Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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DIESEL AND ALTERNATIVE FUELS GRANTS SCHEME AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2000 (NO. 1) 2000 NO. 160

STATUTORY RULES 2000 No. 160

Issued by the Authority of the Assistant Treasurer

Section 63 of the Diesel and Alternative Fuels Grants Scheme Act 1999 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required to give effect to the Act.

The Act introduces a grant for certain road transport in order to provide a reduction in the cost of diesel fuel for the transport fleet in rural and regional Australia. The grant will be available from 1 July 2000 until 30 June 2002 for the use of diesel fuel and alternative fuels, where the fuel is used in carrying on an enterprise. The grant will be available for these fuels for all on road use in vehicles weighing 20 tonnes or more and, with certain restrictions, for vehicles weighing 4.5 tonnes to 20 tonnes used for transporting goods or passengers. Subsection 10(2) of the Act provides, among other things, that for vehicles over 4.5 tonnes and under 20 tonnes, the grant is not available for use of the relevant fuels for a journey which is undertaken entirely within a metropolitan area.

The provisions of the Act apply to the Diesel and Alternative Fuels Grant Scheme. The Act provides a standard administrative framework in line with other grants and benefits administered by the Commissioner of Taxation.

Further authority for the Regulations are contained in the following provisions of the Act:

*        Section 5 provides that "diesel fuel" has the meaning given by the Regulations;

*       Section 5 also provides that "emergency vehicle" means a vehicle that is specified in the Regulations to be an emergency vehicle, or that is in a class of vehicles that are specified in the Regulations to be emergency vehicles;

*       Subsection 7(4) specifies the "prescribed registration details" means matters or circumstances specified in the Regulations;

*       Paragraph 11 (1)(b) of the Act provides for the establishment of the grant rates applicable to diesel and alternative fuels;

*       Subsection 41(3) provides that the Regulations may prescribe a scale of expenses to be allowed persons required to attend;

*       Section 48(2) provides that the Regulations will specify the form of identity card to be used for officers authorised by the Commissioner to have power of access to premises under Section 47; and

*       Section 51(2) provides that the Regulations will specify the form of identity card to be used for officers authorised by the Commissioner under Section 50 to stop and search vehicles.

The purpose of the regulations is to define diesel fuel and emergency vehicles; specify registration details; outline matters or circumstances which must be notified to the Commissioner within 28 days; and provide for the grant rates, expenses for attendance and the form of identity cards for authorised officers.

The Regulations will:

define the term diesel fuel to include all fuels purchased for use as fuel for road vehicles powered by diesel engines including crude oil and condensate and blends of diesel with other products (Regulations 3 and 3A); define emergency vehicles to be certain vehicles operated by police, ambulance, firefighting services and emergency response or search and rescue vehicles that are designed and permanently fitted out for the purpose of emergency response or search and rescue and that have external markings that identify the vehicle to be of that kind. Emergency vehicles will also include other emergency vehicles operated by the Commonwealth, State or Territory or a Commonwealth, State or Territory authority (Regulations 3 and 3B); specify that for the purposes of the Diesel and Alternative Fuels Grants Scheme, the conditions for registration are that the entity holds an Australian Business Number (ABN), proposes to use diesel fuel or alternative fuel in the vehicle for the purposes of an enterprise that he or she carries on, the vehicle has a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) of 4.5 tonnes or more and is registered for use on public roads (Regulation 5); specify that the entity must notify the Commissioner within 28 days if it ceases to carry on an enterprise, a vehicle which was registered for the Scheme is no longer used to carry on that enterprise, the entity no longer holds an ABN, the entity no longer proposes to use diesel or alternative fuel in the vehicle or the entity has been disqualified under Part 5 of the Act from receiving the fuel grant (Regulation 6); provide for the establishment of the grant rates applicable to diesel and alternative fuels to specify a different amount per litre for diesel fuel, compressed natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol (Regulation 7) prescribe a scale of expenses to be allowed persons required to attend before the Commissioner and specify that the scale of expenses to be allowed to persons who are required to attend under section 41 is the scale set out in the High Court Rules (Regulation 8); specify the form of identity card to be issued under section 48 by the Commissioner to officers authorised by the Commissioner to have power of access to premises under section 47 (Regulation 9 and Schedule 7); specify the form of the identity card to be issued by the Commissioner under section 51 to officers authorised by the Commissioner to have power to stop and search vehicles under section 50 (Regulation 10 and Schedule 7). The Regulations commenced on gazettal.