Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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CUSTOMS AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2000 (NO. 13) 2000 NO. 350

STATUTORY RULES 2000 No. 350

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Justice and Customs

Customs Act 1901

Customs Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 13)

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.

The purpose of the regulations is to amend the Customs Regulations 1926 (the Regulations) to specify the procedures involved in applying electronically to Customs through the electronic processing system, COMPILE, for refunds, rebates and remissions of duty and, also to expand the events under which an applicant may apply for a refund in relation to a Tariff Concession Order (TCO).

The amendments will bring procedures for applying for refunds into line with existing electronic lodgement procedures for import entries. The amendments also provide for contingency arrangements to apply if the period within which an application for a refund may be made, expires while the COMPILE system is unavailable (Items 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8).

In relation to a Tariff Concession Order, a person is able to apply for a refund of duty within 12 months of certain events occurring. The regulations would expand those events to include two additional events. The first event is the gazettal of a decision by Customs to revoke a TCO and to make a new TCO in respect of the same goods (Item 5). The second event is a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in relation to a decision made by Customs to make a TCO until local production starts or from when local production ceases (Item 6).

The other amendments refer to corrections to the numbering sequence to the Regulations and to references to the Customs Tariff Act 1995.

Details of the amending Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

The amending Regulations commence on gazettal.

ATTACHMENT

Customs Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 13)

Regulation 1 - Name of Regulations

Regulation 1 provides that the amending Regulations are the "Customs Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 13)".

Regulation 2 - Commencement

Regulation 2 provides that the amending Regulations would commence on gazettal.

Regulation 3 - Amendment of Customs Regulations 1926

Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Customs Regulations 1926 (the Regulations).

Schedule 1 - Amendment

Item 1 - Subregulation 128 (1)

Item 1 substitutes new provisions in subregulation 128 (1), dealing with documentary applications, and inserts new subregulation 128 (1A), dealing with applications by computer.

Subregulation 128 (1) details the information required when lodging the application by document or by computer, the manner in which the application may be made and the method of lodgement of the application. The application, if made by computer, must be made by a registered COMPILE user and contain information such as the registered COMPILE user's PIN number.

The terms "registered COMPILE user", "COMPILE computer system" and "PIN number" are defined in subsection 4 (1) of the Act and are not redefined in the amendments.

Item 2 - Subregulation 12-8 (3)

Item 2 inserts a reference to paragraph (1A) (b) into subregulation 128 (3) to provide that only one circumstance may be stated to apply to particular goods mentioned in a line of a computer application, as in the case for applications by document.

Item 3 - After subregulation 128 (3)

Item 3 inserts new subregulation 128 (3A) to clarify that a refund application is to be treated as being made to the CEO, Australian Customs Service (Customs).

Item 4 - After regulation 128

Item 4 inserts regulations 128AAA, 128AAB and 128AAC which provide for the procedure for dealing with applications for rebates, refunds or remissions, the communication of the applications and the contingency arrangements to apply if the computer system is down.

Under regulation 128AAA, Customs must verify particulars in the application, or be satisfied of any matter relevant to approval of the refund, rebate or remission.

Subregulation 128AAA (3) provides that if required to do so by the Collector, the applicant must deliver to the Collector relevant documents that are within the applicant's possession or under his or her control. If required to do so, the applicant must also give the Collector relevant information that is within the applicant's knowledge or that he or she could reasonably obtain.

Subregulations 128AAA (4) and (5) specify the procedure for requesting further information.

Regulation 128AAB specifies that an application for a refund, rebate or remission will be taken to have been communicated to Customs when an electronic message is transmitted by Customs, using the COMPILE computer system, to the registered COMPILE user whose PIN' number was transmitted in relation to the application.

Regulation 128AAC provides for contingency arrangements to deal with circumstances where the computer system used by Customs for such applications is down. The contingency arrangements will only apply and cease to apply when and if the CEO of Customs declares in writing that they do apply and cease to apply.

Item 5 - After paragraph 128A (4B) (c)

Item 5 inserts paragraph (ca) into subregulation 128A (4B) of the Regulations.

New paragraph 128A (4B) (ca) allows an importer 12 months from the day on which the notice of the decision under subsection 269SD (2) of the Act is gazetted under section 269SE of the Act to apply for a refund of duty.

Item 6 - Paragraph 128A (4B) (d)

Item 6 inserts a reference to paragraph 273GA (1) (p) of the Act into paragraph 128A (4B) (d) of the Regulations.

This item will ensure that importers have 12 months from the date of a favourable AAT decision in relation to a decision made under subsection 269SA (1) or (2) of the Act to apply for a refund of duty.

Item 7 - After subregulation 128A (5)

Item 7 extends the time for making the application to the end of the day after the day on which the contingency arrangements are declared to cease. This will allow for a situation where the time for making a refund application expires while the contingency arrangements are in force.

Item 8 - Paragraph 128AA (3) (a)

Item 8 will insert a reference to 128 (1A) (b) to ensure that if a person is entitled to apply for a refund by document without paying an application fee, the person is also entitled to make a computer application without paying the fee.

Item 9 - Subregulation 128B (6), second occurring

Item 9 corrects an error in the sequence of subregulation numbers by renumbering the second occurring mention of 128B (6) to 128B (7).

Item 10 - Schedule 2, item 8B, column 2

Item 10 will replace the reference to goods classified to subheading "3823.70" of Schedule 3 to the Customs Tariff Act 1995 (the Tariff) with "3823.70.00" in column 2 of item 8B of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.

Subheading "3823.70" of Schedule 3 to the Tariff no longer exists.

Item 11 - Schedule 2, item 12

Item 11 will replace item 12 in Schedule 2 to the Regulations.

Currently item 12 prohibits a TCO being made in respect of goods classified to subheading 4818.50.10 unless they are urinary incontinence pants. Subheading 4818.50.10 was combined with subheading 4818.50.90 to become subheading 4818.50.00. Column 3 of the new item 12 has been extended to clothing accessories and urinary incontinence pants to take into account the combining of the two subheadings.