Customs (Statutory Rules 1992 No. 277) (Amendment) 1992 No. 326
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1992 No. 326
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Small Business, Construction and Customs
Customs Act 1901
Customs (Statutory Rules 1992 No. 277) (Amendment)
Section 270 of the Customs Act 1901 (the Act) provides in part that:
"(1) 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 ... for giving effect to this Act or for the conduct of any business relating to the Customs,..."
The Regulations amend Statutory Rules 1992 No. 277 (SR No. 277) to correct two typographical errors in SR No. 277 which were not discovered until after that Regulation had come into force.
On 1 September 1992 the Governor-General in Council made Regulations (SR No. 277) to amend the Customs Regulations to effect a number of changes consequential on the introduction of Electronic Lodgement and to amend Schedule 2 to enable "baby walkers', to be eligible for duty free importation via a Tariff Concession Order (TCO).
SR No. 277 contained two typographical errors which cause the Regulations to have a different effect to that which was intended. The errors, their effect and the corrections are outlined below.
i) Commencement of amendment to Schedule 2
Regulation 24 of SR No. 277 amended Schedule 2 to the Customs Regulations so that "baby walkers" would be eligible for duty free entry via the Tariff Concessions System. This amendment was intended to take effect from 22 April 1992, which was the date of the Government's decision.
A typographical error in the commencement provision of SR No. 277 provided for regulation 24 to commence on 22 April 1922. This error had the practical result of conferring a benefit on a particular applicant for a TCO who lodged an application on 9 October 1991. Under the Tariff Concessions provisions of the Act (subsection 269(n)(3) refers) an Order which results from that application has a date of effect 28 days before the date on which the application was lodged (i.e. 11 September 1991).
An amending regulation to now change the date to that originally intended would take that benefit away and therefore be in breach of subsection 48(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901. Therefore to avoid a breach of that provision, the amending regulation replaces the incorrect commencement date of regulation 24 with one of 11 September 1991, which is the date closest to that of the Government's decision which does not cause detriment to the particular applicant for a TCO.
Subregulation 3.1 of the attached Regulations amends the commencement provision in SR No. 277 to provide that regulation 24 is taken to have commenced on 11 September 1991.
ii) Amended Heading to Form 45A
Regulation 23 of SR No. 277 effected a number of technical amendments to the forms in Schedule 1 to the Customs Regulations consequential to the introduction of Electronic Lodgement. Subregulation 23.5 corrected a number of cross references to Principal Act provisions and a new subregulation in the heading to Form 45A. The amending subregulation incorrectly identified Form 45AA as the form to be amended and consequently omitted and replaced the heading of the wrong form.
Subregulation 4.1 of the attached Regulations amends subregulation 23.5 of SR No. 277 to omit the reference to Form 45AA and substitute a reference to Form 45A.
This regulation is taken to have commenced on 1 September 1992, the date of commencement of the principal Electronic Lodgement Regulations effected by SR No. 277.
Overview
The Customs (Statutory Rules 1992 No. 277) (Amendment) 1992 No. 326, issued under the authority of the Minister for Small Business, Construction and Customs, was enacted to address two typographical errors identified in Statutory Rules 1992 No. 277 that had unintended consequences. The primary objective of this amending regulation is to correct these errors and ensure that the regulations align with the intended legislative outcomes. Specifically, the amendment rectifies the incorrect commencement date for the eligibility of "baby walkers" for duty-free importation and corrects a misreference in the form amendments due to the introduction of electronic lodgment. The regulation ensures that the amendments do not inadvertently cause detriment to any party, thereby maintaining the integrity and fairness of the legislative process.
Scope and Application
The Customs (Statutory Rules 1992 No. 277) (Amendment) Regulations 1992 No. 326 are intended to correct two typographical errors in Statutory Rules 1992 No. 277, which had unintended consequences following their introduction. The Act applies to the amendment of the Customs Regulations, particularly in relation to the introduction of electronic lodgment and tariff concessions for certain items. The Regulations amend Schedule 2 to correct the commencement date for the tariff concession applicable to "baby walkers," ensuring that it aligns with the intended date of 22 April 1992 rather than the erroneous 22 April 1922. Additionally, the Regulations correct a heading error in Form 45A, rectifying a misreference from Form 45AA. These amendments are designed to ensure the Customs Regulations operate as intended, without causing unintended benefits or detriments to specific parties. The jurisdictional reach of these amendments is national, given they pertain to the Customs Act 1901, which is a Commonwealth Act.
Key Provisions
The main operative sections of the Customs (Statutory Rules 1992 No. 277) (Amendment) 1992 No. 326 are section 270 of the Customs Act 1901 and the amending regulations that correct the typographical errors in Statutory Rules 1992 No. 277. Section 270 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations to give effect to the Act or to conduct any business relating to Customs. The amending regulations, which are detailed in the explanatory statement, correct two errors in SR No. 277 that were not discovered until after the regulations had come into force. These amendments include correcting the commencement date for the eligibility of "baby walkers" for duty-free entry under a Tariff Concession Order and correcting an incorrect reference in Form 45A.
The obligations and requirements imposed by the amending regulations include ensuring that the commencement date for the tariff concession for "baby walkers" is correctly aligned with the date of the government's decision. This means that the regulations must ensure that the benefit intended by the government decision is not withdrawn from any applicants who have already lodged an application. The regulations must also ensure that the correct form, Form 45A, is amended with the appropriate heading, rather than an incorrect form, Form 45AA. These corrections are essential to ensure that the Customs Regulations accurately reflect the intended changes and do not cause unintended consequences or detriment to any parties.
There are no specific offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences mentioned in the explanatory statement for breaches of these amendments. However, any failure to comply with the corrected regulations could potentially result in non-compliance with the Customs Act 1901, which may lead to enforcement actions, penalties, or other consequences as outlined in the main Act. The penalties for breaches of the Customs Act 1901 can be severe and may include fines and imprisonment, depending on the nature and severity of the breach. The maximum penalties for various offences under the Customs Act can be found in the relevant sections of the Act, but these are not detailed in the explanatory statement for the amending regulations.