Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator the Hon Amanda Vanstone)Outline
1. The Government announced on 13 August 1998 its intention to collect customs and excise duty on certain alcoholic beverages that have not previously been subject to customs or excise duty, from 1 July 2000. From that date all imported alcoholic beverages other than those which are subject to the Wine Equalisation Tax will be brought within the Customs regime.
2. The Customs Tariff Act 1995 ("the Customs Tariff") and Excise Tariff Act 1921 will be amended to make the relevant alcoholic beverages subject to customs or excise duty. The amendments to the Customs Act 1901 ("the Act") complement the amendments that will be made to the Customs Tariff.
3. The purpose of this Bill is to amend the Act to:
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- extend to certain prescribed alcoholic beverages the provisions which currently restrict the entry into home consumption of spirits in bulk containers;
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- give the Chief Executive Officer of Customs ("the CEO") the authority to permit to be entered into home consumption those alcoholic beverages in bulk containers having a capacity of more than 20 litres; and
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- make decisions of the CEO made in respect to the entry of certain alcoholic beverages in bulk containers subject to the review of Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Financial impact statement
4. Measures specified in the Bill are of a minor and administrative nature only and have no financial impact.
Notes on individual clauses
Clause 1 - Short Title
1. This clause provides for the Act to be cited as the Customs Amendment (Alcoholic Beverages) Act 2000.
Clause 2 - Commencement
2. This clause provides that the Act commences on 1 July 2000.
3. This clause is the formal enabling provision for the Schedule to the Act, providing that each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended as indicated.
4. The clause also provides that any other item in a Schedule has effect according to its terms. This is a standard enabling clause for transitional, savings and application items in amending legislation.
Schedule 1 - Customs Act 1901
Item 1 - Part VA (heading)
1. This item repeals the heading to Part VA of the Customs Act 1901 ("the Act") ("Special provisions relating to spirits") and replaces it with "Special provisions relating to customable beverages".
2. Part VA of the Act sets out certain special provisions that relate to spirits. These special provisions restrict the circumstances in which spirits can be entered into home consumption in bulk containers. These amendments will extend those special provisions so that they apply to customable beverages.
3. "Customable beverage" is defined in item 3 below.
4. These amendments minimise the risk to the revenue by ensuring that the bottling of all customable beverages is conducted under Customs control. The amendments also provide consistency in the treatment of spirits and other customable beverages under sections 104 and 105 of the Act.
Item 2 - Section 103 (definition of bulk container )
5. This item omits "spirit" from section 103 of the Act and replaces it with "customable beverage".
Item 3 - Section 103
6. This item inserts into section 103 of the Act a definition of "customable beverage" for the purposes of Part VA of that Act.
7. This term is defined to mean like customable goods that are described in Chapter 22 of Schedule 3 to the Customs Tariff and have been prescribed.
8. The term "like customable goods" has the same meaning as it has in section 69 of the Act. Under section 69 "like customable goods" are either:
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- goods to which section 68 of the Act applies that are classified under a subheading specified in column 1 of the Table of section 19 of the Customs Tariff; or
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- goods which are prescribed for the purposes of section 69.
9. Only those goods that are like customable goods and are described in Chapter 22 of Schedule 3 to the Customs Tariff can be prescribed for the purposes of the definition of "customable beverage". Chapter 22 of Schedule 3 to the Customs Tariff describes those goods that are beverages, spirits and vinegars.
Item 4 - Section 103 (definition of spirit )
10. This item repeals the definition of spirit in section 103 of the Act.
11. It is anticipated that those spirits that are currently subject to the restrictions in Part VA of the Act will be prescribed for the purposes of the definition of "customable beverage" and will continue to be the subject to the restrictions contained in Part VA of the Act.
Item 5 - Section 104
12. This item replaces the term "spirit" with "customable beverage" in section 104 of the Act.
13. The note to this item ensures that the heading to section 104 is amended by replacing "Spirit" with "Customable beverage".
Item 6 - Subsection 105(1)
14. This item replaces the term "Spirit" with "Customable beverage" in subsection 105(1) of the Act.
15. The note to this item ensures that the heading to section 105 is amended by replacing "spirit" with "customable beverage".
Item 7 - Paragraphs 105(1)(a) and (b)
16. This item replaces the term "spirit" with "customable beverage" in paragraphs 105(1)(a) and (b) of the Act.
Item 8 - Subsection 105(2)
17. This item replaces the first occurrence of the term "spirit" with "customable beverage" in subsection 105(2) of the Act.
Item 9 - Paragraph 105(2)(a)
18. This item replaces the words "is from time to time prescribed" with "the CEO approves in writing" in paragraph 105(2)(a) of the Act. This will allow the CEO the flexibility to approve the entry of customable beverages in bulk containers without the need to amend regulations each time a new volume container is approved.
Item 10 - Paragraph 105(2)(b)
19. This item replaces the term "spirit" with "customable beverage" in paragraph 105(2)(b) of the Act.
Item 11 - After paragraph 273GA(1)(b)
20. This item inserts a new paragraph 273GA(1)(baa) into the Act so that a person affected by a decision of the CEO made in respect of the entry of customable beverages in bulk containers can have that decision reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.