Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator the Honourable Christopher Martin Ellison)Schedule 4 - stopping conveyances in customs places
Customs Act 1901
176. Section 197 of the Customs Act allows a Customs officer to require a conveyance that is about to leave a Customs place to stop and to check to establish that there is appropriate documentation authorising the movement from the Customs place of any goods in or on the conveyance that are subject to the control of Customs.
177. A customs place is defined in section 183UA and includes:
- 177.1.1.
- a place owned or occupied by Customs; or
- 177.1.2.
- a port, airport or wharf that is appointed, and the limits of which are fixed, under section 15; or
- 177.1.3.
- a place that is the subject of a permission under subsection 58(2); or
- 177.1.4.
- a boarding station that is appointed under section 15; or
- 177.1.5.
- a place described in a depot licence that is granted under section 77G; or
- 177.1.6.
- a place described in a licence for warehousing goods that is granted under subsection 79(1); or
- 177.1.7.
- a place that is approved, in writing, by the CEO as a place for the examination of international mail; or
- 177.1.8.
- a section 234AA place that is not a place, or a part of a place, referred above.
178. A conveyance is defined in section 183UA as an aircraft, railway rolling stock, vehicle or vessel of any kind.
179. When section 197 was inserted into the Customs Act, Customs focus was on ensuring that imported goods that are subject to Customs control did not leave a Customs place into home consumption without an appropriate authority to deal and without duty having been paid on the goods or a movement permission having been granted.
180. Customs is increasing its focus on goods being exported, that is, goods coming into a Customs place rather than being removed from such a place. When the exports provisions of the Customs Legislation Amendment and Repeal (International Trade Modernisation) Act 2001 commence, most goods being exported will need to be entered for export before they arrive at the wharf or airport of export. Further the arrival of such goods at a wharf or airport will need to be reported to Customs by the operator of the wharf or airport.
181. Whilst Customs officers may stop a conveyance leaving a Customs place for the purposes set out in section 197 there is no power to stop a conveyance that has entered a Customs place to ensure that there is appropriate documentation relating to the goods.
182. Item 1 amends subsection 197(1) so that Customs officers will be able to stop a conveyance that is in a Customs place.
Item 2 amends paragraph 197(1)(b) so that the power to check for appropriate documentation is not limited to documentation authorising the movement from the Customs place. The officer will be able to check that there is documentation authorising the movement of goods under Customs control.
Item 3 amends section 197 which provides that a person in charge of a conveyance commits an offence if:
- 182.1.
- the conveyance is about to leave a Customs place; and
- 182.2.
- an officer of Customs requires the conveyance to stop; and
- 182.3.
- the person does not stop the conveyance as so required.
183. This item amends the paragraph (a) of this section so that it refers to conveyances in a Customs place to reflect the changes that will be made to subsection 197(1).