential hazards including microbial and chemical hazards. Examples: raw milk cheese, peanuts, meat, and meat products. Schedule 1 of the Imported Food Control Order 2019 [16] provides lists of food products and ingredients that fall into the Risk food category, with a separate list for New Zealand in Schedule 2.

(2) Surveillance food – All other foods that are not risk foods are in this category as they are considered to pose a low risk to public health and safety. Foods in this category are normally inspected at a lower rate than risk-categorized food. However, the inspection rate is increased if a surveillance food fails inspection.

(3) Compliance agreement food – Food importers are able to enter into a Food Import Compliance Agreement with DAFF. This arrangement offers food importers an alternative to inspection and testing of their products at the border. The agreement is an assurance-based regulatory arrangement undertaken through formal recognition and audit of the importer’s food safety management system by DAFF.

Import permits and other biosecurity documents

The Biosecurity Import Conditions Systems portal (BICON) [1] allows companies to determine the relevant conditions for the import of their goods. Looking at potential Cases in relation to alcoholic beverages, the search terms and related cases are tabulated below in Table 1.

Search term	Matching Cases
Alcoholic beverage	Case: Alcoholic beverages
Whisky	Case: Alcoholic beverages
Spirits	Case: Alcoholic beverages
Wine	Case: Alcoholic beverages
Beer	Case: Alcoholic beverages

Table 1: Relevant Cases found in BICON [1]

The Case, ‘Alcoholic beverages’ [17], shows that such imports do not require an import permit for entry into Australia. It also outlines the required documentation. Cases can be printed to provide a summary of all requirements. It is recommended that this be saved to substantiate the requirements during future imports since sometimes local customs brokers ask why there is no import permit. Users can follow a Case to be notified of any changes to the requirements (requires a user ID for the portal which can be obtained via the 'Register' option on the BICON homepage [1]).

Importers should consider engaging specialist import knowledge such as local customs brokers who are experienced in food imports. General information is available from a number of online resources about the processes: the DAFF import page [18]; the Biosecurity Australia import page [19]; Imported Foods Inspection Scheme website [14].

Category

Alcoholic beverages

Same as "General Food" above.

Product

Whisky

Same as "Category" (alcoholic beverages) above.

7.6 Overview Flowchart for Importation Process

General Food

Importation includes Shipment and customs as illustrated in Sections 7.1, 7.2, and 7.5 above followed by Quarantine procedures. Upon arrival, goods undergo Customs inspection and then, after all relevant fees and charges are paid, the goods are routed through to release, or a Quarantine check as relevant. The Quarantine steps include:

(A) Inspection under the Biosecurity Act

The requirements of the Biosecurity Act 2015 [9] for goods that arrive via sea or air are outlined in Chapter 3 of the Act. Prior notice must be given that the goods are intended to arrive (Section 120 of the Act). The goods come under biosecurity control once they arrive in Australian territory and have cleared Customs. A biosecurity officer may inspect the goods and take samples (Section 125) and may ask for documentation. The goods remain under biosecurity control until released under Division 10 (Part 1, Chapter 3) of the Act such as by way of notification or written declaration, or if non-compliant goods are exported/destroyed. If the product requires an Import Permit, this is checked at this step.

(B) Inspection under the Imported Food Control Act 1992

Food imports have a second check to manage imported food safety risks under the Imported Food Control Act 1992 [10]. It is at this second inspection that compliance with the FSC [11] and country of origin [12] labeling checks are conducted under the Imported Foods Inspection Scheme [14]. Officers from DAFF are responsible for the inspection and sampling of imported foods while the relevant agency in each state and territory (usually a local health department) monitors compliance with the FSC. At the start, DAFF will issue a Food Control Certificate (FCC) to inform the importers if the food needs to be inspected, what tests are required, and whether the food will be subjected to a holding order.

Once the inspection has been carried out, DAFF will issue an electronic Imported Food Inspection Report (eIFIR) describing how many samples were taken for testing (if any) and whether the consignment is under hold-and-test or can be released while waiting for the test results. If the inspection only involves a label and visual assessment, DAFF will issue an Imported Food Inspection Advice (IFIA) at the end of the inspection. If a food fails inspection, it cannot be imported, and companies are given written Imported Food Inspection Advice (IFIA) outlining available options for rectification.

Category

Alcoholic beverages

Same as "General Food" above.

Product

Whisky

Same as "Category" (alcoholic beverages) above.