EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Quarantine Act 1908
Quarantine Service Fees Amendment Determination 2005 (No.1)
Subsection 86E of the Quarantine Act 1908 (“the Act”) provides that the Minister may make determinations that require fees of amounts set out in the determinations to be paid in respect of, inter alia, specified examinations or services carried out or provided under the Act, and that the determination may specify by whom the fees are payable.
The Quarantine Service Fees Determination 2005 (“the Determination”) sets out the fees that must be paid in respect of specified examinations or services carried out or provided under the Act. The Determination sets out fees for services performed by programs of the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (“AQIS”), including services for the quarantine clearance of imported goods.
The purpose of the Quarantine Service Fees Amendment Determination 2005 (No. 1) (“the Amendment Determination”) is to increase the fees for work undertaken in profiling and clearing imported goods for which the documentation is lodged in the electronic system known as the integrated cargo system (ICS). The IC is used for sea and air cargo. The proposed fee increases are from $6.50 to $14.00 for air cargo and from $6.50 to $7.00 for sea cargo.
The fee increases are a result of the recent change to the Customs Regulations 1926 made by the Customs Amendment Regulations 2005 (No. 6) that raised the threshold value of the goods for which an import declaration is required to be lodged on the ICS from $250 to $1,000. Importers of goods that are below the threshold value lodge self-assessed clearances (SACs) in ICS instead of import declarations. SACs provide less information than an import declaration and officers will therefore take longer to clear the goods described in the SACs because of the need to find information from other sources.
Some 600,000 additional SACs are expected to be referred to AQIS for profiling and clearing during the 2005-2006 financial year. An additional 25 full time equivalents and an information technology upgrade are required to ensure the quarantine integrity of the goods described in SACs. It is estimated that the increase in SACs will be weighted %95.7 to air cargo and 4.3% to sea cargo. The proposed fee increases reflect these weightings.
Consultation has occurred on the fee increases with the AQIS Industry Cargo Consultative Committee (“the AICCC”). The AICCC was established in 1993 to act as the peak industry consultative group between AQIS and the cargo handling and importing industry on all operational, policy, efficiency and strategic issues. One of the key roles of the AICCC is the consideration of program budgets, cost recovery mechanisms and charging levels and key program performance issues such as efficiencies and effectiveness indicators. Membership of the AICCC currently comprises representatives of component sections of the logistics and importing chain including shipping, air transportation, shore-based logistics, barrier clearance, international freight forwarding, express carriers, food and beverage importers and cargo owners. The AICCC supports the fee increases.
The Amendment Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (“the LIA”).
The Amendment Determination commences on the day it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments (“FRLI”).
Details of the Amendment Determination are set out below:
Section 1 provides that the name of the Amendment Determination is the Quarantine Amendment Determination 2005 (No.1).
The note to section 1 indicates that the Amendment Determination takes effect on the day that it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments. The date of effect of determinations made under section 86E of the Act is set by subsection 86E(3). Subsection 86E(3) states that a determination takes effect on the day that it is published in the Gazette. Publication in the Gazette is replaced by registration on FRLI by the operation of subsection 56(1) of the LIA.
Section 2 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Quarantine Service Fees Determination 2005.
Schedule 1 - Amendments
Item 1 amends item 2, column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by removing $6.50 and substituting $14. The effect of this amendment is to increase the fee for work undertaken in profiling and clearing imported goods that are air cargo for which the documentation is lodged in the electronic system known as the ICS.
Item 2 amends item 3, column 3 of Schedule 1 of the Determination by removing $6.50 and substituting $7. The effect of this amendment is to increase the fee for work undertaken in profiling and clearing imported goods that are sea cargo for which the documentation is lodged in the electronic system known as the ICS.