EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
CUSTOMS (PROHIBITED EXPORTS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
STATUTORY RULES 1987 NO. 156
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR INDUSTRY, TECHNOLOGY AND COMMERCE
This Statutory Rule amends the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations (“the Regulations”) to correct technical deficiencies in the Regulations. The deficiencies are numbering duplications resulting from the contemporaneous processing of two recent separate amendments to the Regulations.
Statutory Rules 1987 No. 97, gazetted on 29 May 1987, imposed restrictions on the exportation of certain chemical compounds which were identified by reference to a new Schedule to the Regulations; to this end, regulation 4 of that Statutory Rule introduced a new regulation 13D, and regulation 7 introduced a new Schedule numbered “Schedule 15”.
Statutory Rules 1987 No. 115, gazetted on 15 June 1987 imposed restrictions on the exportation of militarily sensitive dual-use technology to “eastern-block” countries, which were also identified by reference to a new Schedule to the Regulations; to this end, regulation 2 of that Statutory Rule introduced new regulations 13E and 13F, and regulation 4 of that Statutory Rule introduced a new Schedule, also numbered “Schedule 15”.
Statutory Rules 1987 No.115 contained the following errors:
a. the new Regulation 13F erroneously referred to “regulation 13D” (instead of “regulation 13E”); and
b. the new “Schedule 15” introduced by regulation 4 ought to have been sequentially numbered “Schedule 16”.
This Statutory Rule corrects the errors by:
a. amending new regulation 13F to substitute correct references to new regulation 13E;
b. omitting the Schedule introduced by Statutory Rules 1987 No. 115, and substituting an identical Schedule renumbered “Schedule 16”; and
c. substituting, in new regulation 13E, references to the freshly renumbered Schedule 16;
The amendments provide as follows:
Regulation 1 is a formal machinery provision, to refer to the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations as the “Principal Regulations”.
Regulation 2 amends regulation 13E by replacing references to Schedule 15 with references to the renumbered Schedule 16.
Regulation 3 amends regulation 13F by omitting incorrect references to regulation 13D, and substituting references to regulation 13E.
Regulation 4 omits the incorrectly numbered Schedule 15 and substitutes an identical Schedule numbered “Schedule 16”.
Overview
The Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations (Amendment) Statutory Rules 1987 No. 156, issued by the authority of the Minister of State for Industry, Technology and Commerce, were enacted to address technical deficiencies in the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations arising from the simultaneous processing of two separate amendments. Specifically, the earlier Statutory Rules 1987 No. 97 and No. 115 had introduced new regulations and schedules but contained numbering errors. For example, Statutory Rules 1987 No. 115 incorrectly referenced a regulation and schedule that had been introduced by the prior Statutory Rules 1987 No. 97. The policy objective of this Statutory Rule was to correct these errors and ensure the Regulations were internally consistent and correctly referenced.
Scope and Application
The Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations (Amendment) Statutory Rules 1987 No. 156 applies to the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations, addressing technical errors identified in two previous amendments. Specifically, it corrects numbering duplications and incorrect references that arose from the simultaneous implementation of Statutory Rules 1987 No. 97 and No. 115. These amendments pertain to the export restrictions on certain chemical compounds and militarily sensitive dual-use technology, respectively. The corrections made by this Statutory Rule ensure that references within the Regulations are accurate and sequentially numbered, thereby maintaining the integrity and enforceability of the export restrictions. The scope of this amendment is limited to the internal consistency and referencing within the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations, without altering the substantive content of the export restrictions themselves. The Regulations apply nationally, governing the export of prohibited items across Australia.
Key Provisions
The main sections of these Statutory Rules pertain to correcting technical deficiencies in the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations (regulations 2, 3, and 4). Regulation 1 establishes a formal machinery provision by referring to the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations as the “Principal Regulations” (reg 1). Regulation 2 amends regulation 13E to replace references to Schedule 15 with references to the renumbered Schedule 16 (reg 2). Regulation 3 corrects an error in regulation 13F by replacing incorrect references to regulation 13D with references to regulation 13E (reg 3). Regulation 4 omits the incorrectly numbered Schedule 15 and replaces it with an identical Schedule, now numbered “Schedule 16” (reg 4).
These Statutory Rules impose obligations on the relevant parties to ensure that the Regulations accurately reflect the intended legislative amendments. Specifically, regulation 2 requires the re-reference of Schedule 15 to Schedule 16 in regulation 13E. Regulation 3 mandates the correction of regulation 13F to correctly reference regulation 13E instead of the erroneous reference to regulation 13D. Regulation 4 requires the removal of the incorrectly numbered Schedule 15 and its replacement with the correctly numbered Schedule 16.
There are no specific offences, penalties, or consequences outlined in the Statutory Rules themselves for breach of these amendments. However, breaches of the underlying Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations, which these amendments seek to correct, could result in civil or criminal penalties, depending on the nature of the breach and the specific regulations contravened. The penalties for breaches of the Customs Act 1901 can include fines and imprisonment, with the exact penalties varying based on the severity of the offence.