Honey Levy Act (No. 1) 1962

Legislation au C1962A00106 Not in force Act

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Act No. 106 of 1962 as amended

Consolidated as in force on 9 May 2000

(includes amendments up to Act No. 32 of 1999)

[Note: This Act is repealed by No. 32, 1999]

Prepared by the Office of Legislative Drafting
Attorney‑General’s Department, Canberra

Contents

1 Short title [see Note 1]...........................

2 Commencement [see Note 1].......................

3A Interpretation.................................

4 Imposition of levy [see Note 2]......................

5 Rates of levy.................................

6 Levy payable by vendor..........................

6A Exemptions..................................

7 Regulations..................................

Notes

An Act to impose a Levy on certain Honey produced in Australia and sold

1 Short title [see Note 1]

This Act may be cited as the Honey Levy Act (No. 1) 1962.

2 Commencement [see Note 1]

This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

3A Interpretation

(1) In this Act:

Corporation means the Australian Horticultural Corporation.

producers’ organisation means the organisation known as the Federal Council of Australian Apiarists’ Associations, or, if another organisation is for the time being prescribed for the purposes of this definition, that other organisation.

R & D authority means:

(a) where the levy is not attached to an R & D Corporation or R & D Fund under section 5 of the Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development Act 1989—the Honey Research Council established under subsection 11(2) of the Rural Industries Research Act 1985; or

(b) where the levy is attached to an R & D Corporation under section 5 of the Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development Act 1989—the R & D Corporation; or

(c) where the levy is attached to an R & D Fund under section 5 of that Act—the R & D Council in respect of which the R & D Fund is established under that Act.

R & D Corporation has the same meaning as in the Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development Act 1989.

R & D Council has the same meaning as in the Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development Act 1989.

R & D Fund has the same meaning as in the Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development Act 1989.

(2) Unless the contrary intention appears, a word or expression contained in this Act that is not defined for the purposes of this Act but is defined in the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991 for the purposes of that Act has the same meaning in this Act as in the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991.

4 Imposition of levy [see Note 2]

(1) Subject to subsection (2), a levy is imposed on honey that is sold on or after a date to be fixed by the Minister by notice in the Gazette, being honey:

(a) produced in Australia on or after that date; or

(b) produced in Australia before that date and remaining in the ownership of the producer immediately before that date.

(2) Levy is not imposed under subsection (1) by reason of a sale of honey if:

(a) levy has been imposed by this Act on the honey by reason of a previous sale of the honey;

(b) the honey is, under the contract of sale:

(i) to be delivered to a place outside Australia; or

(ii) to be placed on board a ship or aircraft for export from Australia;

(d) the purchaser gives to the vendor a certificate in accordance with the prescribed form of the purchaser’s intention to export the honey, and neither the vendor nor any other person has, with respect to a previous sale of the honey, given a certificate for the purposes of this paragraph.

5 Rates of levy

(1) The levy imposed on honey by this Act is the sum of:

(a) a levy at the rate of 1.80 cents per kilogram of honey or, if another rate, not exceeding 5 cents per kilogram of honey, is for the time being prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph, that other rate; and

(b) a levy at the rate of 0.25 cent per kilogram of honey or, if another rate, not exceeding 0.75 cent per kilogram of honey, is for the time being prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph, that other rate.

(2) Before making regulations prescribing a rate for the purposes of paragraph (1)(a) or making regulations that amend or repeal regulations made for those purposes, the Governor‑General shall take into consideration any recommendation with respect to the rate made to the Minister by the producers’ organisation.

(2A) The producers’ organisation must not make a recommendation to the Minister unless it has consulted with the Corporation in relation to the recommendation.

(3) Before making regulations prescribing a rate for the purposes of paragraph (1)(b) or making regulations that amend or repeal regulations made for those purposes, the Governor‑General shall take into consideration any recommendation with respect to the rate made to the Minister by the R & D authority or by the producers’ organization.

6 Levy payable by vendor

Where, by reason of a sale of honey, levy is imposed on the honey by this Act, the levy is payable by the producer.

6A Exemptions

(1) Levy imposed by this Act is not payable in respect of honey sold by a person (not being honey sold by the producer by prescribed sale) in a month if the honey sold by the person in that month, together with the honey, if any, used by the person in that month in the production of other goods, weighs not more than 50 kilograms.

