Commonwealth Numbered Acts

TELECOMMUNICATIONS (CONSUMER PROTECTION AND SERVICE STANDARDS) AMENDMENT ACT (NO. 2) 2000 NO. 142, 2000 - SCHEDULE 5

1 Meaning of former law

2 Levy distribution for 1999-2000 financial year

(a)

the ACA has not yet made a written assessment under section 64 of the former law for that year;

(b)

not all participating carriers in respect of which levy was assessed have paid the levy.

Note: The operation of the former law for the 1999-2000 financial year is preserved by item 1 of Schedule 2 to this Act.

3 Assessment based on estimate of eligible revenue

(1) If a participating carrier fails to give the ACA a return under section 62 of the former law for the 1999-2000 financial year, the ACA may:

(a)

estimate the carrier's eligible revenue for the year; and

(b)

make a written assessment under section 64 of the former law of the carrier's eligible revenue for the year based on the estimate.

(2) The ACA must give at least 14 days' notice to the carrier of the ACA's proposal to make the assessment based on the estimate, and of the amount of eligible return proposed to be assessed. The notice must be in writing.
(3) The ACA must not make an assessment based on an estimate after receiving a return for the year from the carrier concerned.
(4) However, if the ACA has made an assessment based on the estimate, the ACA is not required to change it if a return is later given to the ACA.

4 Nil assessments

(a)

it is unlikely that the carrier would be able to pay any levy that would be payable; or

(b)

the carrier is unlikely to pay the levy unless the Commonwealth takes action to recover it and the cost of doing so would exceed the amount of the levy.

Note: However, the ACA could later amend a nil assessment under section 66 of the former law.

5 Distributions before all levies have been paid

6 Working out how much levy is payable

(1) If the total of the amounts payable to carriers out of the Universal Service Account is more than the balance of the Universal Service Account, after paying any refunds that are due under section 79 of the former law, the ACA must:

(a)

work out the amount payable to each carrier as a proportion of the total amounts payable; and

(b)

ensure that any payments out of the Universal Service Account are made in accordance with those proportions (rounding amounts to whole dollars as the ACA considers appropriate).

(2) However, if the Minister determines in writing a different method for making payments out of the Universal Service Account than the method provided in subitem (1), the ACA must act in accordance with that determination.
(3) A determination under subitem (2) is a disallowable instrument for the purposes of section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 .
(4) A carrier's levy credit balance for the 1999-2000 financial year is reduced by the amount (worked out under this item) that is paid to the carrier.
(5) This item continues to apply until each carrier's levy credit balance for the year is reduced to nil.

(133/00)