“The legislation was becoming increasingly outmoded and an update has been badly needed,” said Philip Gregan, CEO of New Zealand Winegrowers. “We are looking forward to changes in areas such as moving goods around New Zealand and simplifying the process for applying for refunds of excise for unsold damaged goods.”

“We congratulate Customs who have worked hand in hand with industry to come up with pragmatic, modern, fit for industry solutions that recognises modern business practices. We expect this approach will make compliance much easier for our wineries.”

He added, “Excise is a necessary reality for our industry and common sense solutions to address industry concerns are very welcome as they will save time and money for our members as we grow exports to $2 billion by 2020. We congratulate the Minister and officials on the work done so far and we look forward to the next stages in the process of confirming the details of how the changes will operate in practice.”