Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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CUSTOMS (PROHIBITED IMPORTS) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2000 (NO. 8) 2000 NO. 299

STATUTORY RULES 2000 No. 299

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Justice and Customs

Customs Act 1901

Customs (Prohibited Imports) Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 8)

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 50 of the Act provides in part that:

(1)       The Governor-General may, by regulation, prohibit the importation of goods into

Australia.

(2)       The power conferred by the last preceding subsection may be exercised - (b) by prohibiting the importation of goods from a specified place or (c) unless specified conditions or restrictions are complied with

The Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 (the PI Regulations) control the importation of the goods specified in the various regulations or the Schedules to the Regulations, by prohibiting importation absolutely, or making importation subject to the permission of a Minister or an authorised person.

The purpose of the regulations is to amend the PI Regulations to prohibit the direct or indirect importation of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone.

Item 1 of the Regulations inserts new regulation 4N to prohibit the importation of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone or the importation of rough diamonds that originate from Sierra Leone, unless the permission in writing of the Foreign Minister or an authorised person is obtained and presented to the Collector.

These amendments to the PI Regulations implement the decision of the United Nations Security Council under Resolution 1306 (2000) on Sierra Leone. The Resolution and amendments are aimed at stopping the illicit trade in diamonds from Sierra Leone which may be a source of funding for the conflict in that country. The Minister for Foreign Affairs will be responsible for administering the issue of permissions for importation of rough diamonds.

Regulation 4N exempts from the prohibition, rough diamonds that are controlled through a Certificate of Origin regime, when and if, operated by the Government of Sierra Leone. The Minister or an authorised person who is an officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in deciding whether to grant a permission to import, must also consider Australia's relations with other countries and Australia's obligations under international law.

The regulations commenced on gazettal.