EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1986 NO. 71
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR AVIATION AIR NAVIGATION (CHARGES) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Section 6 of the Air Navigation (Charges) Act 1952 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
Section 5A of the Act provides that the Minister, the Secretary or an authorized officer may, in prescribed circumstances, authorize such remission or refund of the whole or part of any charge due and payable under the Act, or of the whole or part of any amount payable by way of penalty under sub-section 5(2), as that person thinks just in all the circumstances.
At present most aircraft within the general aviation category attract, under section 5 of the Act and regulation 20, an annual charge payable in a lump sum on the first day of the year in respect of which it is payable. The year of the charge commences on the anniversary of registration of the aircraft.
Consideration is being given to replacement of annual charges with other arrangements from 1 July 1987.
A considerable part of any annual lump sum charge now becoming payable relates to a period beyond 30 June 1987, the date after which new charging arrangements are expected to come into operation. A mechanism is necessary to assist operators who could otherwise experience difficulties with the transition to the new charging arrangements and it is proposed to achieve this by varying the administrative procedures to permit collection of pro-rata payment of the annual charges in the period leading up to the changeover.
The new regulation 2A prescribes the circumstance for the purpose of section 5A in relation to remission and refund of penalty. The penalty that may be remitted or refunded under section 5A relates only to an annual charge that applies in respect of a year of registration expiring on or after 1 July 1987. The new regulation permits the Secretary or an authorized officer to remit or refund penalties which would otherwise apply where the pro rata air navigation charge was paid. Aircraft operators are therefore able
to pay air navigation charges calculated according to the operator’s liability for the period between the anniversary of registration and the date of commencement of new charging arrangements, without being penalised.
It is intended that new charging arrangements will be the subject of separate regulations. It is also intended that a transitional provision enabling refund or remission of that part of the charge relating to the period after the new charging system commences will be included in the amendments giving effect to the new arrangements.
Regulation 2A replaces a provision with fairly similar thrust in regard to aircraft that changed over from annual charges on 1 July 1986. The regulation now replaced prescribed a circumstance to allow for remission of penalties relating to a year of registration which expired after 1 July 1986. It no longer has any application and has been repealed as part of the current amendments.
Regulation 2B of the Air Navigation (Charges)
Regulations prescribes circumstances for the purposes of section 5A in relation to the authorization of a remission or refund of the whole or part of any penalty or charge payable under the Act.
Under sub-paragraph 2B(1) (b) (iv) of the Air Navigation (Charges) Regulations, remission or refund of annual charges and penalties in relation to annual charges may be authorized where an aircraft is an historical aircraft as defined in sub-regulation 2B(3). It is proposed to amend sub-regulation 2B(3) to increase the maximum flying time for the purpose of the definition of an “historical aircraft” from 30 hours to 50 hours and to extend the definition of such aircraft so as to permit an authorization of remission or refund where the Minister, Secretary or an authorized officer is satisfied that the aircraft is of considerable historical significance.
New paragraph 2B(1)(b) prescribes an additional circumstance for remission or refund of annual charges and associated penalties where an aircraft is temporarily withdrawn from use for a period exceeding 30 days. The new circumstance applies only where an aircraft is out of service as a result of circumstances
beyond the control of the holder of the certificate of registration, eg as a result of an accident or other extraordinary circumstance.
Sub-regulation 6(1) of the Air Navigation (Charges) Regulations (Amendment) (Statutory Rule 1986/169) is a transitional provision applying to those aircraft that were subject under Schedule 2 of the Act to annual charges payable in advance but that became subject to new landing charges from 1 July 1986. Because of an omission that transitional provision did not cover all aircraft changing from annual to landing charges. The new transitional provision overcomes that anomaly and permits remission or refund of annual charges or penalty paid or payable in respect of those aircraft not covered by the earlier transitional provision.
The opportunity has also been taken to correct some drafting inconsistencies in the wording of provisions relating to “authorized officers”.
(S.R. 79/87)