Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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CUSTOMS AMENDMENT REGULATION 2000 (NO. 1) 2000 NO. 13

STATUTORY RULES 2000 NO. 13

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Justice and Customs

Customs Act 1901

Customs Amendment Regulation 2000 (No. 1)

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 be prescribed for giving effect to the Act.

Section 163 of the Act provides that refunds, rebates and remissions of duty may be made in respect of goods generally, in respect of the goods included in a class of goods, in such circumstances and subject to such conditions and restrictions as are prescribed. Regulation 126 of the Customs Regulations (the Principal Regulations) prescribes those circumstances for the purposes of s. 163 of the Act.

The regulations add three further circumstances for refunds/remissions of duty on imported benzene, toluene, xylenes and mixed alkylbenzenes. These are necessary because a tariff proposal to be tabled in the Parliament on Thursday 9 March 2000 will be effective from Friday 10 March to impose or increase duty on these products which are being used as fuel extenders to the detriment of the revenue. Fuel extending means that illicit products are blended with (and thereby extent) legitimate fuels. This results in losses to the revenue.

The refunds and remissions will be available to persons who legitimately use these products otherwise than as a fuel (item 1 of Schedule 1). Refunds and remissions will be of 100% of the duty imposed via the tariff proposal except where a duty rate was in existence before the tariff proposal. In that case, refunds and remissions will be of the amount of the increase only. Existing concessions to countries specified in sections 9 and 14 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995 are maintained (item 2 of Schedule 1).

The regulations commenced on 10 March 2000.

Authority:       Section 270 of the Customs Act 1901