Customs Regulations (Amendment)

Administered by Attorney-General's Department

Legislation au F1996B04074 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

CUSTOMS ACT 1901

CUSTOMS REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)

STATUTORY RULES 1990 NO. 147

ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR SMALL BUSINESS AND CUSTOMS

Section 270 of the Customs Act 1901 (the Act) provides in part that “The Governor-General may make regulations not inconsistent with this Act prescribing all matters which by this Act are required or permitted to be prescribed or as may be necessary or convenient to be prescribed for giving effect to this Act or for the conduct of any business relating to the Customs ...”

Section 85 of the Act provides in part that “(1) Such fees as are prescribed are payable in respect of warehouse licenses”.

The Statutory Rules contain several amendments to the Customs Regulations (the Regulations) which:

i) revise the scale of fees for warehouse licences;

ii) revise the transaction fees for the movement of goods out of warehouses; and

iii) align the quarterly periods for which transaction fees are levied to coincide with the beginning and end of the financial year.

Background

Warehouse licence fees are payable annually on the basis of a scale of fees prescribed within regulations 50 and 52 of the Regulations. These fees are reviewed annually in order to recover the costs associated with administering the warehouse system.

The new scale of fees to be used for the 1990-1991 financial year has now been calculated. In 1989-90 and previous years, the fees have been based on a Price Waterhouse formula which used resource costs in the Victorian Collectorate as a model to estimate total ACS costs in administering warehouses. (Price Waterhouse Associates were engaged by the ACS in 1984 to determine a fee structure based on cost recovery). As the Victorian Collectorate is no longer necessarily representative of the Australia wide costs incurred in warehouse control, the new fees have been calculated from costs incurred in each Region during 1989-90. A 4% increase on 1989-1990 costs has been included to provide for prospective costs - an approach supported by the Department of Finance costs recovery guidelines. Other aspects of the Price Waterhouse formula have been retained.


In addition, the fee prescribed in regulation 52 for transactions involving the movement of goods out of warehouses has been increased from $8.80 to $9.30. This increase has been calculated against the national wage increase of 6% in 1989-90, which is used as the measure for cost recovery in this provision.

Further, the quarterly periods for which transaction fees are levied have been aligned with the beginning and end of the financial year.

Details of the amendments are as follows:

Regulation 1: provides for the regulations to come into operation on 1 July 1990, the date of commencement of the licensing period.

Regulation 2: amends regulation 50 of the Customs Regulations to abolish the fee relating to manufacturing in bond, as a consequence of the termination of manufacturing in bond in Act No. 5 of 1990 (Sections 7 and 8) as from 1 January 1990.

Regulation 3: amends regulation 52 of the Customs Regulations by;

• increasing the fees charged in paragraph 52(1)(a) and 52(1)(b) from $8.80 to $9.30 (subregulation 31 a)). This increase has been calculated against the national wage increase of 6% in 1989-1990, which is used as the measure for cost recovery in this provision.

• aligning the quarterly periods for which transaction fees are levied to coincide with the beginning and end of the financial year (subregulation 3(b)). At present, the quarterly periods for which fees are levied do not coincide with the beginning and end of the financial year (eg., at present, the last quarter in the financial year, for the purposes of transaction fees, commences on 1 March and concludes immediately before 1 June). Debit notes for the transaction fees are computer generated and so amendments to transaction fees made effective from 1 July of a previous year necessitated a change in the computer programme and therefore required a special “once-off” run for the month of June. Such programming changes could become onerous and therefore administratively undesirable, particularly if the transaction fees are increased annually to keep abreast of administrative costs.

Regulation 4: further amends regulation 50 of the Customs Regulations as set out in the Schedule;

• increasing the prescribed fee for new warehouse licences from $7,591 to $8,199.

• increasing the prescribed fee for the renewal of a warehouse licence from $5,919 to $6,403.

• increasing for the purposes of subregulation 50(2) and 50(2B) the amounts to be payable in respect of licences, where the licence relates to:

- handling of bulk liquids other than potable spirits - from $427 to $453;

- the authorisation of the property of the licensee or associates of the licensee and no other - from $301 to $319;

- the authorisation of the handling of property that is not the property of the licensee or associate - from $265 to $281;

- the handling of potable spirits - from $393 to $417;

- duty free shops - from $375 to $398;

- approved places for the purposes of the Excise Act 1901 or where a warehouse is subject to an application under section 5A of that Act - from $427 to $453;

• increasing the deductions which may be made from fees payable under subregulations 50(2) and 50(2B):

- where computer accounting systems are used that provide real time status reporting - from $128 to $136;

- where monthly status reporting systems are used - from $312 to $331;

- where the system of recording and accounting used in relation to the warehouse includes the use of a computer having both real time status reporting and monthly status reporting capacity - from $440 to $467.

