EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Select Legislative Instrument 2005 No. 80

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Justice and Customs

Customs Act 1901

Customs Amendment Regulations 2005 (No.      3)

 

Subsection 270(1) 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 or as may be necessary or convenient to be prescribed for giving effect to the Act or for the conduct of any business relating to the Customs.

 

The purpose of the amending Regulations is to amend the Customs Regulations 1926 (the Principal Regulations) as a consequence of the removal of the requirement to pay a refund application fee from the Act.

 

The Customs Legislation Amendment and Repeal (International Trade Modernisation) Act 2001 (the ITM Act) contains amendments to the Act.  Item 43 of Schedule 3 to the ITM Act repealed subsections 163(1B), 163(1C) and 163(1D) of the Act on 18 May 2005.  Those subsections required refund application fee to be paid when most refund applications are made.

 

Items 1 to 6 of Schedule 1 to the amending Regulations amend the Principal Regulations to remove the references to refund application fees.  Item 7 of Schedule 1 to the amending Regulations omits regulation 128AB of the Principal Regulations which prescribes a computer system for the purposes of subsection 163(1D) of the Act.

 

No consultation was undertaken in relation to the amending Regulations as they are of a minor or machinery nature and do not substantially alter existing arrangements.

 

Regulations 1, 2 and 3 of the amending Regulations commence on the day after they are registered.  Schedule 1 to the amending Regulations commence on 18 May 2005.

 

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