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This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
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CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Endnotes
Contact Officer and Copyright Details
Import Processing Charges Amendment
(Warehouses) Bill 1999
Date Introduced: 3 June 1999
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Justice and Customs
Commencement: The amendments outlined in
this Digest commence on 29 April 1999, the date the Minister
announced that goods brought into MiB would be exempt from import
processing charges.
The major
amendments proposed by the Bill:
-
- insert manufacturing in bond (MiB) specific terms and concepts
within the Import Processing Charges Act 1997 (the Principal Act),
and
-
- exempt people importing goods into an MiB warehouse from paying
the import processing charge.
Refer to the Digest for the Customs Amendment
(Warehouses) Bill 1999.
Amendments to the Import Processing
Charges Act 1997
The amendments proposed by Schedule
1 have two major effects, namely:
-
- provide MiB specific terms and concepts within the Import
Processing Charges Act 1997 (the Principal Act), and
-
- exempt people importing goods into an MiB warehouse from paying
the import processing charge.
Items 1, 2 and
4-8 of Schedule 1 make
definitional amendments to the Principal Act relating to MiB. The
amendments provide for the use of MiB definitions contained in the
Customs Act 1901.
Section 6 of the Principal Act sets the amount
of import processing charge payable for different kinds of entries
(eg. a computer import entry relating to goods imported into
Australia by sea, a computer import entry relating to goods
imported into Australia by air and a documentary import entry
relating to goods imported into Australia through the post).
The effect of items 10-12 and
15-17 of Schedule 1 is to exempt
from the import processing charge goods imported into Australia for
MiB warehousing.
Section 6 of the Principal Act specifies a
minimum and maximum rate of import processing charge which may be
imposed. The rate of charge can be varied by regulation up to the
specified maximum. The major amendments proposed by item
9 of Schedule 1 remove the specified
minimum rate of charge from section 6. The rationale given by the
Government in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Bill for this
amendment is that:
On one reading of the sections as currently
drafted, the Regulations cannot set as the amount payable an amount
less than the minimum set in the Act. So as to remove any doubt
about this, the amendments contained in item 9 removes the minimum
amounts payable on existing entry types currently contained in the
Act.(1)
-
- Import Processing Charges Amendment (Warehouses) Bill 1999,
Explanatory Memorandum, p. 5.
Ian Ireland
15 June 1999
Bills Digest Service
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ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 1999
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Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library,
1999.
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