Overview

The Customs Regulations (Amendment) Statutory Rules 1990 No. 147, issued under the authority of the Minister of State for Small Business and Customs, were enacted to address the need for updating the scale of fees for warehouse licenses and transaction fees for the movement of goods out of warehouses, as well as to align the quarterly periods for which these fees are levied. The Customs Act 1901 grants the Governor-General the power to make regulations necessary or convenient to give effect to the Act, including prescribing fees for warehouse licenses as per section 85 of the Act. These amendments aim to ensure that the fees adequately reflect the costs associated with administering the warehouse system, based on the latest available data, and to simplify the administrative process by aligning fee periods with the financial year. The amendments made by these regulations include increasing the fees for warehouse licenses and the transaction fees for the movement of goods out of warehouses, reflecting a 4% increase based on the costs incurred in each region during 1989-90 and a 6% increase aligned with the national wage increase for 1989-90. Additionally, the quarterly periods for levying transaction fees have been adjusted to coincide with the financial year, thereby streamlining the administrative process and reducing the need for special programming changes.

Scope and Application

The Customs Regulations (Amendment) Statutory Rules 1990 No. 147 applies to all entities and individuals who hold or apply for a warehouse licence under the Customs Act 1901 and those involved in the movement of goods out of warehouses. These regulations amend the Customs Regulations by revising the scale of fees for warehouse licences, adjusting transaction fees for the movement of goods out of warehouses, and aligning the quarterly periods for which transaction fees are levied to coincide with the beginning and end of the financial year. The changes are intended to ensure that the fees reflect the actual costs incurred in administering the warehouse system and to streamline the collection of these fees. The regulations extend across the Commonwealth of Australia, with the revised fees applying from 1 July 1990, the start of the licensing period. The amendments made by these statutory rules do not exclude any particular person or entity and apply uniformly across all regions, although the specific costs used in calculating the new fees have been adjusted to better reflect Australia-wide costs. There are no specific exemptions provided within the text, although it is likely that certain categories of goods or transactions may be exempt from these fees under other provisions of the Customs Act 1901 or related legislation. The application of these regulations may be further refined or extended through subordinate instruments, although no such instruments are mentioned in the provided text.

Key Provisions

The Customs Regulations (Amendment) Statutory Rules 1990 No. 147, issued under the authority of the Minister of State for Small Business and Customs, primarily revises the fee structure for warehouse licences and transactions involving the movement of goods out of warehouses, and aligns the quarterly periods for which these transaction fees are levied with the financial year. Regulation 1 sets the commencement date for these amendments as 1 July 1990, which is the beginning of the licensing period. Regulation 2 eliminates the fee for manufacturing in bond due to the termination of this practice as per Act No. 5 of 1990. Regulation 3 updates the transaction fees for moving goods out of warehouses, increasing them from $8.80 to $9.30, and aligns the quarterly periods for these fees to coincide with the financial year. The Regulations impose various obligations on parties and entities involved in warehouse operations and the movement of goods. Firstly, they require the payment of revised fees for warehouse licences and transactions. Warehouse licence fees are now to be paid annually based on the new scale of fees outlined in regulation 50 and 52. Additionally, these fees are calculated to recover the costs associated with administering the warehouse system, taking into account the costs incurred in each region. Secondly, the regulations mandate that the transaction fees for the movement of goods out of warehouses be updated in line with the national wage increase and the alignment of quarterly periods with the financial year. These obligations ensure that the fees reflect current administrative costs and simplify the fee structure. Failure to comply with the new fee structures and timelines outlined in the Customs Regulations (Amendment) Statutory Rules 1990 No. 147 may result in penalties or legal consequences. While the explanatory statement does not specify maximum penalties, non-compliance with the Act’s requirements generally may lead to enforcement actions. For instance, under Section 270 of the Customs Act 1901, the Governor-General has the authority to make regulations necessary for the effective conduct of business relating to Customs, and failure to adhere to these regulations may result in fines or other sanctions as determined by the court. Additionally, ongoing non-compliance could lead to administrative penalties or even revocation of warehouse licences, impacting the ability to conduct business involving the storage and movement of goods under the Customs Act.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.