EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 1985 No. 223
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Communications
Section 9 of the Radiocommunications (Receiver Licence Tax) Act 1983 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of section 7 of the Act.
Section 7 provides that the amount of tax in respect of the grant of a receiver licence is such amount as is calculated in accordance with the regulations. Different amounts of tax may be prescribed in respect of receiver licences included in different classes of receiver licences or in respect of persons included in different classes of persons.
Section 37 of the Radiocommunications Act 1983 makes it an offence to operate or possess certain receivers, except in accordance with a receiver licence. The classes of receiver for which receiver licences are required are listed in regulation 7 of the Radiocommunications (Licensing and General) Regulations, pursuant to section 36 of the Radiocommunications Act 1983. A common feature of these receivers is that they require coordination procedures to be carried out by the Department in order to safeguard them from interference. Licensing them is seen as a way to recoup the cost of these procedures.
In the context of the Budget, licence fees payable under the Act are increased, with effect from 9 September 1985.
Details of the amending regulations are as follows:
Regulation 1 provides that the regulations come into operation from 9 September 1985.
Regulation 2 omits the table to the regulation setting out the annual rates of tax applicable to each class of station incorporating a receiver and substitutes a new table with revised annual rates of tax for each class of station. The new table also provides for payment of tax on a narrow band area receiver. Concurrent amendments of the Radiocommunications (Licensing and General) Regulations provide for a new class of station, to be called a narrow band area station, and define a narrow band area receiver to be a receiver used in association with this class of station.
Authority: Section 9 of the Radiocommunications (Receiver Licence Tax) Act 1983.