EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES NO. 406 of 1989
Issued by the authority of the Minister of State for Resources
EXPORT INSPECTION CHARGES COLLECTION ACT 1985
Export Inspection Charges Collection Regulations (Amendment)
Section 17 of the Export Inspection Charges Collection Act 1985 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
Section 4 of the Act Interpretation Act 1901 provides that where an Act, being an Act that is not to come into operation immediately upon its enactment is expressed to confer power, or
to amend another Act in such a manner that the other Act, as amended, will confer power, to make an appointment or to make an instrument of a legislative character, including regulations, then the power may be exercised, and anything may be done for the purpose of enabling the exercise of the power or of bringing the appointment or instrument into effect, before the Act concerned comes into operation as if it had come into operation. An instrument made under this section may provide for its coming into operation on a day no earlier than that on which the Act concerned comes into operation.
The Export Inspection Charges Collection Amendment Act 1987 (the Act), which will come into operation on the commencement of the Export Inspection (Establishment Registration Charges) Amendment Act 1987 on a date to be proclaimed, repeals section 4 of the Export Inspection Charges Collection Act 1985 which sets the date on which an amount of quantity, service or establishment registration charge is due for payment, and will substitute a new section 4 which will provide for amounts of charge to be due for payment as required by the regulations.
Consequently, it is necessary to amend the relevant regulations, namely the Export Inspection Charges Collection Regulations and the Export Inspection (Establishment
Registration Charge) Regulations to make provision for these requirements before the Export Inspection (Establishment Registration Charges) Amendment Act 1987 may be proclaimed and to enable both this Act and the Export Inspection Charges Collection Amendment Act 1987 to be brought into operation.
The Export Inspection Charges Collection Regulations (the Principal Regulations) provide the conditions and requirements for the collection of amounts of charge imposed by the other charging Acts and regulations, namely the Export Inspection (Service Charge) Act 1985, the Export Inspection (Quantity Charge) Act 1985 and the Export Inspection (Establishment Registration Charge) Act 1985.
The proposed Export Inspection Charges Collection Regulations (Amendment) Regulations amend the Principal Regulations for the purposes of section 4 of the Act to provide for an amount of establishment registration charge imposed under the Export Inspection (Establishment Registration Charges) Regulations to
be paid annually in advance on the day on which the registration comes into force and on each anniversary of that day and to provide for an amount of charge imposed for the registration of an establishment for additional operations during a registration year to be due for payment on the day on which the registration for additional operations comes into being.
The proposed Regulations also amend the Principal Regulations to allow for the occupier of an establishment which ceases to be registered to apply for a refund of charge for the number of unexpired months of registration, and also to allow the occupier of an establishment in which operations are reduced to apply for a refund of any excess amount of registration charge for any complete prescribed month occurring after the reduction.
In addition, the proposed Regulations provide for the purposes of section 4 of the Act that the amount of charge for a quantity of a prescribed commodity for which an export permit
is granted is due to be paid at the end of 28 days after the end of the month in which the export permit was issued and further provides that in respect of a charge for the provision of an export inspection service, payment is due at the end of 28 days after the end of the month in which the service was provided.
Details of the proposed amendments are set out in the attachment to this statement.
SR No 435/89
Attachment
Export Inspection Charges Collection Regulations (Amendment)
Regulation 1
This Regulation provides that these Regulations will commence on the date of commencement of Export Inspection (Establishment Regulation Charges) Amendment Act 1987, which will be the date of its proclamation by the Governor-General.
Regulation 2
This Regulation provides for the Export Inspection Charges Collection Regulations to be called, for the purpose of these Statutory Rules, the Principal Regulations.
Regulation 3
This Regulation repeals Regulation 2 of the Principal Regulations and substitutes a new Regulation 2 which defines,
for the purposes of the Principal Regulations, a prescribed month to mean, in relation to the registration of an establishment, the period of time commencing at the beginning of the prescribed day in a month and ending immediately before the beginning of the prescribed day in the next month, or any part of that period.
A prescribed day in relation to the registration of an establishment is defined as the twenty-eighth day in any month where the establishment is or was registered on the twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, thirtieth or thirty-first day in a month; or where the establishment was or is first registered on any other day in a month, that day in any month.
This Regulation provides that those definitions used in the Export Inspection (Establishment Registration Charges) Regulations (Amendment) are to be the same as for these Regulations. The Export Inspection (Establishment Registration Charges) Regulations (Amendment) are to be made contemporaneously with these Regulations.
For the purposes of these Regulations any reference to “the Act” is taken to be a reference to Export Inspection Charges Collection Act 1985.
Regulation 4
This Regulation inserts a new Regulation after Regulation 2A of the Principal Regulations which is Regulation 2B and specifies when amounts of charge imposed under the other charging Acts and these Regulations are due for payment for the purposes of section 4 of the Act.
New Regulation 2B states that the amount of charge for registration of an establishment which is imposed on an establishment registered for any operations associated with the preparation of a prescribed commodity as specified in the Export Inspection (Establishment Registration Charges) Regulations is due for payment on the day on which the establishment came or comes into force and on each anniversary of that day.
The Regulation 2B further provides that for registration of an establishment for additional operations during a registration year, the amount of establishment registration charge imposed is for those additional operations and is due for payment on the day on which the registration of those additional operations comes into force.
Proposed Regulation 2B also provides that the amount of charge for a quantity of a prescribed commodity under the Export Inspection (Quantity Charge) Act 1985 and Regulations in respect of which an export permit is granted is due for payment at the end of 28 days after the end of the month in which the export permit was granted; and that the amount of charge for the provision of an export inspection service is due for payment at the end of 28 days after the end of the month in which the service was provided.
Regulation 5
This Regulation repeals Regulation 6 of the Principal Regulations and substitutes new Regulation 6, which specifies the conditions under which amounts of charge may be refunded to the occupier of a registered establishment.
Subregulation 6(1) provides that the person who was the last registered occupier of an establishment which ceases to be registered may apply in writing to the Secretary of the Department for a refund of any amount of charge for the
registration of the establishment which has been paid for any complete and unexpired months of registration.
In addition, subregulation 6(2) provides that, where the rate of charge imposed for the registration of an establishment is reduced during the registration of an establishment, the person who is the registered occupier of the establishment at the time of the reduction may apply in writing to the Secretary of the Department for a refund of any excess amount of establishment registration charge that has been paid for any complete month, as prescribed under Regulation 3 of these amending Regulations, occurring after the reduction.
This provision is intended to provide the occupier of a registered establishment with an avenue for a refund should the operation of the establishment be downgraded.