WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest
does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be
consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the
Bill.
CONTENTS
Fuel (Penalty Surcharges) Administration Bill
1997
Date Introduced: 25 June 1997
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Industry, Science and Tourism
Commencement: On commencement of the Excise Tariff
(Fuel Rates Amendments) Act 1997
To establish administrative arrangements to collect penalty
surcharges imposed on persons who misuse, blend or sell petroleum
products other than in accordance with their originally intended
end-use.
The reader is referred to the Bills Digest prepared for the
Excise Tariff (Fuel Rates Amendments Bill 1997.
This Bill sets out the administrative provisions for the three
penalty surcharge bills in the package of legislation. The rate of
each of the penalty surcharges is twice the maximum excise payable
on automotive diesel fuel.Clause 8 provides that
the surcharges are payable in advance, that is, before the use,
sale or blending actually takes place.Clause 9
provides large deterrent penalties for those people who fail to pay
the surcharges in advance in accordance with Clause 8.Explaining
these unusual provisions, the then Minister for Small Business and
Consumer Affairs, Hon Geoff Prosser MP, said in his second reading
speech that:
it is highly unlikely that those who are carrying out these
practices designed to defraud the revenue will volunteer to pay
such surcharges and accordingly an offence will be
committed.(1)
Clauses 11-19 set out the record keeping
obligations of all people who acquire, store or dispose of
petroleum products.The categories of people required to keep
records are extensive.However Clause 14 allows
regulations to be made providing exemptions from record keeping for
people who use, store or blend fuel in volumes below a threshold
amount.The threshold is to be determined by regulation.The
practical intention of this clause appears to be to exclude the
'average motorist' from the obligation to keep the required
records.
Clause 16 requires a person who sells fuel to
another to provide the purchaser with a written statement
indicating whether the fuel is marked or unmarked.Clause
17 enables regulations to be made setting a threshold
amount below which it will not be necessary to provide this written
notification.
Clauses 21-46 provide powers to the Australian
Customs Service to ensure compliance with the requirements for
record keeping and payment of the penalty surcharges, and to obtain
evidential material concerning any breaches of this
Act.Clause 47 enables information or evidential
material to be made available to other Commonwealth and State
agencies with relevant interests.'This power recognises that fuel
substitution practices are designed to avoid State and Territory
petroleum franchise fee revenue, as well as excise'.(2)
Clause 48 provides penalties for removing or
neutralising markers in fuel.
- Second reading speech, Fuel (Penalty Surcharges) Administration
Bill 1997, House of Representatives, Debates, 25 June
1997: 6297.
- ibid.: 6298
Rosemary Bell
4 September 1997
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
This Digest does not have any official legal status. Other
sources should be consulted to determine whether the Bill has been
enacted and, if so, whether the subsequent Act reflects further
amendments.
IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's contents
with Senators and Members and their staff but not with members of
the public.
ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 1997
Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the
Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be
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written consent of the Parliamentary Library, other than by Members
of the Australian Parliament in the course of their official
duties.
Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library,
1997.
This page was prepared by the Parliamentary Library,
Commonwealth of Australia
Last updated: 9 September 1997
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