(1A) Levy imposed by this Act is not payable in respect of honey that, in a year, is sold by the producer by prescribed sale if the honey so sold by the producer in that year, together with the honey, if any, used by the producer in that year in the production of other goods, weighs not more than 600 kilograms.

(2) Levy is not payable by a person included in a prescribed class of persons.

(3) Before making regulations prescribing a class of persons for the purposes of subsection (2), the Governor‑General shall take into consideration any recommendation with respect to the proposed regulations made to the Minister by the producers’ organisation.

(4) The producers’ organisation must not make a recommendation to the Minister unless it has consulted with the Corporation in relation to the recommendation.

7 Regulations

The Governor‑General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.

Notes to the Honey Levy Act (No. 1) 1962

Note 1

The Honey Levy Act (No. 1) 1962 as shown in this consolidation comprises Act No. 106, 1962 amended as indicated in the Tables below.

All relevant information pertaining to application, saving or transitional provisions prior to 14 May 1999 is not included in this compilation. For subsequent information see Table A.

Table of Acts

Act	Number and year	Date of Assent	Date of commencement	Application, saving or transitional provisions
Honey Levy Act (No. 1) 1962	106, 1962	14 Dec 1962	14 Dec 1962
Honey Levy Act (No. 1) 1965	72, 1965	22 Nov 1965	22 Nov 1965	—
Honey Levy Act (No. 1A) 1965	141, 1965	18 Dec 1965	14 Feb 1966	—
Honey Levy Act (No. 1) 1973	187, 1973	14 Dec 1973	11 Jan 1974	—
Honey Levy (No. 1) Amendment Act 1980	147, 1980	19 Sept 1980	1 Dec 1980 (see s. 2 and Gazette 1980, No. G47)	S. 4(2)
Honey Levy Legislation Amendment Act 1985	5, 1985	29 Mar 1985	Ss. 1 and 2: Royal Assent Remainder: 1 Jan 1986	—
Rural Industries Research (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 1985	103, 1985	3 Oct 1985	3 Oct 1985	Ss. 2(2) and 4‑10
Honey Levy (No. 1) Amendment Act 1988	31, 1988	11 May 1988	1 Jan 1989 (see s. 2 and Gazette 1988, No. S399)	S. 4(2)
Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development Act 1989	17, 1990	17 Jan 1990	Ss. 9, 26(2), 31(2), 36(2) and 39(2), Part 3 (ss. 92‑121), s. 156 and Schedule 1: 1 July 1990 Remainder: Royal Assent	—
Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection (Consequential Provisions) Act 1991	26, 1991	1 Mar 1991	1 July 1991 (see s. 2)	—
Honey Levy (No. 1) Amendment Act 1991	153, 1991	21 Oct 1991	21 Oct 1991	—
Honey Legislation (Repeal and Amendment) Act 1992	122, 1992	17 Oct 1992	1 Jan 1993	—
Primary Industries Levies and Charges (Consequential Amendments) Act 1999	32, 1999	14 May 1999	Schedule 1 (items 45, 46): 1 July 1999 (a)	Sch. 1 (item 46) [see Table A]

(a) The Honey Levy Act (No. 1) 1962 was repealed by the Primary Industries Levies and Charges (Consequential Amendments) Act 1999, subsection 2(1) of which provides as follows:

(1) Subject to this section, this Act commences on the commencement of section 1 of the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 1999.

Table of Amendments

ad. = added or inserted am. = amended rep. = repealed rs. = repealed and substituted
Provision affected	How affected
S. 3....................	rep. No. 26, 1991
S. 3A...................	ad. No. 72, 1965
	rs. No. 147, 1980
	am. No. 103, 1985; No. 31, 1988; No. 17, 1990; No. 26, 1991; No. 122, 1992
S. 4....................	am. No. 147, 1980
S. 5....................	am. No. 72, 1965; No. 141, 1965; No. 187, 1973
	rs. No. 147, 1980
	am. No. 103, 1985; No. 31, 1988; No. 17, 1990; No. 153, 1991; No. 122, 1992
S. 6....................	am. No. 26, 1991
S. 6A...................	ad. No. 72, 1965
	am. No. 187, 1973; No. 147, 1980; No. 5, 1985; No. 122, 1992

Note 2

The date fixed was 1 March 1963 (see Gazette 1963, No. 9, p. 446).

