EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Home Affairs
Customs Tariff Amendment (Schedule 4) Act 2012
Proclamation
Item 2 of subsection 2(1) of the Customs Tariff Amendment (Schedule 4) Act 2012 (the Act) provides for Schedules 1 and 2 to the Act to commence on a single day to be fixed by Proclamation.
Item 2 of subsection 2(1) of the Act also provides that if any of the provisions in Schedules 1 and 2 do not commence within the period of 6 months beginning on the day on which the Act receives the Royal Assent, they commence on the day after the end of that period.
The Act received the Royal Assent on 25 September 2012.
The purpose of the Proclamation is to fix 1 March 2013 as the day on which Schedules 1 and 2 to the Act commence.
Schedules 1 and 2 to the Act amend the Customs Tariff Act 1995 to repeal and replace Schedule 4 to that Act. Schedule 4 delivers a wide range of tariff concessions, which have the effect of reducing or removing the normal rate of customs duty that would otherwise apply. These concessions lower costs for businesses and individuals importing goods. New Schedule 4 removes items that are redundant or have no clear policy intent, consolidate items that have similar coverage and restructure the Schedule to place similar items together.
The Proclamation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Authority: Subsection 2(1) of the Customs Tariff Amendment (Schedule 4) Act 2012