Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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CUSTOMS AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 1998 (NO. 5) 1998 NO. 276

STATUTORY RULES 1998 NO. 276

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Customs and Consumer Affairs

Customs Act 1901

Customs Amendment Regulations 1998

Section 270 of the Customs Act 1901 ("the Act") provides in part that the Governor-General may make regulations not inconsistent with the Act prescribing all matters which by the Act are required or permitted to be prescribed for giving effect to the Act.

Tariff Concession Orders - TCOs

Part XVA of the Act (sections 269B to 269SL inclusive) provides for the making of Tariff Concession Orders ("TCOs").

In accordance with these provisions, a person may apply to the Chief Executive Officer ("CEO of Customs") for a TCO in respect of particular goods. Where a TCO is granted, those goods may by imported concessionally by any person. Section 269K of the Act provides a procedure for a TCO application to be notified in the Gazette, so that any affected persons may lodge objections to the granting of a TCO. The basis of an objection is that the objector produces substitutable goods in Australia in the ordinary course of business (section 269C).

Section 269SJ of the Act provides that the CEO of Customs must not make a TCO in respect of certain goods, including goods which are declared by the regulations to be goods to which a TCO should not extend.

Paragraph 185(1)(a) of the Customs Regulations ("the Regulations") provides that, for the purposes of subsection 269SJ(1) of the Act, a TCO should not extend to goods in respect of which the general rate of customs duty specified in the Customs Tariff is 15%.

Subregulation 185(2) of the Regulations provides that the restriction in relation to paragraph 185(1)(a) does not apply in respect of those goods listed in subregulation 185(2).

Purpose of Regulations

The purpose of the regulation is to restore the power of the CEO of Customs to make a TCO in relation to liquid fuel carburettors. Importers can now apply to the CEO of Customs to make a TCO in relation to liquid fuel carburettors (regulation 5).

In addition, the Customs Regulations have been re-named the Customs Regulations 1926 in accordance with the new drafting style (regulation 4).

Background

In 1988 a Commercial Tariff Concession Order ("CTCO") was made in relation to all carburettors. In 1996, that CTCO was revoked upon the application of a manufacturer who produced gas fuel carburettors in Australia. That manufacturer does not produce liquid fuel carburettors.

Importers of liquid fuel carburettors are now to be given the opportunity to apply to the CEO of Customs for a TCO in relation to those particular carburettors. Prior to these amendments the CEO of Customs could not make a TCO in relation to liquid fuel carburettors because carburettors attract a duty rate of 15%, and thereby attracted the operation of regulation 185.

A new paragraph has been inserted into regulation 185(2) to exclude liquid fuel carburettors from the restrictions imposed by paragraph 185(1)(a) of the Regulations.

Details of the amendments are set out in the Attachment.

The Regulations commenced on gazettal.

ATTACHMENT

Regulation 1 - Name of regulations

Subregulation 1.1 provided that the regulations are named the "Customs Amendment Regulations 1998".

Regulation 2 - Commencement

Subregulation 2.1 provided that the regulations commenced on gazettal.

Regulation 3 - Amendment

Subregulation 3.1 provided that the Customs Regulations ("the Regulations") are amended as set out in the regulations.

Regulation 4 - Regulation 1 (Citation)

Subregulation 4.1 omitted and substituted regulation 1 of the Regulations. New regulation 1 renames the Regulations as the Customs Regulations 1926. This is in accordance with the new drafting style of Statutory Rules under which all regulations are being re-named to include the year that the Regulations were originally made.

Regulation 5 - Regulation 185 (Restrictions on TCOs)

Subregulation 5.1 inserted new paragraph 185(2)(e), which exempts liquid fuel carburettors from the operation of paragraph 185(1)(a) of the Regulations, therefore restoring the facility to obtain a TCO in relation to those goods.