What is WET?
The Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) is a tax applied to wine products in Australia, mainly at the wholesale level. It’s designed to account for the value of wine once it leaves the wholesale sector rather than focusing solely on raw materials or production. For official guidance, see the Australian Taxation Office article: Wine Equalisation Tax – Wholesale Sales.
When and Why It Applies
If your business sells wine — or alcohol products subject to WET — you’ll need to ensure WET is correctly applied before other taxes (such as GST) unless specified otherwise. Because WET has a specific calculation method, using the correct tax rule in your system ensures both compliance and accurate pricing.
How to Set It Up in B-Cart
To apply WET properly in your system using our “Advanced Taxes” module:
1. Create a Tax Rule for WET
Navigate to Taxes > Create Tax Rule in your account.
Assign a Tax Rule Name such as “WET – Wine Equalisation Tax.”
Provide a unique Tax Code for reference.
Select Tax Type: Compound Tax Rule (since WET may be combined with GST).
Ensure the base tax rate includes GST, GST-free, GST-exempt or GST-none (depending on registration).
Add a component for WET (e.g., component name “WET”, code “WET001”, rate x%).
If required, add another component for GST on top of the subtotal of WET.
2. Assign the Tax Rule to Products
For each wine product or applicable SKU, edit the product and select the WET tax rule from the tax dropdown.
Confirm that the product price is entered exclusive of all taxes (so WET and GST are calculated correctly during checkout).
3. Verify the Accounting Software Mapping
If you use integrations like Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks, ensure the WET tax rule in B-Cart is mapped to the correct tax code in your accounting system.
Double-check that invoices exported to your accounting software reflect WET components accurately and match your tax reporting obligations.
Important Notes
WET must be applied before calculating GST when required.
Products affected by WET still follow the “exclusive of taxes” pricing rule in B-Cart (i.e., product price excludes the system base rate like GST, then WET and other components are applied).
If you delete or rename a tax rule later, review all linked products and accounting mappings to avoid misreporting.
Summary
Using our advanced tax settings, you can confidently manage WET compliance by creating a dedicated tax rule, assigning it to relevant products, and mapping it correctly in your accounting software. If you need a list of products or help with setup or mapping, contact our support team.