Excise Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. E-14)

Marginal note:Application for licence for chemical still

131 An application for a licence to import, manufacture, possess and use the chemical stills mentioned in the application shall contain a full and exact description of the stills and of the capacity of each, of the purposes to which they are to be applied and of the place in which they are to be used.

Marginal note:Conditions of licence for chemical still

• 132 (1) A licence to import, manufacture, possess and use chemical stills may be granted to any person who has complied with the provisions of this Act, if

  • (a) the person about to import or make any still, worm, rectifying or other apparatus suitable for the manufacture of spirits or for the rectification of spirits, before the importation or making is commenced, reports in writing to the nearest collector his intention in relation thereto, stating the number of stills, worms, rectifying or other apparatus or part thereof, suitable for the manufacture of spirits or for the rectification of spirits, to be imported or about to be manufactured, showing, with reference to each

    • (i) the capacity of the apparatus or parts thereof,

    • (ii) the name and residence of the person for whom the apparatus or part thereof is to be imported or made,

    • (iii) the time at which every apparatus or part thereof is to be imported or made,

    • (iv) the date at which the apparatus or part thereof is to be removed from the place where it is to be manufactured, and

    • (v) the material of which the apparatus is or is to be made;

  • (b) the granting of the licence has been approved by the district inspector and authorized by the Minister, and all the apparatus connected therewith is so made and arranged, and the whole so situated with respect to the location and nature of the building in which it is placed, as to all of which the Minister shall be the sole judge, that the stills and apparatus may be kept under such supervision by an officer as will prevent their fraudulent use; and

  • (c) the person has, before the licence is issued, jointly with a guarantee company approved by the Minister, entered into a bond to Her Majesty in the sum of one 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 granted becomes liable to render or pay under this Act, and on the person complying with the requirements thereof, with regard to the accounts, duties and penalties, as well as to all other matters and things whatever.

Marginal note:Fee for distilling and rectifying licence

133 A person to whom a licence for distilling by any process is granted shall pay to the collector of the district or excise division in which the process is to be carried on under the licence a licence fee prescribed by the regulations.

Marginal note:Licence fee for chemical still

• 134 (1) Subject to subsection (2), a person to whom a licence to import, manufacture, possess and use a chemical still is granted shall pay to the collector of the district or excise division in which the still is situated a licence fee prescribed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Any person importing, manufacturing, possessing and using a chemical still, the measured content of which does not exceed twenty-three litres (23 L), or any bona fide public hospital duly certified as such by the Department of Health importing, manufacturing, possessing and using a chemical still of any capacity, may, on registering the still at the office of the collector of the district or excise division in which it is situated, be permitted to import, manufacture, possess and use the still without payment of a licence fee or the giving of a bond, but the importation, manufacture, possession or use of the still without registration shall be deemed an importing, manufacturing, possessing or using of a still contrary to this Act.

Duties of Excise

Marginal note:Excise duties on spirits

• 135 (1) There shall be imposed, levied and collected on all spirits distilled or brought into a distillery the duties of excise set out in the schedule, which shall be paid to the collector as provided in this Act.

• Marginal note:Drawback of duty on spirits

  (2) A drawback of ninety-nine per cent of the duty paid pursuant to subsection (1) on spirits testing not less than eighty-five per cent absolute ethyl alcohol by volume that are sold and delivered, with the approval of the Minister and in such limited quantities as are prescribed by him, may be granted, under ministerial regulations, to a distiller or to any person purchasing spirits from a board, commission or other government agency that by the law of a province is empowered to sell spirits, when the spirits are sold and delivered,

  • (a) for scientific purposes only,

    • (i) to any scientific and research laboratory in receipt annually of aid from the government of Canada or a province, or

    • (ii) to any university or other educational institution at which courses recognized by the government of the province in which the institution is situated to be of post-secondary level are taught;

  • (b) to any person for the purposes of scientific research, the results of which are regularly made available to the public without charge;

  • (c) to any bona fide public hospital or municipal health clinic certified to be such by the Department of Health, for medicinal purposes only; and

  • (d) to any health institution in receipt annually of aid from the government of Canada or a province, for medicinal and research purposes only.

