EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
CUSTOMS ACT 1901
CUSTOMS (PROHIBITED IMPORTS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
STATUTORY RULES 1990 NO. 265
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR INDUSTRY, TECHNOLOGY AND COMMERCE
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 - … (b) by prohibiting the importation of goods to a specified place; or (c) by prohibiting the importation of goods unless specified conditions or restrictions are complied with.
2A) 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 amend the Regulations to impose trade sanctions against Iraq and Kuwait following the Government’s announcement on 6 August of its acceptance of the United Nations Security Council’s Resolution calling upon member states to immediately implement sanction measures against both countries.
The importation into Australia of;
any goods from Iraq or Kuwait, or
any goods from a country other than Iraq or Kuwait which are of Iraqi or Kuwaiti origin, or
any goods which the Minister certifies that he or she has reasonable grounds for believing are from Iraq or Kuwait or are of Iraqi or Kuwaiti origin,
will be prohibited unless the permission in writing of the Minister or an authorised person to import the goods is produced to a Collector of the Australian Customs Service.
The prohibition regime allows exceptions via Ministerial permission (which is the standard export and import control regime), which will accommodate the special case situations for trade with both countries; eg. the humanitarian exemption noted in the United Nations Resolution, for instance.