Overview

The Customs Act 1901 was amended in 2013 through the "Amendment of Approved Statement Instrument No. 5 of 2013" to address the need for more efficient reporting and clearance of air cargo in Australia. This instrument, enacted by the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, was introduced to incorporate a new field into the "SAC (SHORT FORM)" statement, specifically a Consignment Reference number. This change was in response to a request from the Conference of Asia Pacific Air Couriers to facilitate the tracking and clearance of part shipments that arrive over multiple flights. The addition of this reference number to the "SAC (SHORT FORM)" helps in linking import declarations to cargo reports that share the same House Air Waybill number but have different Master Air Waybill numbers, thereby enhancing the functionality of the Integrated Cargo System. This amendment ensures that the customs process is streamlined, particularly for air cargo, without any adverse impact on human rights.

Scope and Application

The Customs Act 1901 applies to various persons, entities, and industries, particularly those engaged in importing and exporting goods in Australia. This legislation is enforced at the Commonwealth level, ensuring a unified approach to customs regulation across the nation. The Act allows for the creation and approval of various statements, including the "SAC (SHORT FORM)" used for self-assessed clearance declarations. The "SAC (SHORT FORM)" was previously approved by the Chief Executive Officer of Customs through Instrument No. 63 of 2005 for use in electronically making self-assessed clearance declarations that do not accompany a cargo report. Recently, the "SAC (SHORT FORM)" has been amended to include a new field, "Consignment Reference," to assist with the reporting and clearance of part shipments that arrive over multiple flights. This amendment was made through the Amendment of Approved Statement Instrument No. 5 of 2013, which was communicated in consultation with the Conference of Asia Pacific Air Couriers, and does not substantially alter existing arrangements. The amendment aims to streamline the identification and linkage of import declarations to cargo reports, facilitating more efficient customs processing. The new field, which is part of the "SAC (SHORT FORM)," will also be added to the import declaration, warehouse declaration, and self-assessed clearance documents. This instrument does not impact human rights and commenced on 3 February 2013.

Key Provisions

The Amendment of Approved Statement Instrument No. 5 of 2013 modifies the Customs Act 1901 by updating the “SAC (SHORT FORM)”, a key document used for electronically making a self-assessed clearance declaration. Section 4A(1A) of the Act defines an approved statement as one that is endorsed in writing by the Chief Executive Officer of Customs, and section 4(2) specifies that such instruments are disallowable under the Acts Interpretation Act 1901. Under paragraph 6(d) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, these approved statements are classified as legislative instruments. The instrument approved by CEO Instrument No. 63 of 2005 has been revised to include a new field, number 42, titled Consignment Reference, which will be added to various documents such as the cargo report, import declaration, warehouse declaration, and self-assessed clearance documents (SACs). This new field will facilitate the identification and clearance of part shipments in cases where a single air cargo consignment arrives over multiple flights, thus improving the efficiency of the Integrated Cargo System (ICS). The obligations under this amendment require the Chief Executive Officer of Customs to incorporate the new Consignment Reference field into the “SAC (SHORT FORM)”. This will necessitate the updating of existing customs clearance processes and systems to accommodate this new field. Importers, customs brokers, and other relevant parties will need to ensure that their clearance documentation includes the new Consignment Reference field, which will be critical for the accurate reporting and clearance of part shipments. The amendment aims to streamline the customs clearance process by providing a unique identifier for cargo consignments, which will be especially useful for air cargo shipments that may be split across multiple flights. Breaches of the requirements set forth in this amendment could lead to operational inefficiencies and delays in the clearance process. However, the Explanatory Statement does not specify any explicit penalties for non-compliance with the new requirements. Instead, the focus appears to be on facilitating smoother and more efficient customs clearance procedures through the addition of the Consignment Reference field. The amendment does not engage or impact on human rights as defined in the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. The instrument commenced on 3 February 2013, as stated in the Explanatory Statement.