EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2007 No. 35

 

 

Issued by the Authority of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

 

Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 1999

Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Act 1999

Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991

 

 

Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 2)

Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 2)

Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 2)

 

 

Section 8 of the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 1999, section 8 of the Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Act 1999 and section 30 of the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991 provide that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by each Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to each Act.

 

The stone fruit levy is a levy imposed on fresh stone fruit produced and sold in Australia. The stone fruit export charge is a charge imposed on fresh stone fruit that is exported from Australia. Levy or export charge is not imposed on stone fruit that is sold by a producer directly to a processor for processing. Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL) is responsible for the administration of the levy and charge schemes and co-ordination of promotion, research and development programs for the stone fruit industry. The Australian Government provides matching funds for eligible research and development expenditure under the Horticulture Marketing and Research and Development Services Act 2000.

 

Prior to the commencement of the amended Regulations, the rates that applied to sales and exports of stone fruit were: 5 cents per 5 kilogram tray, 10 cents per 10 kilogram box and 1 cent per kilogram for stone fruit sold/exported in bulk. Summerfruit Australia, the peak industry body for the stone fruit industry, requested that the rates be simplified so that the levy/charge on all stone fruit be expressed as 1 cent per kilogram and the “per box” and “per tray” rates be removed.

 

The Regulations restate the levy rate and or export charge as 1 cent per kilogram (0.45 of a cent for marketing and 0.55 of a cent for research and development) for all leviable/chargeable stone fruit. As these amendments were administrative in nature only and do not effect the liability of persons who produce stone fruit, it was not necessary to conduct a full consultation process, involving a ballot of each affected industry member.

 

Details of the Regulations are contained in Attachment A.

 

The Regulations are legislative instruments for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

The Office of Best Practice Regulations (OBPR) was consulted in the preparation of the Regulations. The OBPR has advised that it is not necessary to prepare a Regulation Impact Statement on this matter (OBPR Number 8983).

 

The Best Practice Regulation ‑ Preliminary Assessment was completed following OBPR directions and is at Attachment B.

 

The Regulations commence on 1 April 2007.

 

 

 

0618815A

0618815B

0618815C

 

Attachment A

 

DETAILS OF THE PRIMARY INDUSTRIES (EXCISE) LEVIES AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2007 (No. 2)

 

Regulation 1 provides for the name of the Regulations to be the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 2).

 

Regulation 2 provides for the commencement date to be 1 April 2007.

 

Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Regulations 1999.

 

Schedule 1 Amendment to Part 15 of Schedule 15

 

Item [1] restates the marketing component of the levy rate as 0.45 of a cent per kilogram of stone fruit and removes references to standard tray, standard box and per tonne.

 

It also restates the research and development component of the levy rate as 0.55 of a cent per kilogram of stone fruit and removed references to standard tray, standard box and per tonne.

 

The Note provides a reference to where the rate of National Residue Survey excise levy on stone fruit is set out. This rate is currently nil.

 

 

DETAILS OF THE PRIMARY INDUSTRIES (CUSTOMS) CHARGES AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2007 (No. 2)

 

Regulation 1 provides for the name of the Regulations to be the Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 2).

 

Regulation 2 provides for the commencement date to be 1 April 2007.

 

Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Regulations 2000.

 

Schedule 1 Amendment to Part 15 of Schedule 10

 

Item [1] restates the marketing component of the charge rate as 0.45 of a cent per kilogram of stone fruit and removed references to standard tray, standard box and per tonne.

 

It also restates the research and development component of the charge rate as 0.55 of a cent per kilogram of stone fruit and removed references to standard tray, standard box and per tonne.

 

The Note sets out that charge is not imposed if the producer has already paid levy on those products under the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Regulations 1999.

 

DETAILS OF THE PRIMARY INDUSTRIES LEVIES AND CHARGES COLLECTION AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2007 (No. 2)

 

Regulation 1 provides for the name of the Regulations to be the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 2).

 

Regulation 2 provides for the commencement date to be 1 April 2007.

 

Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Regulations 1991.

