Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]

TRADE PRACTICES AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 1999 (NO. 1) 1999 NO. 251

Statutory Rules 1999 No. 251

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Financial Services and Regulation

Trade Practices Act 1974

Trade Practices Amendment Regulations 1999 (No. 1)

Section 172 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters that are required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

Part VB of the Act was recently added and regulates price exploitation in relation to A New Tax System. A New Tax System refers to the Government's package of tax changes being implemented in conjunction with the introduction of a Goods and Services Tax and the abolition of the Wholesale Sales Tax system. Section 75AT of the Act defines a number of words and phrases used in Part VB of the Act and specifies that 'New Tax System changes' means, among other things, '(d) any other changes (including changes to Commonwealth, State or Territory laws) prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this definition.',

Paragraph (d) of the definition of 'New Tax System changes' was inserted so that all other changes in Commonwealth or State taxes identified as part of the overall tax reform package could be incorporated by reference into the prohibition against price exploitation in subsection 75AU(1) of the Act as those changes are implemented. These additional tax changes were announced by the Government in August 1998 and include, among other matters, the introduction of:

*       a 'per stick' excise on cigarettes to commence on 1 November 1999 which was given effect

       by Excise Tariff Proposal No. 2 (1999) under the Excise Tariff Act 1921 and Customs Tariff

       Proposal No. 6 (1999) under the Customs Tariff Act 1995, both of which have been tabled in

       the Parliament; and

*       a new retail luxury car tax from 1 July 2000 under the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax

       Imposition - Customs) Act 1999 and A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition - Excise)

       Act 1999.

The Regulations add the new cigarette excise and retail luxury car tax to the definition of 'New Tax System changes' in section 75AT of the Act. It is intended to specify, by way of further amending regulations, details of the other tax changes announced by the Government in August 1998 in the definition of 'New Tax System changes' as regulatory action is taken to implement those changes.

The Regulations insert new Part 4 into the Trade Practices Regulations. The new Part initially includes new regulations 48 and 49 to add the tobacco excise and luxury car tax changes respectively to the definition of 'New Tax System changes' under paragraph (d) of section 75AT of the Act.

The proposed regulations commenced upon gazettal.