EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1989 NO. 21
TOBACCO CHARGE (NO. 1) (RATE OF CHARGE) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE TREASURER
The purpose of these Regulations is to increase the amount prescribed for the purpose of paragraph 5(a) of the Tobacco Charge Act (No. 1) 1955 (the Act), in order to increase the funding of the Australian Tobacco Board.
Subsection 6(1) of the Tobacco Charge Act (No. 1) 1955 provides authority for the Governor-General to make regulations prescribing an amount for the purposes of paragraph 5(a) of the Act and an amount for the purposes of paragraph 5(b) of the Act, provided the aggregate of the amounts does not exceed 6 cents. The sum of those two amounts is, by virtue of section 5 of the Act, the rate of charge imposed by the Act on each kilogram of tobacco leaf subject to the charge.
Subsection 6(2) of the Act specifies that, before regulations are made prescribing amounts for the purposes of paragraph 5(a) or (b), the Governor-General must take into consideration any relevant recommendations made to the Minister by the Australian Tobacco Board (ATB). The ATB has recommended to the Treasurer - the Minister with portfolio responsibility for the Tobacco Charge Acts - that the amount prescribed for the purposes of paragraph 5(a) be increased to 1.5 cents.
Regulations made under subsection 6(1) of the Act prescribing amounts for the purposes of paragraphs 5(a) and (b) of that Act also have the effect of setting the rate of charge under the Tobacco Charge Act (No. 2) 1955 and the Tobacco Charge Act (No. 3) 1955 at the sum of those two amounts.
The Tobacco Charge Acts (Nos. 1-3) impose a charge on certain dealings in Australian tobacco leaf by growers and by manufacturers of tobacco products. The charge collected is used to fund the operations of the ATB (paragraph (a) amounts) and to finance tobacco research (paragraph (b) amounts).
The Tobacco Charge (No. 1) (Rate of Charge) Regulations, prior to their amendment by these Regulations, prescribed an amount of 1 cent for the purposes of paragraph 5(a) of the Tobacco Charge Act (No. 1) and an amount of 2.7 cents for the purposes of paragraph 5(b) of that Act.
These Regulations increased the amount prescribed for the purposes of paragraph 5(a) of the (No. 1) Act from 1 cent to 1.5 cents. The effect of the increase is to provide additional funding for the operation of the ATB. No change has been made to the paragraph 5(b) component of the tobacco charge, used to fund tobacco research. The new charge of 4.2 cents per kilogram of tobacco leaf applies from 13 February 1990, the beginning of the 1990 tobacco leaf selling season.
Accordingly, regulation 1 of the amending Regulations specifies that the amending Regulations commence on 13 February 1990.
Regulation 2 alters the amount prescribed for the purposes of paragraph 5(a) of the (No.1) Act from 1 cent to 1.5 cents.