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CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Endnotes
Contact Officer and Copyright Details
National Residue Survey (Excise) Levy
Amendment Bill 1998
Date Introduced: 3 December
1998
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Commencement: 1 July 1999.
The major
amendments proposed by the Bill are definitional and ensure
consistency between the proposed Primary Industries (Excise) Levies
Act 1998 and the National Residue Survey (Excise) Levy Act
1998.
The Bill forms part of a package of five Bills
designed to consolidate 40 levy and charge imposition Acts into two
principal Acts. The Bills in this package are the Primary
Industries (Excise) Levies Bill 1998, the Primary Industries
(Customs) Charges Bill 1998, the Primary Industries Levies and
Charges (Consequential Amendments) Bill 1998, the National Residue
Survey (Customs) Levy Amendment Bill 1998 and the Bill.
The National Residue Survey
The National Residue Survey (NRS) is a
monitoring program testing for residues of chemical contaminants in
agricultural and fisheries food commodities, animal feed and fibre
products.
Information collected by NRS is used to provide
information and advice on chemical residues to Australian
governments, industry, trading partners and the public.
The role played by the NRS is central to the
continuance of Australia's international food commodities trade.
Some of Australia's major trading partners, such as the United
States and the European Community, require a government chemical
residue monitoring program as a condition of entry for certain
products.
The NRS was established in the 1960s as the
Commonwealth's response to concerns about pesticide residues in key
meat export markets. The NRS was subsequently expanded to cover
food commodities including grains, fruit and vegetables, dairy
products, eggs, honey, and meat for the domestic market. In 1996-97
over 76 000 samples of 28 commodities were analysed by the NRS for
chemical residues.
The NRS is administered by the Bureau of Rural
Sciences, within the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and
Forestry.
Funds for the operations of the NRS are provided
from five sources, the principal being levies paid by participating
industries. Administration of funds collected is through the
National Residue Survey Administration Act 1992. The Act
also prescribes the purposes for which funds collected can be used
and the products and activities on which liability to pay levies
arise. Industry contributions totalled $6 083 923 in 1996-97.
Recent Major NRS Legislative
Amendments
Amendments contained in the National Residue
Survey Administration Amendment Act 1998, in conjunction with
the National Residue Survey (Customs) Levy Act 1998 and
the National Residue Survey (Excise) Levy Act 1998,
consolidated 22 NRS levy imposition acts into 2 Acts. As stated in
the Second Reading Speech to the National Residue Survey
Administration Amendment Bill 1998:
It was intended that [the original intention of
the National Residue Survey Administration Act 1992], in
order to reduce collection costs, national residue survey levies
would be collected at the same point in the process as other
primary industry levies, but not that one would be dependent upon
the other. The current situation means that some industries wishing
to participate in national residue survey monitoring programs will
not be able to do so; that is, those industries not already paying
another primary industry levy.
The rationale given by the Government in the
Second Reading Speech to the Bill for the consolidation of 22 NRS
levy imposition acts into 2 Acts was that:
This move [the consolidation] is being
undertaken as part of a streamlining of portfolio legislation and
should provide improved access to portfolio legislation by members
of the public and make its administration simpler.
National Residue Survey (Excise)
Levy Act 1998
The Schedules to the Act impose 16 levies that
are excise duties. For example, Schedule 1, which relates to cattle
transactions, imposes a levy, the NRS levy, on:
-
- each transaction entered into involving the transfer of
ownership of cattle from one person to another
-
- the delivery of cattle to a processor otherwise than because of
a sale to the processor, or
-
- the slaughter of cattle.
The levy is not imposed in certain
circumstances, including:
-
- on the sale of dairy cattle for dairying purposes
-
- on the sale of cattle at auction to the vendor
-
- on the sale or delivery of cattle between related companies,
unless the company buying or taking delivery was or is a
processor
-
- delivery of cattle to a processor for slaughter on behalf of
the person delivering the cattle if delivery occurs within 14 days
after the cattle were or are acquired by that person, the cattle
are afterwards slaughtered, and the person continues to own the
cattle straight after their hot carcass weight is determined, or
taken to have been determined, and
-
- in prescribed circumstances.
The rate of NRS levy for each head on each head
of cattle (other than a leviable bobby calf) is 32 cents, or a
prescribed amount up to a maximum of 35 cents. The rate of levy for
each head of cattle that is a leviable bobby calf is 26 cents, or a
prescribed amount up to a maximum of 35 cents.
The NRS levy is payable by:
-
- in the case of cattle which have changed ownership, the person
owning the cattle immediately before the change of ownership
-
- in the case of cattle delivered to a processor otherwise than
because of a sale to the processor, by the person owning the cattle
immediately before the delivery, and
-
- in the case of cattle slaughtered by a processor, by the person
who owned the cattle at the time of slaughter.
