STATUTORY RULES.
1910. No. 24.
REGULATION UNDER THE EXCISE ACT 1901.
I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL in and over the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, do hereby make the following Regulation under the Excise Act 1901 to come into operation forthwith.
Dated the second day of March, One thousand nine hundred and ten.
DUDLEY,
Governor-General.
By His Excellency’s Command,
R. W. BEST,
Minister of State for Trade and Customs.
Regulation No. 1 of the Regulations under the Excise Act 1901 (Statutory Rules 1905, No. 65) is hereby cancelled, and the following Regulation is substituted therefor:—
“List of Goods.
1. The Collector may, on the application of a manufacturer, permit the following articles, not being imported and being liable to duties of Excise, viz.:—
Spirits, Sugar, and Starch,
and the following imported articles liable to duties of Customs, viz.:—
Cigarette Paper, Liquorice, Petroleum Jelly, Saccharine, Spice, Glycerine, and Tags,
to be delivered free of duty for use in the manufacture of Tobacco, Cigars, Cigarettes and Snuff.
Provided that in respect to Glycerine and Tags this Regulation shall apply to such goods only as were held in stock by the manufacturer on the 18th day of November, 1909, or for the supply of which written orders had been given or contracts entered into by the manufacturer on or before such date, and that the Collector of Customs for the State is, in each case, satisfied that the goods were so held in stock or ordered or contracted for, and, further, that on and after the 1st July, 1910, the free delivery of Glycerine and Tags for the purpose of such manufacture shall cease.”
Printed and Published for the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia by J. Kemp, Government Printer for the State of Victoria.
C.2983.—Price 3d.
Overview
The Excise Act 1901 was enacted to establish and regulate the collection of excise duties, providing a framework for the imposition and enforcement of these taxes. This Act aimed to address the need for a systematic approach to excise duties, ensuring that the government could effectively manage revenue derived from specific goods and commodities. The Excise Act 1901 was introduced by the Parliament of Australia to fill a legislative gap in the regulation and collection of excise duties, thereby providing a structured and legally binding mechanism for tax collection on particular goods. The policy objective was to ensure efficient and fair tax collection on specified items such as spirits, sugar, and starch, which were critical for the economic activities of the time. The regulation under this Act, as evidenced in Statutory Rules 1910, No. 24, further refined the application of excise duties, providing flexibility for manufacturers by allowing certain goods to be delivered free of duty for specific uses, subject to certain conditions and limitations.
Scope and Application
The Excise Act 1901, as regulated through Statutory Rules 1910, No. 24, applies to manufacturers of goods that are subject to excise duties. The legislation allows for the exemption of certain goods from these duties if they are used in the manufacture of tobacco products such as tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, and snuff. The regulation specifically identifies spirits, sugar, starch, cigarette paper, liquorice, petroleum jelly, saccharine, spice, glycerine, and tags as goods that can be delivered free of duty under certain conditions. This regulation is applicable across the Commonwealth of Australia, meaning it has a national reach and applies uniformly across all states and territories. There are specific stipulations concerning the eligibility of goods for duty exemption, such as holding the goods in stock or having contracts or orders in place by a particular date, and these conditions must be verified by the Collector of Customs for the State. Furthermore, the exemption for glycerine and tags only applies to goods held or ordered by 18 November 1909, with the exemption ceasing entirely after 1 July 1910.
Key Provisions
The Excise Act 1901, as amended by Statutory Rules 1910, No. 24, allows the Collector of Customs to permit certain articles to be delivered free of duty for use in the manufacture of tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, and snuff. Specifically, Regulation 1 under the Excise Act 1901 permits the use of certain domestic goods such as spirits, sugar, and starch, as well as imported goods such as cigarette paper, liquorice, petroleum jelly, saccharine, spice, glycerine, and tags, for these manufacturing purposes (Section 1). However, the exemption applies only to glycerine and tags if they were held in stock by the manufacturer on 18 November 1909, or if written orders or contracts for these goods were in place by that date. The Collector of Customs must be satisfied that these conditions are met.
This regulation imposes obligations on manufacturers who wish to avail themselves of the exemption. They must apply to the Collector of Customs to obtain permission for the use of the specified goods free of duty. The Collector, in turn, must verify that the goods in question were either in stock or under contract as of the specified date. Additionally, the regulation mandates that the free delivery of glycerine and tags for manufacturing purposes must cease after 1 July 1910. Compliance with these conditions is essential for manufacturers to benefit from the exemption.
Failure to comply with the provisions of this regulation can result in legal consequences. While the legislation does not explicitly state penalties for non-compliance, the general framework of the Excise Act 1901 suggests that breaches could lead to penalties for the evasion of excise duties. Under the Excise Act 1901, penalties for evasion can include substantial fines and, in severe cases, imprisonment. The exact penalties would depend on the specific circumstances and the severity of the breach, but they could potentially include fines up to several thousand Australian dollars and imprisonment for up to five years for more serious violations.