 

Schedule 1 Amendment to Part 15 of Schedule 22

 

Item [1] omits definitions of bulk stone fruit, standard box and standard tray

 

Attachment B

Best Practice Regulation – Preliminary Assessment

 

Department of Agriculture Fisheries & Forestry

Amendment to Stone fruit levy and export charge

 

This form is designed to help you undertake a preliminary assessment of the impact of a regulatory proposal on business and individuals or the economy, and to determine what level of regulatory analysis is required. You should consult the Best Practice Regulation Handbook for a full outline of the requirements for developing regulatory proposals. All new and amending regulations and quasi-regulations, including those that impose a cost or confer a benefit, are subject to these processes.

 

Section 1: Business Compliance Costs

 

The Business Cost Calculator (BCC) Quickscan is to be used for all regulatory proposals to identify whether there will be business compliance costs. The following checklist will help you identify if there are compliance costs, and can be used as an alternative to the BCC Quickscan.

 

Will businesses incur costs when they are required to report certain events? Yes No

 

Will costs be incurred by business in keeping abreast of regulatory requirements? Yes No

 

Are costs incurred in seeking permission to conduct an activity? Yes No

 

Are businesses required to purchase materials or equipment? Yes No

 

Are businesses required to keep records up-to-date? Yes No

 

Will businesses incur costs when cooperating with audits or inspections? Yes No

 

Will businesses incur costs when producing documents for third parties? Yes No

 

Will business incur costs that are of a non-administrative nature? Yes No

 

Are there any other compliance costs associated with the regulatory proposal? Yes No

 

If you have answered no to each of these questions there would appear to be nil compliance costs and you may proceed to Section 2 on other impacts (including impacts on competition). If you answered yes to any of the questions you need to asses whether the impact on business is low, medium or significant.

Will this proposal have a low impact on business? Yes No

If you have assessed the impact on business as low you should attach an explanation of the reason for that assessment. If the impact is medium or significant you are required to estimate the compliance cost using the BCC. If the impact is medium or significant, or you are unsure, please contact the OBPR to discuss/confirm your preliminary assessment, and whether you need to prepare a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS).

2

 

Section2: Other impacts on business and individuals, including restrictions on competition

 

If a regulatory option is likely to have a significant impact on business and individuals or restricts competition you may be required to prepare a RIS. Restrictions on competition can include a limitation being placed on entry to a market, price, output or production methods. The following checklist will help you to assess whether a proposal restricts competition.

 

Would the regulatory proposal affect the number and range of suppliers? Yes No

For Example: Grant exclusive rights for a supplier to provide a good or service.

Establish a licence, permit or authorisation process as a requirement of operation.

Affect the ability of some types of firms to participate in public procurement.

Significantly alter costs of entry or exit to a supplier.

Create geographic barriers for businesses.

 

Would the regulatory proposal change the ability of suppliers to compete? Yes No

For Example: Control or substantially influence the price at which a good or service is sold.

Alter the ability of suppliers to advertise or market their products.

Set standards for product/service quality that are significantly different from current.

Significantly alter costs for some suppliers relative to others.

 

Would the regulatory proposal alter suppliers’ incentives to compete vigorously? Yes No

For Example: Create a self-regulatory or co-regulatory regime.

Impact on the mobility of customers between suppliers.

Require/encourage the publishing of data on company outputs/price, sales/cost.

Exempt an activity from general competition law.

 

If you tick yes to any of these boxes contact the OBPR to determine whether a RIS is required. If there are other impacts on business and individuals which may be significant you should seek advice from the OBPR.

 

Further action

 

This form and any supporting documents, including a brief outline of the proposal to which it relates, should be kept on file and copied to the person in your department/agency responsible for coordinating matters relating to best practice regulation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anna Pellew

28 February 2007

 

3

 

Assessment explanation

 

Summerfruit Australia, the industry body for the stone fruit industry, has proposed changes to the stone fruit levy and export charge. Levy is payable on fresh stone fruit produced in Australia that are sold by the producer. Export charge is payable on fresh stone fruit produced in and exported from Australia.

 

The proposed changes restate the levy rate and export charge as 1 cent per kilogram (0.45 of a cent for marketing and 0.55 of a cent for research and development) for all leviable/chargeable stone fruit and omit the existing references to bulk stone fruit or stone fruit in boxes or trays.

 

These changes require amendments to the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Regulations 1999, Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Regulations 2000 and the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Regulations 1991.

 

The business impact of this proposal has been assessed as low because the collection mechanism and collection points will be the same as those that are currently in place for the existing stone fruit industry levy and charge.