Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations (Amendment)

Regulation 1:

provides that the proposed regulations will come into operation on 1 January, 1988.

Regulation 2:

identifies the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations (“the Regulations”) as the regulations being amended.

Regulation 3:

omits subregulation 9(4), relating to the definition of “petroleum products” &c. from the Regulations, as a consequence of the proposed transfer of this definition to regulation 13C (see regulation 4).

Regulation 4:

adds a new subregulation 13C(3) to the Regulations, which defines the meaning of “petroleum”, “petroleum products” and “petroliferous mineral” for the purpose of item 8 in Schedule 14 to the Regulations. The definitions were previously contained in subregulation 9(4), which is omitted from the Regulations by Regulation 3 (above)

Regulation 5:

removes the following goods from export controls:

(i) goods and materials intended for human consumption and declared in writing by an officer of Customs to be unfit for export by reason of being contained in containers which are soiled, disfigured or damaged;

(ii) wines (fortified or unfortified) declared in writing by the Minister for Industry, Technology and Commerce to be of such a quality that their exportation would be harmful to the reputation of Australian wine in a country to which they were to be exported;

(iii) opium prepared for smoking, including dross and any other form of charred opium; and

(iv) ketobemidone and its salts and preparations containing ketobemidone or any of its salts

• the latter two items have been transferred to the export control regime contained in the Eighth Schedule to the Regulations (see regulation 9 below).

Regulation 6:

removes goods shipped as ship’s stores and the items contained in Part IV of Schedule 2 (“Goods capable of being used for purposes of War”) from export controls.

Regulation 7:

removes serum produced from the blood of a bovine animal, including the foetus of a bovine animal, and any product derived from serum so prepared, from export controls.

Regulation 8:

removes lead ores and concentrates, crude lead, slag and other residues, manganese ores, beneficiated manganese ores, manganese concentrates and agglomerates of manganese, nickel ores and concentrates, nickel matte, nickel oxide sinters, nickel cobalt sulphide and other intermediate products of nickel metallurgy, copper ores, zinc ores and concentrates, slags and other residues, petroleum and petroleum products (other than liquefied petroleum gas and liquefied natural gas), from export controls.

Regulation 9:

imposes export controls on ketobemidone and its salts and preparations containing ketobemidone or any of its salts and opium prepared for smoking, including dross and any other forms of charred opium.

• These goods are removed from the First Schedule to the Regulations by Regulation 5, discussed above, which prohibits the exportation of these goods absolutely. They have now been placed in Part 1 of the Eighth Schedule to the Regulations, which prohibits the exportation of the goods unless permission to export the goods has been granted by the Secretary for Health and Community Services.

Regulation 10:

prohibits the exportation of crude oil, petroleum and petroleum products that is to be exported to Namibia or South Africa, unless permission has been granted by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, or an authorised person.

• While export controls on these products generally have been lifted, as part of the Government’s decision to deregulate the crude oil market as from 1 January, 1988, the embargo on the exportation of these products to South Africa is to be continued.