EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Customs By-law No. 1300987
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.
Background
The Customs Tariff Amendment (Schedule 4) Act 2012 will repeal the existing Schedule 4 of the Customs Tariff Act and replace it with a new Schedule 4. As part of this process, new by-laws are required for all items that provide for goods to be prescribed by by-law.
Item 11 in the new Schedule 4 replaces item 8 of the previous Schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff Act. Item 11 provides that goods that are the subject of a Status of Forces Agreement between Australia and another country are dutiable at the rate of “Free”.
New By-law No. 1300987 replaces previous By-law No. 9640033.
Instrument
By-law No. 1300987 prescribes the following goods for the purposes of the Status of Forces Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of Papua New Guinea:
a) personal effects, furniture and household goods (other than cigarettes, cigars, tobacco or spirituous liquors) of a member of a Papua New Guinea Visiting Force, the civilian component of such a force or of a dependant; and
b) motor vehicles imported by a member of a Papua New Guinea Visiting Force or of the civilian component of such a force.
Consultation
No consultation was undertaken in relation to By-law No. 1300987 as it does not alter existing arrangements.
Human Rights Implications
This by-law 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
By-law No. 1300987 takes effect on and from the date that the Customs Tariff Amendment (Schedule 4) Act 2012 commences, that is 1 March 2013.