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CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Endnotes
Contact Officer and Copyright Details
Excise Tariff Amendment
Bill (No. 1) 1998
Date Introduced: 8 April 1998
House: House of
Representatives
Portfolio: Customs and Consumer Affairs
Commencement: The amendments reducing the rate of excise on AVGAS
commence on 3 July 1997 (item 3) and after the
commencement of the Excise Tariff (Fuel Rates Amendments) Act
1997 (items 4 and 5). The
amendments clarifying the classification structure for petroleum
products commence after the commencement of the Excise Tariff
(Fuel Rates Amendments) Act 1997.
The major amendments:
- reduce the rate of excise duty on AVGAS from $0.18003 to
$0.17403 per litre; and
- clarify the classification structure for petroleum
products.
The major amendments proposed by the Bill can be said to have
two effects, namely, to reduce the rate of excise duty on AVGAS
from $0.18003 to $0.17403 per litre, and clarify the classification
structure for petroleum products under item 11 of Schedule 1 of the
Excise Tariff Act 1921.
The excise duty on AVGAS assists in recovering Airservices
Australia costs of providing certain services to the aviation
sector, including terminal and navigational services.
While Government information sources are more circumspect in
indicating the source of the proposed reductions in the excise duty
payable on AVGAS proposed by the Bill, Airservices Australia
indicates the source to be the rationalisation of services provided
by Airservices Australia.
The Government states in its Explanatory Memorandum to the Bill
that:
The reduction results from close scrutiny by Airservices of the
forecast cost of services provided to general aviation and a review
of the forecast level of activity by the general aviation sector in
1997-98.(1)
In Airservices Australia (AA) Annual Report 1996-97, AA
states:
[the reduction in duty] is the result of anticipated savings in
costs following the rationalisation of services at a number of
General Aviation Airport Procedures (GAAP) aerodromes.(2)
The proposed clarification of the classification structure for
petroleum products under item 11 of the Schedule to the Excise
Tariff Act 1921 relates to a new classification structure for
petroleum products introduced by the Excise Tariff (Fuel Rates
Amendments Act 1997. That Act, which commenced operation on 31
January 1998, amended the Excise Tariff Act 1921 to define
the petroleum products to which a prescribed fuel marker must be
added, prior to their distribution for home consumption. That Act
formed part of a package of 9 Acts aimed at minimising the practice
of avoiding excise duty on transport fuels through the substitution
or unauthorised blending of lower rated petroleum products.
The rationale, as stated by the Minister in the Second Reading
Speech to the Bill, for the clarifying amendments is:
The petroleum industry was consulted at all stages of policy
development and implementation of this package [ie. the package of
9 Acts]. It was concerned the new structure may create
misunderstandings as to how much excise was payable on some
petroleum products intended for particular uses, particularly
products used otherwise than as fuels.
Accordingly, the technical amendments contained in this Bill are
designed to remove any such uncertainty. The amendments insert new
subheadings of "other" in all sub-items of item 11 except sub-item
11(A) and 11(D), to cover petroleum products used otherwise than as
fuel.
The effect of items 3-6 of Schedule
1 of the Bill is to reduce the excise duty on AVGAS from
$0.18003 to $0.17403 per litre.
The amendments proposed by items 7-14 of
Schedule 1 of the Bill are intended to clarify the
classification structure for petroleum products.
1. Excise Tariff Amendment Bill (No. 1) 1998, Explanatory
Memorandum, 3.
2. Airservices Australia, Annual Report 1996-97,
35.
Ian Ireland
30
April 1998
Bills Digest Service
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ISSN 1328-8091
Commonwealth of Australia 1998
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Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library,
1998.
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