Amendments to the National Residue Survey (Excise)
Levy Act 1998
The effect of the amendments proposed by
item 1 of Schedule 1 is to ensure
consistency between the definitions of cattle, dairy cattle,
licensed dairy farmer, and lot-fed cattle used in the National
Residue Survey (Excise) Levy Act 1998 (the Act) and the
proposed Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 1998.
Item 2 of Schedule
1 omits the term 'the Beef Production Levy Act
1990' from subparagraph 2(2)(d)(iii) of the Act and
substitutes the term 'Schedule 1 to the Primary Industries
(Excise) Levies Act 1998'. Subsection 1(2) of Schedule 1 of
the Act specifies cattle transactions in relation to which the NRS
levy is not imposed. Subparagraph 2(2)(d)(iii) provides that the
NRS levy is not imposed on the delivery of cattle to a processor
for slaughter on behalf of the person delivering the cattle if the
person continues to own the cattle immediately after their hot
carcase weight, within the meaning of the Beef Production Levy
Act 1990, is determined. The effect of the proposed amendment
ensures consistency between definitions used in the proposed
Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 1998 and the Act.
Item 3 of Schedule
1 inserts a new definition of 'leviable amount' in
Schedule 2 of the Act. Schedule 2 of the Act deals with the NRS
levy and coarse grains (eg. barley, oats, grain sorghum or
prescribed coarse grain). The proposed definition provides that the
leviable amount in relation to a levy year is $50.00 or a
prescribed amount. The rationale for the amendment given in the
Explanatory Memorandum is unclear. Neither the Second Reading
Speech nor Explanatory Memorandum to the Bill provide a rationale.
The most likely rationale for the amendment is that it corrects a
drafting error in the Act. If one examines other types of grains
subject to the NRS levy one finds that a leviable amount is
specified (eg. the leviable amount in respect to eligible grain
legumes is $50.00 or a prescribed amount). Alternatively, the
amendment could be consequential to the amendments proposed by
items 4 and 5 of Schedule
1 of the Bill.
New subsections 5(1A) and 5(2A) are inserted in
Schedule 2 of the Act by items 4 and
5 of Schedule 1. Subsection 5(1)
of Schedule 2 of the Act specifies the circumstances in which the
NRS levy is imposed on leviable coarse grains. Proposed subsection
5(1A) provides that where, in a levy year, leviable coarse grain is
delivered to a particular person by producers of such grain, and
the total amount of NRS levy imposed on the grain would be less
than the leviable amount (ie. $50 or a prescribed amount), the NRS
levy is not imposed on the grain.
Subsection 5(2) of Schedule 2 of the Act
specifies the circumstances in which the NRS levy is not imposed on
leviable coarse grains. Proposed subsection 5(2A) provides that the
NRS levy is not imposed on leviable coarse grain where, in a levy
year, a producer processes leviable coarse grain that the producer
has produced, paragraph (2)(b) does not apply and the total amount
of the NRS levy imposed on the grain would be less than the
leviable amount.
The rationale given by the Government for the
amendments proposed by items 4 and
5 of Schedule 1 of the Bill
is:
These items are required because of a change to
the legislation for the imposition of levy on coarse grains in
Schedule 4 to the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 1998,
which provides for the exemption from levy of leviable coarse grain
which are [sic] either processed by the producer for commercial
use, or where the amount of levy payable in a levy year on leviable
coarse grain which is either delivered or processed would be less
than the leviable amount.(1)
Section 2 of Schedule 3 of the Act specifies the
circumstances in which the NRS levy is imposed on relevant dairy
products. Many of the circumstances specified in section 2 contain
a sunset clause of 1 July 2000 (eg. relevant dairy products
supplied by the producer after the commencement of this Schedule
and before 1 July 2000). The effect of item 6 of
Schedule 1 of the Bill is to remove the sunset
clause wherever appearing in section 2. The rationale given by the
Government in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Bill for the
removal of the sunset clause is:
This item amends the definition of the National
Residue Survey Levy on relevant dairy produce to ensure that the
provisions for the imposition of this levy remain in place beyond
30 June 2000. This aspect of the National Residue Survey Levy on
relevant dairy produce becomes consistent with National Residue
Survey legislation for other rural industries.(2)
The effect of the amendments proposed by
items 8 and 9 of Schedule
1 is to ensure consistency between the definitions of
'horticultural products' and 'lamb', 'sheep' and 'slaughter' used
in the Act and the proposed Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act
1998.
1. National Residue Survey (Excise) Levy
Amendment Bill 1998, Explanatory Memorandum, pp. 3-4.
2. Ibid., p. 4.
Ian Ireland
20 January 1999
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ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 1999
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