EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Customs By-law No. 2000668
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 an Act imposing duties of customs, and is therefore a Customs Tariff for the purposes of the Act.
Section 18 of the Customs Tariff Act provides for calculation of concessional duty.
Background
For the purposes of paragraph (a) of item 1 to Schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff Act, goods, as prescribed by by-law, that are scientific instruments or apparatus, to which Annex D to the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials Agreement or Annex D to the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials Protocol applies, are dutiable at the rate of “Free”.
Instrument
By-law No. 2000668 revokes and remakes previous by-law No. 1919366. By-law No. 2000668 prescribes goods consigned to the organisations and institutions listed within the by-law, being:
a) scientific instruments or apparatus;
b) spare parts, components or accessories specially designed for use with the scientific instruments or apparatus; and
c) tools specially designed and intended to assist in the maintenance, checking, gauging or repair of the scientific instruments or apparatus.
By-law No. 2000668 adds the following institutions to those listed in paragraph 2:
- Ear Science Institute Australia
- Olivia Newton John Cancer Research Institute
- Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
- Neuroscience Research Australia
- Translational Research Institute
- Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
- ANZAC Research Institute
- Telethon Kids Institute
- The Woolcock Institute
Paragraph 2 sets out the organisations to which the prescribed goods must be consigned for the purpose of paragraph (a) of the item.
Consultation
The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (DISER) was consulted in relation to By-law No. 2000668.
DISER consulted with the Department of Health to assess and confirm the eligibility of the nine institutions.
Commencement
By-law No. 2000668 commences on the day after registration.