EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1988 No. 117
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Primary Industries and Energy
WINE GRAPES LEVY ACT 1979
WINE GRAPES LEVY REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
The proceeds of the marketing amount of the levy imposed by the Wine Grapes Levy Act 1979 (the Act) are used to fund the operations of the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation (AWBC).
The Act empowers the Governor-General to make regulations prescribing the operative rate of the marketing amount of levy and prescribing a maximum amount payable by a person in a year. The Act provides that the AWBC may make recommendations to the Minister in relation to regulations to be made setting the operative rate of the marketing amount of the levy and maximum amount payable. The Governor General’s power to make regulations may be exercised only on Executive Council advice which has taken into consideration any relevant recommendation made by the AWBC and the number of votes cast for and against any resolution relating to the recommendation at the most recent annual general meeting of the AWBC.
The current operative rate of the wine marketing amount of the levy is $3 per tonne of the fresh grape equivalent of grapes and grape juice used in the manufacture of wine and the maximum rate set in the Act is $5. The maximum amount payable by a person in a year must not exceed $20,000 and is currently set at $10,000.