EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
CUSTOMS ACT 1901
CUSTOMS (PROHIBITED IMPORTS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
STATUTORY RULES 1990 NO. 191
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR SMALL BUSINESS AND CUSTOMS
Section 50 of the Customs Act 1901 provides in part that:
“1) The Governor-General may, by regulation, prohibit the importation of goods into Australia.
2) The power conferred by the last preceding sub-section may be exercised - … (c) by prohibiting the importation of goods unless specified conditions or restrictions are complied with.
3) Without limiting the generality of paragraph (2)(c), the Regulations - …(a) may provide that the importation of the goods is prohibited unless a licence, permission, consent or approval to import the goods or a class of goods in which the goods are included has been granted as prescribed by the regulations; and …”
The Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations (the Regulations) control the importation of the goods specified in the various Regulations or the Schedules to the Regulations, by prohibiting importation absolutely, or making importation subject to the permission of a specified person or Minister of State.
The Statutory Rules contain several amendments to the Regulations which remove the existing prohibitions against the importation of certain goods from Namibia;
Background
i) Removal of sanction measures against the importation of goods from Namibia
In March 1987 Government decided that sanction measures against South Africa be extended to Namibia from 1 June 1987. The import sanction measures were implemented by Statutory Rules 98 of 1987 which amended the Regulations. The sanctions were contained in Regulation 4Q and Schedule 7A of the Regulations.
• The prohibited imports included the following goods: batons, clubs, riot sticks and similar devices of a kind used for law enforcement purposes; animal
products; vegetable products, prepared foodstuffs; and mineral fuels.
Following Namibia’s independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, the Government decided on 2 April 1990 to remove the sanctions, with effect from the date of independence.
The Statutory Rules put into effect the decision of the Government of 2 April 1990 as follows:
• Regulation 2 amends Regulation 4Q of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations by removing all references to Namibia;
• Regulation 1 provides that the commencement of the removal of the existing prohibitions against the importation of certain goods from Namibia will be 21 March 1990; and
• Regulation 4 amends Schedule 7A to the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations by omitting all references to Namibia in the heading to the Schedule and in the Schedule itself.
The retrospective commencement of the removal of sanction measures against the importation of goods to Namibia does not offend Section 48(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, as it effectively confers a benefit and therefore does not impose any liabilities upon any persons.