Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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CUSTOMS REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1997 NO. 89

Statutory Rules 1997 No. 89

Issued by the Authority for the Minister for Small Business and Consumer

Customs Act 1901

Customs Regulations (Amendment)

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 he prescribed for giving effect to the Act.

The amendments to the Customs Regulations (the Regulations) complement the cost recovery regime for import related services (for example, the processing of import entries, refund applications and depot licences) which commenced on 1 April 1997. The regime was introduced by a package of three Acts, the Customs Amendment Act (No. 1) 1997, the Impart Processing Charges Act 1997 and the Customs Depot Licensing Charges Act 1997.

Initial amendments to the Regulations consequential to the cost recovery regime were made by Statutory Rules 1997 No. 70 and took effect on 1 April 1997. In the process of implementing this new scheme 3 additional matters which require amendments to the Regulations became apparent. These Regulations give effect to these additional amendments by:

(i)        prescribing places for which a depot licence has hem issued under section 770 of the Act as a place where goods for export will be subject to Customs control (regulation 3);

(ii)       repeating the fee in paragraph 52(1)(b) of the Regulations for certain transactions involving the movement of goods out of Customs warehouses (regulation 4); and

(iii)       prescribing the COMPILE computer system for the purposes of subsection 163(1D) of the Act as the computer system via which applications for refunds of duty are to be transmitted and therefore attract a refund application fee (regulation 6)

The Regulations also make a technical amendment to paragraph 126(1)(m) of the Regulations to correct a cross reference to a section of the Act (regulation 5).

The amendments are explained in detail in the Attachment.

These Regulations, except regulation 4, commenced on gazettal. Regulation 4, which proposes to repeal the existing fee for the movement of goods out of Customs Warehouses, is taken to have commenced on 1 April 1997, being the date on which the import cost recovery regime in the Customs Amendment Act (No. 1) 1997 commenced. Regulation 4 does not offend subsection 48(2) of the Act Interpretation Act 1901 as it confers a benefit by repealing an existing fee for certain transactions.

ATTACHMENT

Regulation 1 - Commencement

This regulation provides that regulation 4 is taken to have commenced on 1 April 1997, being the day on which the cost recovery regime in the Customs Amendment Act (No. 1) 1997 commenced. Regulation 4 omits regulation 52 of the Regulations to remove the existing charge of $11.12 for each 7 fines of the relevant document. The retrospective commencement therefore does not offend subsection 48(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

Regulation 2 - Amendment

This regulation provides for the Customs Regulations to he amended as set out in the proposed Regulations.

Regulation 3 - Regulation 23 (Prescribed places for the reception or manufacture of goods for export)

Paragraph 30(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1901 (the Act) provides that Certain goods for export are subject to the control of Customs" ... from the time the goods are made or prepared in, or are brought into, a prescribed place for export, until their exportation to a place outside Australia ...". For the purposes of paragraph 30(1)(d) of the Act paragraph 23(c) of the Regulations prescribes a place appointed under paragraph 17(b) of the Act to be a place for the examination of goods on landing.

Paragraph 17(b) of the Act was repealed by item 6 of Schedule 1 to the Customs Amendment Act (No. 1) 1997. Such places are now covered by the Customs Depot Licensing regime in new Part IVA, section 77G of the Act. Regulation 3 of the proposed Regulations amends regulation 23 by omitting current paragraph (c) and substituting a new paragraph (c) which prescribes for the purposes of paragraph 30(1)(d) "a place for which a depot licence has been granted under new section 77G of the Act".

Regulation 4 - Regulation 52 (Fees involving the movement of goods out of warehouses)

This regulation omits regulation 52 of the Regulations.

Statutory Rules 1997 No. 70 amended regulation 52 to repeal paragraph 52(1)(a) as the fee prescribed in that paragraph had hem superseded by the new warehoused goods entry fee in new Section 71AB of the Customs Act, inserted by item 19 of Schedule 1 of the Customs Amendment Act (No. 1) 1997. This new fee is payable when warehoused goods are entered for home consumption. The fee in paragraph 52(1)(b) relates to returns lodged under section 69 of the Act by certain warehouse licensees who have permission to deliver goods into home consumption without entry on condition that they periodically lodge returns with Customs setting out particulars in relation to the goods so delivered. The approved form for such returns is identical to the approved form for normal entries for home consumption for warehoused goods.

Due to an oversight in the drafting of the cost recovery legislation, the warehoused goods entry fee does not apply to section 69 returns. The intention of the scheme was to replace all existing fees and charges (including those for section 69 returns which were mistakenly thought to be "entries") with the new cost recovery charges from 1 April 1997. An amending Bill is currently being drafted to also impose the new fee on section 69 returns. However, in accordance with the original intention of the cost recovery proposal, the existing fee in paragraph 52(1)(b) of the Regulations is to be repealed with effect from 1 April 1997.

Regulation 4 repeals regulation 52 in is entirety as the remainder of the regulation depended on the existence of the fees in paragraphs 52(1)(a) and (b), both of which have now been repealed. Sections 8 and 46 of the Act Interpretation Act 1901 operate to still require payment by 1 May 1997, in accordance with subregulation 52(2), of fees incurred under paragraphs 52(1)(a) and (b) before 1 April 1997.

Regulation 5 - Regulation 126 (circumstances under which refunds, rebates and remissions are made)

This regulation effects a minor technical amendment to paragraph 126(1)(m) to correct the cross reference to the section of the Act under which the relevant permission is given. The correct section is section 69 (which is the delivery without entry 1 periodic settlement scheme for like customable goods), which replaced section 71B in the rewrite of the import entry provisions in 1992 (Customs and Excise Legislation Amendment Act 1992 - Act No 34 of 1992 refers).

Regulation 6 - New Regulation

Item, 26 of Schedule 1 to the Customs Amendment Act (No. 1) 1997 repealed and substituted subsections 163(1C) and (1D) of the Act on 1 April 1997. New subsection 163(1C) introduced the new refund application fee to he paid by an applicant for a refund of duty. New subsection 163(1D) sets the fees for computer transmitted and manually lodged applications at $45.00 and $65.00, respectively. For the purposes of computer transmitted applications, paragraph 163(1D)(a) requires the application to be transmitted to Customs "via a prescribed computer system".

This regulation inserts new regulation 128AB after regulation 128A of the Regulations to prescribe the COMPILE computer system as the "prescribed computer system" for the purposes of subsection 163(1D) of the Act.