SUMMARY OF ALTERATIONS

CUSTOMS TARIFF PROPOSAL (No. 2) 2020

Reasons for changes: To insert a concessional item into Schedule 4

Date of effect: 1 August 2020

Alterations to the Customs Tariff Act 1995

The Australian Government has committed to ensuring that Australians continue to have access to the range of goods needed to respond to the COVID‑19 pandemic by extending the concessional treatment of ‘Free’ rate of customs duty for eligible medical and hygiene goods until 31 December 2020.

This is implemented through the addition of proposed new item 57A in Schedule 4 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995, which provides for concessional rates of customs duty for eligible goods.

New item 57A will provide a ‘Free’ rate of customs duty for prescribed goods that are:

a) medical products or hygiene products; and

b) capable of use in combating the novel coronavirus that causes the disease known as COVID-19; and

c) the time for working out the rate of duty on the goods is in the period beginning on 1 August 2020 and ending at the end of 31 December 2020.

The goods prescribed in by‑law No. 2041552 are:

· face masks;

· gloves;

· clothes or gowns;

· goggles, glasses, eye visors or face shields;

· disinfectant preparations classified to heading 3808 in Schedule 3 to the Customs Tariff, excluding hand sanitisers;

· soaps;

· COVID-19 test kits, reagents and viral transport media.

The ‘Free’ rate of customs duty will apply from 1 August 2020 to 31 December 2020.

Item 57A covers the same range of goods as Item 57, which provided a ‘Free’ rate of duty for eligible goods between 1 February 2020 and 31 July 2020, inclusive.