Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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CUSTOMS REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1992 NO. 344

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

STATUTORY RULES 1992 No. 344

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Small Business, Construction and Customs

Customs Act 1901

Customs Regulations (Amendment)

Section 270 of the Customs Act 1901 (the Act) provides in part that "(1) The Governor-General may make regulations not inconsistent with this Act prescribing all matters which by this Act are required or permitted to be prescribed or as may be necessary or convenient to be prescribed for giving effect to this Act ..."

Section 164 of the Act outlines the legislative scheme for the Diesel Fuel Rebate Scheme (DFRS), which provides that a rebate of Customs duty is payable to the purchaser of diesel fuel provided the diesel fuel is used in a manner specified in subsection 164(1) of the Act.

Regulation 128D of the Customs Regulations prescribes the documentary information that an applicant for a rebate of diesel fuel under the DFRS must provide to Customs together with the application for such rebate. The documentary information previously prescribed was the invoices or certified copies of the invoices relating to the purchase of the diesel fuel.

The Customs and Excise Legislation Amendment Act 1992 amended the Diesel Fuel Rebate Scheme (DFRS) to improve the accountability and administration of the DFRS in response to the audit report by the Australian National Audit Office, No. 27 of 1990/91, tabled in Parliament on 16 May 1991. one of the amendments to the DRFS was to remove from the Act the requirement to lodge purchase documents with each claim. The Second Reading Speech provided that "... during the course of 1992, the Government expects to present new regulations to enable invoices to be replaced by a schedule of fuel purchases prepared by the claimant. This is broadly in accordance with recommendation 32 of the ANAO report".

On 2 November 1992 Customs introduced a new computer system for processing diesel fuel rebates which enabled invoices to be replaced by a schedule of fuel purchases prepared by the claimant as outlined by the Minister in his Second Reading Speech.

The Regulations facilitated this reform as follows:

Regulation 1 provides that the Regulations commence on 2 November 1992.

Regulation 2 is a formal machinery provision which provides that the Customs Regulations are amended as set out in the Regulations.

Regulation 3 specifies the particulars which the applicant for a rebate of diesel fuel must include in the Schedule of Purchases. The Schedule of Purchases is provided to Customs in addition to the application for rebate, but the Schedule is the document which will contain the figures upon which a rebate will be calculated.

Regulation 4 provides a transitional arrangement whereby the former regulation 128D continues to apply for applications received by Customs prior to the commencement of the new system.

The Regulations commenced on 2 November 1992.


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