Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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EXPORT INSPECTION AND MEAT CHARGES COLLECTION REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1994 NO. 65

STATUTORY RULES 1994 No. 65

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Primary Industries and Energy

Export Inspection and Meat Charges Collection Act 1985

Export Inspection and Meat Charges Collection Regulations (Amendment)

Section 17 of the Export Inspection and Meat Charges Collection Act 1985 (The Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

The Export Inspection and Meat Charges Collection Regulations (the Regulations) make provision for the collection of charges imposed by the Export Inspection and Meat (Establishment Registration Charges) Act 1985, the Export Inspection and Meat (Quantity Charge) Act 1985, the Export Inspection and Meat (Service Charge) Act 1985 and the Domestic eat Premises Charge Act 1993.

The purpose of the Regulations is to provide for Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) meat inspection clients to regularly pay their premises and registration charges by instalments and to give the Secretary of the Department of Primary Industries and Energy or the Secretary's delegate the discretion to remit charges and offer clients options to pay by instalments at different times and intervals to the regular instalment provisions. The Regulations also provide for refunds and remissions where premises cease to be used for the purpose for which the charge is made.

Although they are in part retrospective in their action on the meat industry clients of AQIS in the 6 months to 30 June 1994, the regulations provide a benefit to these clients or at worst provide comparable conditions to those provided under previous regulations for this period. The Regulations do not therefore contravene subsection 48(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

Details of the regulations are as follows:

Regulation 1 - Commencement

Subregulation 1.1 provides for Regulations 3 and 4 to commence on 1 January 1994. The remainder of the Regulations commence on gazettal.

Regulation 2 - Amendment

Subregulation 2.1 provides that the Regulations are amended as set out in the Export Inspection and Meat Charges Collection Regulations (Amendment).

Regulation 3 - Regulation 2 (Interpretation)

Subregulation 3.1 inserts the definition of an accredited killing or processing plant to have the same meaning as in the Domestic Meat Premises Charge Act 1993 and inserts the definition of AQIS.

Regulation 4 - Regulation 2B (When is charge due for payment ?)

Subregulation 4.1 omits paragraph 2B(1)(f) and substitutes new paragraphs (f), (g), (h), and (i).

Paragraphs (f) and (g) provide for payments by instalments for the premises charges by AQIS meat inspection clients in the domestic industry. Two equal payments are provided for in the 6 month period to 30 June 1994 and four equal payments at 12 weekly intervals in following financial years. Where a new client takes up meat inspection services part the way through the payment period, the client is assessed for a single payment though this may be modified by the exercise of the Secretary's discretion to offer payment by instalments (see Regulation 5 below).

Paragraphs (h) and (i) provide for a similar pattern of payment by instalments for the registration charges of AQIS clients in the export industry.

Regulation 5 - Regulation 2B (When is charge due for payment?)

Subregulation 5.1 removes the existing provisions of subregulations 2B(2) and (3) of the regulations and replaces them with new subregulations 2B(2), (3) and (4). The former provisions of subregulations 2B(2) and (3) are made redundant by the new provisions for payment by instalment contained in subregulation 4.1 discussed above.

New subregulation 2B(2) provides for the Secretary to exercise discretion in establishing either a later due date for an AQIS premises charge or for payment by instalments at later than the days specified in subregulation 2B(1). The discretion would be exercised on a case by case basis.

New subregulation 2B(3) establishes that payments identified under subregulation 2B(2) are due for payment on the days specified.

New subregulation 2B(4) provides for the whole of the outstanding amount of a premises or registration charge for the financial year to become payable if the person who is liable to pay a charge fails to pay by the due date. The reason for this regulation is that these are annual charges made payable by four equal instalments. This provision is vital to the prudent administration of such a regime. In genuine cases where the person liable has failed to meet the due date through no fault of their own, the Secretary's discretion can be exercised to restore their instalment provisions.

Regulation 6 - New regulation 6

Subregulation 6.1 inserts a new Regulation 6 dealing with refunds and remissions. Subregulation 6(7) provides the Secretary with discretion to remit some or all of a premises charge for both the domestic and export industries in cases where the establishment changes its classification under the items comprising the charge schedule, permanently reduces the inspection services required at the premises, or in any special circumstances which make it reasonable for the Secretary to do so. The subregulations 6(1) to (6) deal with non-discretionary refunds and remissions as described below.

Subregulation 6(1) and (2) describe the conditions and amount of a refund or remission on outstanding registration charge to be made for export premises, where the export premises cease to be used for operations for the purpose for which the charge is payable.

Subregulations 6(3) and (4) provide corresponding provisions for the refund or remission of premises charges for domestic premises where they cease to be used for the operations for which charge is payable.

Subregulation 6(5) provides that the Secretary must remit the full domestic premises charge for domestic meat premises where the person liable to pay the first such charge in the financial year ending 30 June 1994 notifies the Secretary in writing that they have ceased operations for which charge is payable before the first due date. It also makes similar provision to remit the full registration charges for export establishments in the same circumstances.

Subregulation 6(6) provides parallel provisions for full remission in following financial years.