EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
EXCISE ACT 1901
EXCISE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
STATUTORY RULES 1990 NO. 7
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR LAND TRANSPORT AND SHIPPING SUPPORT FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR SCIENCE, CUSTOMS AND SMALL BUSINESS
Section 164 of the Excise 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 …”
Section 79 of the Act provides that regulations may make provision for and in relation to allowing drawbacks of excise duty. Regulations 76-78E inclusive of the Excise Regulations prescribe a regime for the drawback of excise duties paid on goods when those goods are exported and not subsequently imported.
The Government announced in May 1988 its decision to continue export concessions via duty drawback arrangements (as a means of promoting further export trade), but with modifications to simplify the scheme, standardise benefits and reduce costs to users.
The Statutory Rules seek to implement the Government’s stated intentions by making a number of amendments to the existing drawback regime contained in regulations 76-78E. Details of the Statutory Rules are set out in the Attachment hereto.
The principal elements of the drawback regulation scheme are:
- the application of self-assessment principles to all claims for drawback, which will broaden the base of potential claimants.
and
- new control requirements to restrict drawback claims to the 12 months post-exportation, together with the requirement that prior to exportation notice of intention to claim is given to permit, if required, the examination by Customs of those goods.
Attachment
regulation 1: provides for a commencement date for the amendments of 29 January 1990.
regulation 2: amends regulation 78 of the Excise Regulations by adding a new subregulation 78(3) which prevents payment of drawback in circumstances where:
- the import duty paid on the goods has been refunded (new paragraph 78(3)(a)) eg. a control against “double-dipping”);
- after exportation, the goods are relanded in Australia (new paragraph 78(3)(b).
regulation 3: repeals regulations 78A, 78B, and 78C of the Excise Regulations and substitutes new regulations 78A, 78B, 78C and 78CA as follows:
New regulation 78A: prescribes certain conditions that must be satisfied before drawback is payable in respect of goods generally or “specified goods” as defined in regulation 77:
new subregulation 78A(1): specifies conditions generally that have to be met to obtain payment of drawback. Those conditions include:
- the giving of a notice of intention to claim drawback by the owner of the goods (new paragraph 78A(1)(a)):
- availability of physical and documentary verification of a drawback claim (new paragraphs 78A(1)(b) & (c));
- the provision of a claim on an approved form (including relevant statements by the person making the claim) after exportation of the goods and within 12 months of that exportation (new paragraphs 78A(1)(d) and (e));
- the amount of the drawback must be at least $50 (new paragraph 78A(1)(f)).
new subregulation 78A(2): imposes certain obligations on either a manufacturer or owner of “specified goods” as defined in regulation 77 before drawback is payable.
• The obligation is essentially one requiring Customs to be notified of the intention to either manufacture the goods or subject them to a process or treatment with the goal of then exporting those goods. The purpose of the notice is to facilitate an audit of the goods for determining what part of the final exported.
product is eligible for drawback. A similar requirement was previously contained in subregulation 78A(3).
new subregulation 78A(3): allows the Collector to require manufacture, processing or treatment of goods to take place under the supervision of an officer if considered necessary.
new subregulation 78A(4): allows the Comptroller to either exempt an owner from the requirement to lodge a notice of intention (new paragraph 78A(4)(a)) or to approve the payment of drawback notwithstanding a failure to lodge such a notice (new paragraph 78A(4)(b)).
New Regulation 78B: prescribes the amount of drawback that may be claimed in respect of goods as an amount equal to or less than the amount of excise duty paid but never in excess of that amount.
New Regulation 78C: incorporates the provisions previously contained in subregulations 78A(4), (5) and (6), being a control mechanism whereby the Collector may require goods to be packaged, marked or labelled in a particular manner.
New Regulation 78CA: prevents “double-dipping”, by providing that where a rebate has been paid in respect of goods the subject of a claim for drawback, the amount of drawback payable is to be reduced accordingly.
regulation 4: amends regulation 78D of the Excise Regulations so as to extend the requirement to assist Excise officers beyond the time when a person has submitted a claim for drawback, to when a person has lodged a notice of intention to claim drawback under new paragraph 78A(1)(a).
regulation 5: repeals regulation 78E of the Excise Regulations since that provision is now redundant in view of the fact that the new drawback regime only operates post-exportation.
regulation 6: amends the existing regulation 247 of the Excise Regulations, which provides jurisdiction for review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, to reflect the reference changes made to the previous drawback regime by the proposed amendments.