Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Amendment Determination 2010 (No. 3)

Administered by Department of Communications and the Arts

Legislation au F2010L01438 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by the Australian Communications and Media Authority

 

Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Amendment Determination 2010 (No. 3)

 

Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Act 1983

 

 

Legislative Basis

The Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Amendment Determination 2010 (No. 3) (the Amendment Determination No. 3) amends the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Determination 2003 (No. 2) (the Transmitter Licence Tax Determination).

Subsection 7 (1) of the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Act 1983 provides that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) may determine an amount of tax to be applied at the time of issue or renewal of a transmitter licence. 

Subsection 33 (3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provides that where an Act confers a power to make an instrument, that power shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be construed as including a power exercisable in a like manner and subject to like conditions, to amend that instrument.

The Amendment Determination No. 3 is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (the LIA).

 

Purpose

The purpose of the Amendment Determination No. 3 is to change the amount of tax charged for a PMTS Class B[1] licence operated in the frequency range 935-960 MHz. The new price is $2,761,519 for each paired MHz.

 

Background

On 29 January 2010, the ACMA made the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Amendment Determination 2010 (No. 1) (the Licence Fee Update Determination), with a commencement date of 6 February 2010.The purpose of the Licence Fee Update Determination was to raise apparatus licence fees by a factor corresponding to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This increase was to apply to licences issued or renewed after 5 April 2010. The price for PMTS Class B operated in the frequency range 935-960 MHz was to increase from $2,720,709 to $2,761,519 for each paired MHz.

 

The ACMA made the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Amendment Determination 2010 (No. 2) (the Amendment Determination No. 2) on 31 March 2010, with a commencement date of 10 April 2010. In error, the price for the relevant spectrum included in the Amendment Determination No. 2 did not include the CPI adjustment made in the Licence Fee Update Determination. The effect was to undo the CPI increase that had been put in place by the earlier Licence Fee Update Determination.

 

The effect of the Amendment Determination No. 3 is to correct the error and restore the CPI increase.

Consultation

Pursuant to section 18 of the LIA the ACMA is satisfied that external consultation is unnecessary on the basis that CPI increases are routine and machinery in nature. In addition, the Amendment Determination No. 3 merely corrects the error noted in the background section of this Explanatory Statement. 

Regulation Impact Statement

The ACMA obtained advice from its SES contact officer for the Government’s regulation impact analysis arrangements that the Amendment Determination No. 3 has no or low impact on businesses or the economy. For those reasons, under the self-assessment regime administered by the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR), the ACMA has determined that there is no need to produce a Business Cost Calculator report or to prepare a Regulation Impact Statement.  The ACMA RIS exemption reference number is 123.

 

Detailed Description of the Instrument 

Details of the Amendment Determination No. 3 are set out in Attachment 1.


Attachment 1

NOTES ON THE INSTRUMENT

Section 1- Name of Determination

Section 1 provides that the Amendment Determination is the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Amendment Determination 2010 (No. 3).

 

Section 2- Commencement

Section 2 provides that the Amendment Determination commences on the day it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments (FRLI).

 

Section 3 – Amendment of Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Determination 2003 (No.2)

Section 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Determination 2003 (No. 2).

 

Schedule 1- Amendment

 

Item [1] Schedule 2, Table 702, item 16

Item [1] substitutes item 16 of Table 702 of Schedule 2 to provide that the amount of tax charged for a PMTS Class B licence operated in the frequency range 935-960 MHz is $2,761,519 for each paired MHz.

 

 

[1] ‘PMTS Class B’ is defined in the Dictionary at Schedule 1 to the Radiocommunications (Interpretation) Determination 2000.

Overview

The Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Amendment Determination 2010 (No. 3) was enacted to address an error in a previous amendment, ensuring that the tax charged for PMTS Class B licences operated in the frequency range 935-960 MHz aligns with the intended Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustment. This determination was made by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) under the authority conferred by the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Act 1983. The policy objective was to correct the pricing anomaly caused by an oversight in an earlier determination, thereby restoring the tax to the amount intended by the initial CPI adjustment. The Amendment Determination No. 3 aims to rectify the pricing discrepancy without necessitating extensive consultation or regulatory impact analysis, given the routine nature of the CPI adjustments.

Scope and Application

The Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Amendment Determination 2010 (No. 3) applies to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and any entity required to pay a transmitter licence tax for operating a PMTS Class B licence within the specified frequency range of 935-960 MHz. This Amendment Determination is an instrument under the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Act 1983 and corrects an error made in an earlier amendment, the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Amendment Determination 2010 (No. 2), where the Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustment was omitted. The Amendment Determination No. 3 restores the CPI increase that was intended to be implemented. The jurisdictional reach of this Act is national, applying throughout the Commonwealth of Australia. There are no specific exclusions or exemptions mentioned in the Explanatory Statement, but the application is limited to the specified class and frequency range of transmitter licences. Any further application or restriction of this Amendment Determination is subject to any subordinate instruments issued under the authority of the Act.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Amendment Determination 2010 (No. 3) (Amendment Determination No. 3) are found in Section 3, which amends the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Determination 2003 (No. 2) to adjust the tax for a PMTS Class B licence in the frequency range 935-960 MHz. Specifically, Section 3, Schedule 1, Item [1], amends Table 702, item 16, setting the tax amount at $2,761,519 for each paired MHz (Section 3, Schedule 1, Item [1]). This adjustment aims to correct an error made in a previous amendment and reinstate the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase that was inadvertently undone. The Amendment Determination No. 3 imposes certain obligations and requirements on parties or entities governed by the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Act 1983. Primarily, it requires the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to correctly apply the amended tax rates when issuing or renewing transmitter licences. The ACMA must ensure that the specified tax amount of $2,761,519 per paired MHz for PMTS Class B licences in the frequency range 935-960 MHz is accurately reflected in any new or renewed licences (Section 3, Schedule 1, Item [1]). Additionally, any entities holding or applying for such licences must comply with these updated tax rates, which means they need to be aware of and pay the corrected tax when their licences are issued or renewed. Failure to comply with the provisions of the Amendment Determination No. 3 could result in civil or administrative consequences. Although the Explanatory Statement does not explicitly detail penalties for non-compliance, it is implied that the ACMA would take appropriate action to enforce the correct application of the tax rates. The ACMA has the authority to impose fines or other administrative penalties on entities that fail to adhere to the amended tax rates, ensuring that the corrected tax is applied as intended. Additionally, entities that do not pay the correct tax amount when their licences are issued or renewed could face legal action from the ACMA, which might include demands for payment of the outstanding tax along with any applicable interest or fines.

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