Australian Border Force (ABF) has published ACN 2026/04, setting out new customs duty rates for certain excise-equivalent goods, including spirits, beers and fuel products, operative from 2 February 2026.
Section 19 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995 (Customs Tariff Act) provides for customs duty rates for certain excise-equivalent goods to be indexed biannually, in February and August, to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The new rates are determined by the application of an indexation factor. This indexation factor is calculated by dividing the most recent June or December Quarter CPI number by the previous highest June or December Quarter CPI number occurring after the June 1983 Quarter.
The June 2025 Quarter CPI figure (98.43) will be used to determine the indexation factor for the duty rate increase applied on 2 February 2026, as it is higher than the previously used December 2024 Quarter CPI figure.
On 28 January 2026, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the December 2025 Quarter CPI figure (100.32). Please note the quarterly figures used to determine the Indexation Factor are not directly comparable to those referred to in Australian Customs Notice (ACN) 2025/19 as the ABS has rebased the quarterly CPI data.
To view the complete ACN, please click HERE.