EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Customs By-law Amendment Notice (No. 1) 2013
Amendment of Customs By-law No. 1304168
Customs Act 1901
Section 271 of the Customs Act 1901 (the Act) provides, in part, that where an item of a Customs Tariff is expressed to apply to goods or to a class or kind of goods, as prescribed by by-law, the Chief Executive Officer of Customs may make by-laws for the purposes of that item. A Customs Tariff is defined in section 4 of the Act to mean an Act imposing duties of customs. The Customs Tariff Act 1995 (the Customs Tariff Act) is a Customs Tariff for the purposes of the Act.
Section 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provides that where an Act confers a power to make a legislative instrument, including customs by-laws, that power includes the power to amend any such instrument.
Background
A “free” rate of duty applies to goods specified in item 21 of Schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff Act. The goods, as prescribed by by-law, must be imported for repair or renovation and are to be exported.
Paragraph 3 of Customs By-law No. 1304168 prescribes goods, for the purposes of item 21, that are “returned to Australia for repair or alteration, and are to be exported”. The use of the term “returned” requires that the goods were originally manufactured in Australia. However, such goods are already prescribed in Customs
By-law No. 1304161.
Instrument
Customs By-law Amendment Notice (No. 1) 2013 replaces the term “returned” with “imported”, in paragraph 3 of Customs By-law No. 1304168. This amendment gives effect to the intent of the By-law to allow goods that were not originally manufactured in Australia to be imported into Australia for repair or alteration, and subsequent exportation.
Consultation
No consultation was undertaken in relation to Customs By-law Amendment Notice (No. 1) 2013 as it is of a minor and machinery nature.
Human Rights Implications
This Amendment Notice does not engage, impact on, or limit in any way, the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in the definition of human rights at section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Commencement
Customs By-law Amendment Notice (No. 1) 2013 is deemed to have taken effect on 1 March 2013, that is the date of commencement of Customs By-law No. 1304168.