EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Customs By-law No. 1301120
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 45 in the new Schedule 4 replaces item 70 of the previous Schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff Act. Item 45 provides that split consignment goods, as prescribed by by-law, are dutiable at the rate of duty that would apply to the goods if they were the completed machine or equipment of which they are components.
New By-law No. 1301120 replaces previous By-law No. 0240007.
Instrument
By-law No. 1301120 prescribes goods that are the original components of a completed machine or equipment to which a single tariff classification applies, where:
a) the goods were sent to Australia as a single consignment but were accidentally separated for shipment;
b) the goods are of a size, shape or weight that transport necessities demand separate shipment; or
c) the nature of the goods is such that transport necessities require separate modes of shipment for some components.
Consultation
No consultation was undertaken in relation to By-law No. 1301120 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. 1301120 takes effect on and from the date that the Customs Tariff Amendment (Schedule 4) Act 2012 commences, that is 1 March 2013.