Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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

TRADE PRACTICES AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2001 (NO. 1) 2001 NO. 40

Statutory Rules 2001 No. 40

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

Trade Practices Act 1974

Trade Practices Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 1)

Subsection 172(1) 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 prohibits price exploitation in relation to the New Tax System. '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. 'New Tax System changes' is defined to include 'any other changes (including changes to Commonwealth, State or Territory laws) prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this definition' (section 75AT).

The purpose of the new Regulations is to amend the Trade Practices Regulations 1974 (the Principal Regulations) to prescribe 'New Tax System changes' to be included for the purposes of y section 75AT of the Act.

The definition of 'New Tax System changes' was adopted to allow changes in Commonwealth, State or Territory taxes to be incorporated into the prohibition against price exploitation in subsection 75AU(1) of the Act. These other 'New Tax System changes' prescribed include:

•       changed excise rates for petroleum products, effective 2 March 200 1. The petroleum products excise rate changes were effected. by Excise Tariff Proposal No. 3 (2001) under the Excise Tariff Act 1921 and Customs Tariff Proposal No. 2 (2001) under the Customs Tariff Act 1995 (Schedule 1, item 2, amended regulation 53).

The Regulations commence on gazettal.