Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements
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PRIMARY INDUSTRIES LEVIES AND CHARGES COLLECTION AMENDMENT (FOREST GROWERS) REGULATION 2014 (SLI NO 106 OF 2014)
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
SELECT LEGISLATIVE INSTRUMENT No. 106, 2014
Issued by Authority of the Minister for Agriculture
Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991
Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Amendment (Forest Growers) Regulation 2014
Legislative Authority
Section 30 of the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991 (the Collection Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations 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.
Part 9 of Schedule 37 to the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Regulations 1991 sets out details for payment of the forest growers levy and other collection matters.
Purpose
The purpose of the Regulation is to require information on each category of log, plantation or other, to be kept and included in a return. Previously levy payers reported on the volume of logs in cubic metres. The Regulation requires levy payers to report both the volume of plantation logs and the volume of other logs.
The reason for the change is to ensure the new Plant Health Australia (PHA) and Emergency Plant Pest Response (EPPR) components of the forest growers levy are imposed only on plantation logs. By collecting information on the volume of plantation logs, the department can identify that the correct levy amount is paid on these logs.
Background
The Australia Forest Products Association (AFPA) is the peak industry body for forest growers in Australia. AFPA lodged a submission requesting to establish a PHA membership levy on plantation forest logs set at 0.5 cents per cubic metre of the log and an EPPR levy on plantation forest logs set at zero.
A separate Regulation amends the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Regulations 1999 to establish the PHA and EPPR levies on plantation logs.
Impact and Effect
Given the new PHA and EPPR forest growers levy components apply to plantation forest logs only, levy payers will need to keep and report information on the number of plantation and other logs to ensure the new levy components are collected on plantation forest logs only.
Consultation
AFPA consulted forest growers who pay the levy about the change to the forest growers levy. The Department consulted the departments of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and Treasury in preparing the Regulations associated with amendments to the forest growers levy. The Office of Best Practice Regulation has agreed that a Regulation Impact Statement is not required for this proposal (ID 17032).
Details/Operation
Details of the Regulation are set out in Attachment A.
The Regulation is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared under section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. A full statement of compatibility is set out in the Attachment B.
The Regulation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
The Regulation is to commence on 1 July 2014.
Attachment A
Details of the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Amendment (Forest Growers) Regulation 2014
Regulation 1 - Name of Regulation
This regulation provides for the title of Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Amendment (Forest Growers) Regulation 2014.
Regulation 2 - Commencement
This regulation provides for the Regulation to commence on 1 July 2014.
Regulation 3 - Authority
This regulation provides the legislative authority for making the Regulation as the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991.
Regulation 4 - Schedule(s)
This regulation provides for the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Regulations 1991 to be amended as set out in Schedule 1.
Schedule 1 - Amendments
Item 1 amends the definition of levy to include the Plant Health Australia (PHA) and Emergency Plant Pest Response (EPPR) levies.
Item 2 inserts a definition of plantation to make it clear which areas plantation forest logs and other logs derive from. The plantation definition is required to distinguish between plantation and other logs because the PHA and EPPR levies only apply to plantation forest logs.
Item 3 amends what producers must include in a return to include information on the quantity of each kind of log (plantation or other) produced, the levy payable on those quantities, the total levy payable on all logs and the total levy paid.
Item 4 amends what processors must include in a return to include information on the quantity of each kind of log (plantation or other) processed, the levy paid on those quantities, and the total levy paid.
Item 5 amends what processors must include in a return to include information on the quantity of each kind of log (plantation or other) received from the organisations listed in paragraph 9.15(d) of Schedule 37.
Item 6 amends what first purchasers, buying agents and selling agents must include in a return to include information on the quantity of each kind of log (plantation or other) processed, the levy paid on those quantities, and the total levy paid.
Item 7 amends what first purchasers, buying agents and selling agents must include in a return to include information on the quantity of each kind of log (plantation or other) received from the organisations listed in paragraph 9.16(d) of Schedule 37.
Item 8 amends the records producers must keep to include information on the quantity of each kind of log (plantation or native) produced, the levy payable on those quantities, the levy paid on those quantities and the total levy paid.
Item 9 amends the records processors must keep to include information on the quantity of each kind of log (plantation or native) processed for each producer, the levy paid on those quantities, the total quantity of each kind of logs processed, the total levy paid for each kind of logs processed, the total levy paid and the quantity of each kind of log received from the organisations listed in paragraph 9.15(d) of Schedule 37.
Item 10 amends the records first purchasers, buying agents and selling agents must keep to include information on the quantity of each kind of log (plantation or native) processed for each producer, the levy paid on those quantities, the total quantity of each kind of logs processed, the total levy paid for each kind of logs processed, the total levy paid and the quantity of each kind of log received from the organisations listed in paragraph 9.16(d) of Schedule 37.
Item 11 inserts a transitional clause to make it clear that the amendments made by items 1 to 10 only apply to a levy return for a quarter or levy year commencing on or after 1 July 2014. This clause will expire on 31 December 2014 because there can be no confusion about the application of the amendments on or after that date.
Attachment B
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Amendment (Forest Growers) Regulation 2014
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Legislative Instrument
The purpose of the Regulation is to require information on each category of log, plantation or native, to be kept and included in a return.
Human rights implications
This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Conclusion
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.
The Hon. Barnaby Joyce MP
Minister for Agriculture
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