Table A

Application, saving or transitional provisions

Primary Industries Levies and Charges (Consequential Amendments) Act 1999 (No. 32, 1999)

Schedule 1

46 Application

The repeal of the Honey Levy Act (No. 1) 1962 by this Schedule applies to honey sold after the commencement of this item.

Overview

The Honey Levy Act (No. 1) 1962, enacted by the Parliament of Australia, was introduced to address the need for a structured levy on honey produced and sold within Australia, thereby ensuring the funding of industry-specific research and development. The Act aimed to generate revenue for the Australian Horticultural Corporation and the relevant research and development bodies by imposing a levy on honey sold post the Act's commencement. The policy objective of the Act was to support the honey industry through funding directed towards research and development activities, ensuring the sector's growth and sustainability. The Act was repealed by the Primary Industries Levies and Charges (Consequential Amendments) Act 1999, which streamlined and consolidated various primary industry levies and charges into a more cohesive legislative framework.

Scope and Application

The Honey Levy Act (No. 1) 1962 applies to the imposition of a levy on honey produced in Australia and sold on or after the date specified by the Minister through a notice in the Gazette. The Act applies to any honey produced in Australia on or after this specified date, as well as honey produced before this date but remaining in the ownership of the producer immediately before this date. The levy is imposed on honey sold by the producer or through vendors, with exceptions for certain sales to listed honey dealers or for export. The Act defines specific terms such as "producers' organisation" and "R&D authority," which play roles in the recommendation and consultation processes regarding the rates of levy. The rates themselves are subject to recommendations by the producers' organisation and the R&D authority, which the Governor-General must consider before making regulations. The Act also outlines exemptions for small quantities of honey sold by certain persons and allows for the creation of regulations by the Governor-General to implement the provisions of the Act. The geographic reach of the Act is national, applying to all honey produced and sold within Australia. The Act was repealed by the Primary Industries Levies and Charges (Consequential Amendments) Act 1999, which means it no longer applies to honey sold after the commencement of the repealing item in the later Act.

Key Provisions

The Honey Levy Act (No. 1) 1962, as consolidated and in force until its repeal, imposes a levy on honey produced and sold in Australia. The levy is imposed on honey sold on or after the commencement date of the Act, as specified by a notice in the Gazette, which was 1 March 1963 (section 4). The Act mandates that the levy is payable by the producer of the honey (section 6). The levy is comprised of two components, with the primary component being a rate of 1.80 cents per kilogram of honey, subject to any amendments made by regulation (section 5(1)(a)). The secondary component is a rate of 0.25 cent per kilogram of honey, also subject to regulatory changes (section 5(1)(b)). Before the Governor-General can make regulations changing these rates, recommendations must be considered from the producers' organisation for the primary component and from either the research and development authority or the producers' organisation for the secondary component (section 5(2) and (3)). The Act specifies certain circumstances in which the levy does not apply. These include sales where the honey is intended for export, sales between a producer and a listed honey dealer, and sales where the purchaser provides a certificate of intent to export the honey (section 4(2)). Additionally, the levy is exempt for small-scale sales by producers and other sellers, with thresholds set at 600 kilograms per year for producers and 50 kilograms per month for other sellers (section 6A(1) and (1A)). Exemptions for certain classes of persons can be prescribed by regulation, with recommendations from the producers' organisation considered by the Governor-General before any such regulations are made (section 6A(2) and (4)). The Act allows for the imposition of penalties for breaches. However, the specific penalties are not detailed within the Act itself but are likely to be found in related legislation or regulations. Typically, breaches of such Acts can lead to civil penalties, including fines, and in more severe cases, criminal penalties, which may involve imprisonment. The exact nature and severity of these penalties would be determined by the relevant courts when adjudicating on specific cases of non-compliance.

Area of Law: Commercial Law
Instrument: Act
Concepts: Definitions & Interpretation; Commencement Provisions; Reporting & Disclosure Obligations; Licensing & Registration; Prohibited Conduct; Enforcement Powers

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