EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Customs By-law No. 1700051
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 Comptroller-General 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
Item 38 in Schedule 4 of the Customs Tariff Act references a number of tariff subheadings, including 8703.22.20, 8703.23.20, 8703.24.20, 8703.31.20, 8703.32.20, 8703.33.20 and 8703.90.20, and provides that goods, as prescribed by by-law, which are components for use as original equipment in the assembly or manufacture of vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, are dutiable at the rate of “Free”.
The Customs Tariff Amendment (2017 Harmonized System Changes) Act 2016 commenced on 1 January 2017 and amended the Customs Tariff Act 1995 including inserting new tariff subheadings 8703.40.20, 8703.50.20, 8703.60.20, 8703.70.20 and 8703.80.20. The new tariff subheadings resulted in the reclassification of a subset of the goods previously classified to tariff subheadings 8703.22.20, 8703.23.20, 8703.24.20, 8703.31.20, 8703.32.20, 8703.33.20 and 8703.90.20.
By-law No. 1700051 replaces previous By-law No. 1300584, updating the references to relevant tariff subheadings.
Instrument
By-law No. 1700051 prescribes vehicle components for use as original equipment in the manufacture or assembly of the cab/chassis or drivable chassis of motor vehicles which:
a) have a gross vehicle weight greater than 3.5 tonnes; and
b) are classified under a heading or subheading listed in Table 1.
The by-law also prescribes vehicle components for use as original equipment in the assembly of motor vehicles which:
a) have a gross vehicle weight between 3.5 tonnes and 4 tonnes; and
b) are classified under a heading or subheading listed in Table 2.
A security must be lodged with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to ensure compliance with the conditions set out in the by-law.
Consultation
No consultation was undertaken in relation to By-law No. 1700051 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. 1700051 takes effect on and from 1 January 2017.