EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Customs By-law No. 1303598
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 32 in new Schedule 4 replaces item 40A of the previous Schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff Act. Item 32 provides that textiles, clothing and footwear, as prescribed by by-law are dutiable at the rate of “Free”.
New By-law No. 1303598 replaces previous By-law No. 9840001.
Instrument
By-law No. 1303598 prescribes fabrics classified under headings 5007, 5208, 5210, 5212, 5407, 5408, 5512, 5513, 5515 or 5516 in Schedule 3.
The prescribed goods are subject to the following conditions:
(a) the fabrics must weigh less than 125 grams per square metre;
(b) the fabrics must be imported for the purpose of impregnating, coating, covering or laminating the fabrics with a permanent plastic addition of 30 grams per square metre or more by the importer who entered the goods for home consumption; and
(c) when the fabric is coated, it must be sold in that form or made up into finished products, other than curtains, by the importer.
Consultation
No consultation was undertaken in relation to By-law No. 1303598 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. 1303598 takes effect on and from the date that the Customs Tariff Amendment (Schedule 4) Act 2012 commences, that is 1 March 2013.