• Marginal note:Power to permit use duty free

  (3) Notwithstanding anything in this section, the Governor in Council may permit the use of spirits, duty free, in any chemical or industrial process in which the spirits are completely destroyed.

Definition of pharmacist

• 136 (1) In this section, pharmacist means a person who is registered, licensed or authorized under the law of any province to carry on the business of preparing, manufacturing, compounding or dispensing, for sale to a consumer, medicines and pharmaceutical preparations, and does in fact carry on business as a retail pharmacist.

• Marginal note:Spirits used by pharmacist

  (2) The Minister may grant to any pharmacist a licence to use spirits in the preparation of prescriptions for medicines and pharmaceutical preparations.

• Marginal note:Drawback

  (3) Where spirits are purchased by a pharmacist licensed under this section from a provincial liquor control board or commission or other person lawfully authorized to sell spirits and the duties otherwise imposed by law have been paid thereon, the pharmacist is entitled to a drawback of all such duty in excess of duties of excise imposed by this Act.

• Marginal note:Licence required

  (4) No person shall receive spirits for any purpose mentioned in this section without first obtaining a licence from the Minister.

• Marginal note:Fee for pharmacist’s licence

  (5) A pharmacist to whom a licence is granted under this section shall pay to the collector of the district or excise division in which he carries on business a licence fee prescribed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Bond

  (6) A licensee shall jointly with a guaranty company approved by the Minister enter into a bond to Her Majesty in the sum of one thousand dollars, which bond shall be conditioned that the licensee shall use all spirits specified in this section exclusively in the preparation of prescriptions and pharmaceutical preparations on his own premises, that the licensee shall keep books and accounts and make such entries and returns as are required by any regulations and that the licensee shall faithfully comply with all the requirements of this Act and the regulations.

Marginal note:Computing duty

• 137 (1) The duty on spirits shall be charged and computed as follows:

  • (a) on the grain used for its production at the rate of one litre (1 L) of absolute ethyl alcohol for every three and six-tenths kilograms (3.6 kg), or in a distillery where malt only or a clear wort process is used, on the grain or malt used for its production at the rate of one litre (1 L) of absolute ethyl alcohol for every four and two-tenths kilograms (4.2 kg),

  • (b) on the quantity of beer, wash or wort fermented or made in the distillery, at the rate of one litre (1 L) of absolute ethyl alcohol for every twenty-four and one-half litres (24.5 L) of beer, wash or wort,

  • (c) on the quantity of beer, wash or wort fermented or made, in proportion to its alcoholic value,

  • (d) on the quantity of spirits that passes into the closed spirit-receivers, or

  • (e) on the quantity of spirits sold or removed from any distillery by the distiller, or by his agent or for his account,

  and that method of computation that yields the greatest amount of revenue is, in all cases, the one on which the distiller shall pay the duty.

• Marginal note:When damaged grain or mill offal used

  (2) When any distiller is about to use damaged grain or mill offal and gives the collector one week’s notice of his intention to do so, such officer as is instructed for that purpose by the collector shall specially inspect the beer or wash made from the damaged grain or mill offal and test its alcoholic value and the quantity of the material that it contains.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (3) If the officer referred to in subsection (2) reports that the yield of the damaged grain or mill offal is less than one litre (1 L) of absolute ethyl alcohol to three and six-tenths kilograms (3.6 kg), the Minister may authorize the assessment of the duty on the highest quantity ascertained by any of the other methods, without reference to the quantity of damaged grain or mill offal used by the distiller.

Marginal note:Abatement

• 138 (1) Notwithstanding section 56, an abatement from duty of excise on distilled spirits produced in or brought into a distillery may be allowed in respect of

  • (a) distilled spirits lost through shrinkage by evaporation while the spirits were maturing in warehouse,

  • (b) distilled spirits lost through redistillation, distillery stock operations, vatting, blending, racking, rewarehousing, reducing, bottling and handling operations, or

  • (c) such quantity of fusel-oil or other refuse as is separated therefrom by a second process of distillation,

  where the distiller establishes to the satisfaction of the Minister that a loss of spirits occurred as set out in paragraph (a) or (b) or a separation was made as set out in paragraph (c), the amount of the loss or separation and that, in the case of a loss, it did not occur through voluntary destruction of spirits by the distiller, theft or the failure of the distiller to exercise reasonable diligence and effective control of his operations.

