Customs (Information Technology Requirements) Determination 2021 (Cth)

Customs (Information Technology Requirements) Determination 2021

I, Michael Outram APM, Comptroller-General of Customs, make the following Determination.

Dated: 23 March 2021                        

Michael Outram APM

Comptroller-General of Customs

Part 1—Preliminary

1  Name

This instrument is the Customs (Information Technology Requirements) Determination 2021.

2  Commencement

This instrument commences on 31 March 2021.

3  Authority

This instrument is made under section 126DA of the Customs Act 1901.

4  Definitions

In this instrument:

ABN has the same meaning as in the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999.

Act means the Customs Act 1901.

Department means the Department of Home Affairs.

EDI means Electronic Data Interchange.

HTTPS means Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure.

MQ means the secure message delivery platform known as IBM MQ.

S/MIME means Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions.

SMTP means Simple Mail Transfer Protocol.

UN/EDIFACT means the international standard, known as Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport, administered by the United Nations.

5  Schedules

Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.

Part 2—Information technology requirements for specified communications

6  Communicating import declaration for goods imported through the post

(1)  Subsection (2) applies if:

(a)  a person has personal property in goods:

(i) to which section 68 of the Act applies; and

(ii)  that are intended to be entered for home consumption; and

(iii)  that are imported into Australia through the post; and

(b)  the person wishes to communicate with the Department electronically; and

(c) the communication is an import declaration under 71A of the Act for the goods, in an approved statement in accordance with section 71L of the Act.

(2)  The communication may be by a SMTP email addressed to a nominated Department email address dedicated to the receipt of such messages.

7  Communicating application to move, alter or interfere with certain goods

(1)  Subsection (2) applies if:

(a)  a person wishes to communicate with the Department electronically; and

(b) the communication is an application under section 119AA or 119AB of the Act, in an approved statement, for permission to move, alter or interfere with goods in a particular way.

(2)  The communication must be by a SMTP email addressed to a nominated Department email address dedicated to the receipt of such messages.

8  Communicating nomination to participate in Australian Trusted Trader Programme

(1) Subsection (2) applies if a person wishes to electronically make a nomination to participate in the Australian Trusted Trader Programme under section 176B of the Act.

(2) The nomination must be made using the website, known as the ATT Portal, administered by the Department.

9  Signature

(1)  This section applies if:

(a)  a person, including a person acting on behalf of an organisation, communicates electronically with the Department using an SMTP email; and

(b)  the person is required to provide the person’s signature; and

(c)  the communication contains:

(i) an import declaration made under section 71A of the Act; or

(ii) an application for permission to move, alter or interfere with goods for export made under section 119AA of the Act; or

(iii) an application for permission to move, alter or interfere with goods that are no longer for export made under section 119AB of the Act.

(2)  The person must place the person’s full name in the SMTP email.

(3)  If the communication is made on behalf of an organisation that has an ABN, the SMTP email must include the name and ABN of the organisation.

Part 3—Information technology requirements for general communications

10  Communications generally

(1)  The information technology requirements in this Part apply to a person who:

(a)  is required or permitted to make a communication with the Department under:

(i)  Division 3 or 4 of Part IV of the Act; or

(ii)  Division 2 of Part VI of the Act; or

(iii) Section 163 of the Act; or

(iv)  Part IX of the Act; and

(b)  wishes to communicate with the Department electronically.

(2)  However, the information technology requirements in this Part do not apply to a person who wishes to communicate electronically with the Department in the circumstances mentioned in Part 2.

11  General requirements for electronic communications

  A person who communicates electronically with the Department must:

(a)  communicate by:

(i)  an EDI message attached to an S/MIME SMTP email to an email address specified by the Department; or

(ii)  an EDI message delivered by MQ over an MQ channel preconfigured by agreement with the Department; or

(iii)  the Cargo Interactive Facility using HTTPS to a Departmental website using a version of an internet browser that is supported by the Department for such transactions; and

(b)  be registered in:

(i)  the Common Connect Facility; and

(ii)  the Integrated Cargo System; and

(c)  communicate with the Department using Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) in accordance with the Commonwealth’s Gatekeeper® strategy administered by the Digital Transformation Agency; and

(d)  configure the person’s email software with the appropriate digital certificate to be able to decrypt encrypted emails sent to the person by the Department.

Note:       The Commonwealth Gatekeeper® strategy could in 2021 be viewed on the Australian Government Digital Transformation Agency’s website ( Standards and specifications for EDI messages

  A person who communicates electronically with the Department by an EDI message attached to an S/MIME SMTP email or delivered by MQ must comply with the UN/EDIFACT D99B standards, in accordance with the ICS Message Implementation Guidelines of the ICS Software Developers Guide, as in force at the commencement of this Determination and published on the Department’s website.

Note:       The ICS Message Implementations Guidelines of the ICS Software Developers Guide could in 2021 be viewed on the Department’s website ( Information technology requirements for signature

(1)  The information technology requirements in this section and section 15 apply to a person who is required to sign an electronic communication with the Department under:

(a)  Division 3 or 4 of Part IV of the Act; or

(b)  Division 2 of Part VI of the Act; or

(c) Section 163 of the Act; or

(d)  Part IX of the Act.

(2)  A communication by an EDI message attached to an S/MIME SMTP email or delivered by MQ must be digitally signed and encrypted using PKI in accordance with the Commonwealth’s Gatekeeper® strategy.

14  Authentication to the Cargo Interactive Facility

(1)  A person using the Cargo Interactive Facility must authenticate the communication using a digital certificate issued in accordance with the Commonwealth’s Gatekeeper® strategy.

(2)  A communication using the Cargo Interactive Facility must be digitally authenticated and encrypted using PKI in accordance with the Commonwealth’s Gatekeeper® strategy.

15  Digital signature and certificate

(1)  The person must use the digital signature and associated digital certificate appropriate to the nature of the communication.

(2)  Any digital certificate for the communication must be issued:

(a)  by a Gatekeeper® accredited Certification Authority; and

(b)  in accordance with a Gatekeeper® Certificate Policy and Certificate Practice Statement.

(3)  The Gatekeeper® accredited Certification Authority referred to in subsection (2) must be an Authority that has been approved by the Department for that purpose.

Part 4—Electronic production of documents

16  Information technology requirements for producing documents

(1)  This section applies if:

(a)  a person is required to produce a document to the Department; and

(b)  the person wishes to produce the document electronically.

(2)  The document must be produced by sending an SMTP email addressed to a nominated Department email address attaching the document as a MIME attachment.

(3)  The attached document must be in a version of one of the following standard document formats supported by the Department:

(a)  Microsoft Word;

(b)  Microsoft Excel;

(c)  HTML;

(d)  PDF;

(e)  plain text;

(f)  JPEG.

Schedule 1—Repeals

CEO Determination No. 2 of 2010

1  The whole of the instrument

Repeal the instrument.