EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1990 NO 99
Issued by the authority of the Minister of State for Resources
MEAT EXPORT CHARGE ACT 1984
MEAT EXPORT CHARGE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Section 8 of the Meat Export Charge Act 1984 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations not inconsistent with the Act prescribing matters necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
Under paragraph 5(1)(a) of the Act a charge is imposed on the making of applications for the grant of export permits authorizing the export of meat or meat products from Australia.
Under paragraph 5(1)(b) of the Act a charge is imposed on the making of applications for the issue of certificates under section 23 of the Export Control Act 1982. Section 23 provides that where the Secretary is satisfied that the government, or an authority of the government, of a country other than Australia requires a certification as to any matter relating to goods before the import of goods of that kind from Australia to that country will be permitted, the Secretary may, if the
Secretary is satisfied as to that matter, issue such a certificate to a person who wishes to export goods of that kind to that country.
Subsection 6(1) of the Act establishes the rate of charge on the making of an application of the kind referred to in paragraphs 5(1)(a) or (b) of the Act to be an amount prescribed but not exceeding 4.8 cents per kilogram of meat to which the application relates.
Regulation 7 of the Meat Export Charge Regulations, as amended by Statutory Rules No. 254 of 1989, imposed a charge of 0.5 cent per kilogram of meat in respect of export permit applications made on or after 1 October 1989 in order to recover the cost of the implementation of EXDOC, a system of electronic transfer of data required for the issue of export permits and health certificates applicable to meat exports.
In response to a Department of Finance direction that meat produced before 1 October.1989 should also be liable for this charge, regulation 7 also imposed a charge of 3.3 cents for ancillary meat inspection in respect of such meat, which comprised a 2.8 cents charge for ancillary meat inspection and the 0.5 cent EXDOC charge. Ancillary inspection of meat produced after 1 October 1989 became subject to a fee for service charging system under the Export Control Act 1982.
The charge for the EXDOC system was to be withdrawn by 31 May 1990, by which time cost recovery for the implementation of the system was to be completed.
Therefore, amendment of the Meat Export Charge Regulations has been necessary to repeal the 0.5 cent charge on meat produced both before and after 1 October 1989. The charge of 2.8 cents for ancillary inspection for meat produced before 1 October 1989 has been retained to allow for any remaining meat produced before that date.
The proposed Amendment omits subregulations 7(1) and 7(2) of the Meat Export Charge Regulations and substitutes a new subregulation 7(1), which imposes a charge of 2.8 cents per kilogram of meat prepared for export before 1 October 1989 for an application made on or after that date, and a new subregulation 7(2), which imposes a charge of 2.8 cents per 4ilogram of meat used as an ingredient in the production of meat products and prepared for export before 1 October 1989 for an application made on or after that date.