Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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TRADE PRACTICES AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2001 (NO. 4) 2001 NO. 149

Statutory Rules 2001 No. 149

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

Trade Practices Act 1974

Trade Practices Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 4)

Subsection 172(1) of the Trade Practices Act 1974 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 Regulations is to amend the Trade Practices Regulations 1974 to prescribe additional measures in the definition of 'New Tax System changes' for the purposes of section 75AT of the Act.

The definition of 'New Tax System changes' was adopted to allow relevant changes in Commonwealth, State or Territory taxes made under arrangements concluded in 1999 to be incorporated into the prohibition against price exploitation in subsection 75AU(1) of the Act. Other 'New Tax System changes' to be prescribed included the abolition, by 30 June 200 1, of any State or Territory stamp duty on quoted marketable securities ('stamp duty') and financial institutions duty ('FID').

The Regulations ensure that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has powers to protect consumers and take enforcement action against suppliers engaging in price exploitation with regard to the abolition of the stamp duty and FID.

The Regulations commence on gazettal.