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PRIMARY INDUSTRIES LEVIES AND CHARGES (NATIONAL RESIDUE SURVEY LEVIES) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2003 (NO. 2) 2003 NO. 99

STATUTORY RULES 2003 No. 99

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

Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991
National Residue Survey (Customs) Levy Act 1998
National Residue Survey (Excise) Levy Act 1998

Primary Industries Levies and Charges (National Residue Survey Levies) Amendment Regulations 2003 (No. 2)

Section 30 of the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991, section 8 of the National Residue Survey (Customs) Levy Act 1998 and section 8 of the National Residue Survey (Excise) Levy Act 1998 provide that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted to be prescribed by the Acts, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Acts.

The National Residue Survey implements chemical residue monitoring programs and recovers the costs of the programs from participating industries. These programs form the basis for documentation that enables the Australian Government to certify that raw food products bound for export and domestic consumption are free from significant chemical contamination.

Statutory levies are the preferred mechanism by which primary industries choose to meet the cost of compulsory residue-monitoring programs required for access to international and domestic markets. These levies are collected at the same time, and in the same manner, as other statutory levies such as marketing levies and research and development levies in order to reduce collection costs for industries. This then requires National Residue Survey levy collection arrangements to be consistent with similar portfolio levy legislation.

The purpose of the Regulations is to make mechanical changes in the Primary Industries Levies and Charges (National Residue Survey Levies) Regulations 1998 (the NRS Regulations) to the levy collection arrangements for National Residue Survey levies on honey and macadamia nuts, correct a technical fault in the National Residue Survey Lamb Transaction Levy rate and increase the National Residue Survey Excise Levy on emu slaughter for human consumption from 75 cents per bird at slaughter to $1.25 per bird at slaughter.

The amendments concerning the honey levy will change the collection period from a monthly basis to a quarterly basis, to be consistent with the collection period for the research and development levy. This is being done at the request of industry in order to reduce the cost of levy collection.

The amendments concerning the macadamia nut levy will clarify the National Residue Survey levy rate on macadamia nuts by omitting the word 'cents' and inserting the words 'of a cent', to overcome confusion on how the levy is expressed in portfolio legislation. This is being done at the request of the Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances.

The amendment concerning the lamb transaction levy will correct a technical fault discovered in the National Residue Survey lamb transaction levy legislation. The fault occurred when amendments were made to portfolio levy legislation as part of the temporary relief package for producers exporting lamb product into the US market. When these temporary arrangements were removed the operative levy was re-applied at 4.7 cents per transaction for lambs with a sale price over $75, rather than the agreed levy rate of 8 cents per transaction. The levy has been collected at the agreed rate of 8 cents per transaction and the Sheepmeat Council has requested that this technical fault be rectified as soon as possible.

The amendments concerning the levy on emu slaughter for human consumption will increase the National Residue Survey Levy from $0.75 per head to $1.25 per head. The emu meat for human consumption program's finances have been directly affected by a drop in throughput numbers caused by the drought and industry sources advise that throughput numbers are unlikely to rise in the short to medium term. The levy is the preferred mechanism by which the emu meat industry chooses to meet the cost of its compulsory residue-monitoring program that gives emu meat access to international markets.

Details of the regulations are in the Attachment.

Schedule 1 of the Regulations containing the mechanical changes will commence on gazettal while Schedule 2 of the Regulations containing the increase in the emu levy will commence on 1 July 2003.

0301172A-030327A

ATTACHMENT

PRIMARY INDUSTRIES LEVIES AND CHARGES (NATIONAL RESIDUE SURVEY LEVIES) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2003 (No. 2)

Regulation 1 gives the name of the Regulations as the Primary Industries Levies and Charges (National Residue Survey Levies) Amendment Regulations 2003 (No. 2).

Regulation 2 provides for Regulations 1 to 3 and Schedule 1 to commence on gazettal and for Schedule 2 commence on 1 July 2003.

Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 amend the Primary Industries Levies and Charges (National Residue Survey Levies) Regulations 1998.

SCHEDULE 1       Amendments commencing on gazettal

Item 1 omits the requirement under Subregulations 81 (1) and (2) of the Primary Industries Levies and Charges (National Residue Survey Levies) Regulations 1998 (the NRS Regulations) for the NRS honey levy to be remitted monthly and inserts a quarterly requirement.

Item 2 omits the word cents from paragraphs 154 (a) and (b) of the NRS Regulations and inserts the words 'of a cent' in order to clarify the rate of NRS customs levy applying to the export of macadamia nuts.

Item 3 omits the word cents from paragraphs 155 (a) and (b) of the NRS Regulations and inserts the words 'of a cent' in order to clarify the rate of NRS excise levy applying to macadamia nuts.

Item 4 omits the incorrect levy rate of 4.7 cents per head of lambs relating to the export of lambs valued at more than $75 per head in Subregulation 239 (5) of the NRS Regulations and inserts the intended levy rate of 8 cents per head of lambs.

Item 5 omits reference to Regulation 240 of the NRS Regulations and inserts reference to Regulations 240 and 241 in Subregulation 239A (1) for the purpose of 'Sale Price' on the rate of NRS excise levy to apply on lamb sales and transactions.

Item 6 inserts new notes at the foot of Subregulation 240 (2) of the NRS Regulations advising when NRS excise levy is not imposed on a sale of lambs, the operative rate of levy and the inclusive period when the rate of levy on lambs was halved.

Item 7 omits Subregulation 240 (3), including the notes, of the NRS Regulations, as this subregulation is now redundant.

Item 8 omits the reference to the redundant Subregulations 240 (3) from Subregulation 240 (4).

Item 9 inserts a new Subregulation 241 (2) and Subregulation 241 (3) in the NRS Regulations which clarifies the NRS excise levy for lambs with a sale price more than $75 per head and for lambs delivered to, or slaughtered at, a processing plant.

SCHEDULE 2       Amendments commencing on 1 July 2003

Item 1 substitutes the note at the bottom of Regulation 228 to define which ratite species have a levy rate prescribed for the purpose of an NRS levy under the NRS Regulations.

Item 2 inserts a new regulation (No. 229) that prescribes the rate of NRS excise levy on the slaughter of emus.