House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by authority of the Treasurer, the Hon Peter Costello, MP)

Chapter 2 - Administration of the fuel sales grants

Outline of Chapter

2.1 This Chapter explains how the provisions of the PGBA Bill will apply to the administration of the fuels sales grants scheme.

2.2 It explains the provisions contained in Part 1 of the PGBA Bill that addresses preliminary matters and in Part 2 that identifies the grants and benefits schemes to which the provisions of the PGBA Bill are to apply.

Summary of new law

2.3 The PGBA Bill provides a set of provisions that are needed to administer a grants or benefits scheme. The PGBA Bill is modelled on some of the administrative provisions contained in the Diesel and Alternative Fuels Grants Scheme Act 1999 . The PGBA Bill provides a standardised framework for the administration of such schemes and will reduce duplication in the law and promote consistency in its application. The provisions of the PGBA Bill will operate in conjunction with those in the TAA 1953 that apply generally to laws administered by the Commissioner.

2.4 The fuel sales grants scheme will adopt the provisions of the PGBA Bill. The FSG Bill provides only for determining a person's entitlement to a fuel sales grant. Rules governing the registration of, payments to and obligations of fuel sales grant claimants are contained in the PGBA Bill.

Detailed explanation of PGBA Bill Parts 1 and 2

Preliminary provisions

Short title

2.5 On enactment this Bill may be cited as the Product Grants and Benefits Administration Act 2000 . [Clause 1]

Commencement

2.6 The provisions of this Bill will commence on the day on which this Bill receives the Royal Assent. [Clause 2]

Object

2.7 The object of this Bill is to provide a legislative framework for the administration of certain grants and benefits administered by the Commissioner [clause 3] . A common set of rules will provide efficiencies in both statutory and administrative design for schemes providing grants and benefits. Provisions of the TAA 1953, which apply generally to laws administered by the Commissioner, will also apply to such schemes.

Act binds States and Territories

2.8 The States and Territories are bound by the Act, however, they are not liable to prosecution for any offence under the Act. [Clause 4]

Definitions

2.9 Certain terms used in the provisions of this Bill are defined to promote certainty in meaning [clause 5] . The meanings attributed are self-explanatory. To promote consistency, some terms are either defined in other Acts or have meanings identical to those given by other Acts.

Operation of offence provisions

2.10 The specifying of a penalty in a provision of this Bill indicates that a person found guilty of a contravention of that provision cannot be punished by a penalty greater than the specified amount, or that the offence referred to in the provision is punishable by a penalty not exceeding that amount. [Clause 6]

General administration

2.11 The Commissioner will have the general administration of the Act [clause 7] . Because the definition of 'taxation law' in section 2 of the TAA 1953 will include the Product Grants and Benefits Administration Act 2000 , the provisions of the TAA 1953 that apply to taxation laws will also apply to grants and benefits schemes to which the PGBA Bill applies. These include provisions relating to:

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the general interest charge;

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the treatment of payments, credits and RBA surpluses;

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prosecutions and offences;

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objections, reviews and appeals; and

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the collection and recovery of tax-related liabilities.

Grants and benefits covered by the PGBA Bill

2.12 Part 2 of this Bill provides the mechanism whereby grants and benefits administered by the Commissioner will be subject to the provisions of this Bill. It contains a table which lists each grant or benefit together with the short title of the Act conferring entitlement to the grant or benefit to which the provisions of this Bill are to apply. Such Acts are referred to in this Bill as an 'entitlement Act'. [Clause 5 definition of entitlement Act]

2.13 Grants proposed by the FSG Bill are listed in the table of applicable grants and benefits [clause 8] . Unless there is a contrary intention expressed, all of the provisions of the PGBA Bill will apply to the administration of the fuel sales grants scheme.