• Marginal note:Refund or drawback

  (1.1) A refund or drawback of the customs duty imposed under section 21 of the Customs Tariff, in respect of spirits, wine or flavouring materials having a spirit content, on which the customs duty has been paid and not refunded and that are brought into a distillery for the purpose of blending with spirits in bond, may be granted under such terms and conditions as the Governor in Council may, by regulation, prescribe.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (2) The Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) providing for the form and manner in which evidence in support of a claim under subsection (1) shall be submitted; and

  • (b) prescribing the terms and conditions under which a refund or drawback may be granted pursuant to subsection (1.1).

Marginal note:Computing standard of production

139 For the purposes of computing duty by the methods prescribed in section 137, the Governor in Council may, by regulation, prescribe the method of determining

• (a) the quantity of grain used in production of spirits in a distillery;

• (b) the quantity of beer, wash or wort fermented or made in a distillery;

• (c) the alcoholic value of beer, wash or wort fermented or made in a distillery;

• (d) the quantity of spirits that passes into the closed spirit-receivers in a distillery; and

• (e) the quantity of spirits sold or removed from a distillery.

Marginal note:Apparatus to be constructed according to regulations

• 140 (1) The following, namely,

  • (a) the spirit-receiver, doubler, low wines receiver, faints receiver, the safe or apparatus enclosing the tail of the worm or still,

  • (b) every pump used for removing any spirit, beer, wash or wort or other matter to or from any vessel, or from one vessel to another, and every lock, pipe, valve, duct, conduit, cock or connection used for securing, leading to or from, or between, or for giving access to any of the vessels mentioned or referred to in this paragraph, and

  • (c) every valve, pipe, cock, gauge, pump, lock or other apparatus, utensil, appliance or arrangement for securing, gauging, ascertaining, testing or proving the quantity or strength of any spirit, beer, wash or worts, manufactured or distilled, or for preventing the undue abstraction of any such spirits, beer, wash or worts,

  shall be constructed, arranged and applied at the cost of the distiller, in accordance with such plans, designs, drawings and regulations and of such materials as are approved by the Minister.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (2) The Governor in Council may make regulations requiring that all pipe-lines, troughs and conduits in distilleries that are used for the conveyance of spirits, beer, wash or wort, water or denatured or specially denatured alcohol be painted or coloured in such colours as are prescribed by the regulations.

Marginal note:Marking of casks and barrels

141 All casks and barrels used in a distillery or for storage or delivery of spirits by a distillery shall be clearly and legibly marked, by cutting, branding or painting in durable colours, with the name of the distiller and with such other marks, numbers or other information as is prescribed by the regulations.

Marginal note:Tail of worm to be enclosed in safe

• 142 (1) The tail of every worm in every distillery shall be enclosed in a locked or sealed safe, or other suitable apparatus, in which the strength of the spirits and low wines flowing from the worm may be approximately ascertained by the inspection of the hydrometer or other suitable instruments contained therein.

• Marginal note:Safe to be approved

  (2) Every safe referred to in subsection (1) shall be constructed in such manner and secured by such means and by such mechanism as are approved by the Minister.

• Marginal note:Pipes to convey spirits

  (3) From the closed safe or apparatus referred to in subsection (1) all low wines, faints and spirits, from time to time running from the end of the worm, shall be conveyed to the doubler or closed spirit-receiver, as the case may be, through suitable pipes of such metal as are required by ministerial regulations, visible throughout the whole of their length, with stop cocks and other appliances so arranged that the liquid may be conveyed either to the doubler or to the receiver, but so that no portion of the liquid can be abstracted or diverted from the closed spirit-receiver or doubler without the knowledge and consent of the proper officer.