House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, the Hon. Peter Dutton MP)

Outline

The Customs and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016 (the Bill) amends the Customs Act 1901 (the Customs Act) the Commerce (Trade Descriptions) Act 1905 (the Commerce (Trade Descriptions) Act) and the Maritime Powers Act 2013 (the Maritime Powers Act).

The Bill amends the Customs Act to:

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Allow the Governor-General to make regulations for the purposes of section 112 to permit the revocation of a licence or permission to export goods if the Defence Minister is satisfied that the exportation of the goods would prejudice the security, defence or international relations of Australia;

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Remove the requirement in Part XA of the Customs Act that the Comptroller-General of Customs enter into an interim trusted trader agreement with an entity;

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Allow for the exemption from paying import declaration processing charge;

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Extend the circumstances in which an application can be made to move, alter or interfere with goods for export that are subject to customs control;

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Clarify and simplify the provisions concerning the making of tariff concession orders for made-to-order capital equipment;

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Remove unnecessary and outdated provisions.

The Bill amends the Commerce (Trade Descriptions) Act to provide that the regulations made under this Act may prescribe penalties for offences against those regulations.

The Bill amends the Maritime Powers Act to confirm that the powers under that Act are able to be exercised in the course of passage through or above the waters of another country in a manner consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The Bill repeals the Customs (Tariff Concession System Validations) Act 1999 and the Import Processing Charges (Amendment and Repeal) Act 2002 as these Acts are now obsolete.

Financial impact statement

These amendments will have no financial impact.

Statement of compatibility with human rights

A Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights has been completed in relation to the amendments in this Bill and assesses that the amendments are compatible with Australia's human rights obligations. A copy of the Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is at Attachment A.