Primary Industries Levies and Charges (National Residue Survey Levies) Amendment Regulations 1998 (No. 3) 1998 No. 316
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1998 No. 316
Issued by Authority of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
National Residue Survey (Customs) Levy Act 1998
National Residue Survey (Excise) Levy Act 1998
Primary Industries Levies and Charges (National Residue Survey Levies) Amendment Regulations 1998 (No. 3)
Section 8 of the National Residue Survey (Customs) Levy Act 1998 and Section 8 of the National Residue Survey (Excise) Levy Act 1998 provide that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted to be prescribed by the Acts, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Acts.
The purpose of these regulations is to reduce the National Residue Survey rate of levy on horse slaughter for human consumption from $3.00 per head to $2.50 per head and to rectify a drafting fault that incorrectly identified the National Residue Survey component of the macadamia nut levy as 0.2 cents per tonne instead of 0.2 cents per kilogram..
Schedule 1 of the regulations reduces the horse slaughter levy rate and commences on 1 August 1998. The NRS has been able to reduce the overall cost of the horse program by reducing the required number of analytical samples, based on reduced slaughter throughput. The levy is the preferred mechanism by which the horse meat industry chooses to meet the cost of its compulsory residue monitoring program that gives horse meat access to international markets.
Schedule 2 of the Regulations rectifies the drafting fault in the levy rate for macadamia nuts. Regulations to amend the drafting fault can only commence on the date of gazettal under Acts Interpretation Act requirements. No person will be disadvantaged as the macadamia nut industry has a unique levy system in that collection payments are only due twice a year, in September and March. The September 1998 payment was not affected by this drafting error as the period on which this payment was based ended at 30 June 1998. The Australian Macadamia Society re-affirmed its commitment to the 0.2 cents per kilo levy for its residue monitoring program at its Annual General Meeting held on 18 September 1998.