EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 1986 No. 174
Customs Regulations (Amendment)
Issued by Authority of the Minister of State for Industry, Technology and Commerce
Section 39 of the Customs Act 1901 provides that where an entry in respect of goods has been made, the Customs may give authority, in accordance with the regulations, for those goods to be dealt with in accordance with that entry.
Customs Regulation 23AA currently provides for an authority under Section 39 of the Customs Act to be inscribed on, or attached to, a copy of the entry given in respect of the goods.
Owners of goods and agents acting for owners have expressed concern that compliance with the regulation places in the hands of airlines or shipping companies information which goes far beyond that necessary for the purpose of identifying the goods to be delivered. It is felt the present requirement constitutes an infringement of privacy. The Australian Customs Service recognises the legitimacy of the complaint and agrees that it would be appropriate for the authority to be given on a ‘skeleton’ copy of the entry that contains only the particulars that are necessary to identify the goods to which the authority relates.
The amended Regulation will allow goods to be imported into Australia with an entry attached to, or inscribed on a prescribed document. A prescribed document is defined in new Sub-Regulation 23AA(2) as being:
(a) a copy of the Customs entry;
(b) a copy of the entry in abridged form; or
(c) a ‘commercial document’, which has the same meaning as in Section 38B of the Act i.e. –a document prepared in the ordinary course of business for the purposes of a commercial transaction involving the goods or the carriage of goods. Such a document must have been delivered to a Collector under Section 38B of the Act, and must have been dealt with in accordance with Regulation 23AA.