Customs Amendment (ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area Second Protocol Implementation and Other Measures) Act 2024 (116 of 2024)

Schedule 1   ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area Second Protocol amendments

Part 3   Verification and record keeping requirements

Customs Act 1901

14   After Division 4E of Part VI

Insert:

Division 4EAA - Exportation of goods to Parties to the Agreement Establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area

126AKDA Definitions

In this Division:

AANZ customs official , for a Party, means a person representing the customs authority of that Party.

Agreement means the Agreement Establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area, done at Thailand on 27 February 2009, as amended and in force for Australia from time to time.

Note: The Agreement is in Australian Treaty Series 2010 No. 1 ([2010] ATS 1) and could in 2024 be viewed in the Australian Treaties Library on the AustLII website (http://www.austlii.edu.au).

approved exporter database means the approved exporter database referred to in paragraph 3 of Rule 15 of Annex 3A to Chapter 3 of the Agreement.

customs authority has the meaning given by Article 3 of Chapter 4 of the Agreement.

Declaration of Origin means a Declaration of Origin referred to in paragraph 1 of Rule 1 of Annex 3A to Chapter 3 of the Agreement.

Party means a Party (within the meaning of the Agreement) for which the Agreement has entered into force.

producer means a person who engages in the production of goods.

production has the meaning given by Article 1 of Chapter 3 of the Agreement.

126AKDB Record keeping obligations

Regulations may prescribe record keeping obligations

(1) The regulations may prescribe record keeping obligations that apply in relation to goods that are:

(a) exported to a Party; and

(b) claimed to be originating goods, in accordance with Chapter 3 of the Agreement, for the purpose of obtaining a preferential tariff in the Party.

On whom obligations may be imposed

(2) Regulations for the purposes of subsection (1) may impose such obligations on an exporter or producer of goods.

126AKDC Power to require records

Requirement to produce records

(1) An authorised officer may require a person who is subject to record keeping obligations under regulations made for the purposes of section 126AKDB to produce to the officer such of those records as the officer requires.

Note: Failing to produce a record when required to do so by an officer may be an offence: see section 243SB. However, a person does not have to produce a record if doing so would tend to incriminate the person: see section 243SC.

Disclosing records to AANZ customs official

(2) An authorised officer may, for the purpose of verifying a claim for a preferential tariff in a Party, disclose any records so produced to an AANZ customs official for that Party.

126AKDD Power to ask questions

Power to ask questions

(1) An authorised officer may require a person who is an exporter or producer of goods that are:

(a) exported to a Party; and

(b) claimed to be originating goods, in accordance with Chapter 3 of the Agreement, for the purpose of obtaining a preferential tariff in the Party;

to answer questions in order to verify the origin of the goods.

Note: Failing to answer a question when required to do so by an officer may be an offence: see section 243SA. However, a person does not have to answer a question if doing so would tend to incriminate the person: see section 243SC.

Disclosing answers to AANZ customs official

(2) An authorised officer may, for the purpose of verifying a claim for a preferential tariff in a Party, disclose any answers to such questions to an AANZ customs official for that Party.

126AKDE Approved exporters and Declarations of Origin

(1) If:

(a) goods are exported to a Party; and

(b) the goods are claimed to be originating goods, in accordance with Chapter 3 of the Agreement, for the purpose of obtaining a preferential tariff in the Party; and

(c) the Party has not implemented paragraph 1(c) of Rule 1 of Annex 3A to Chapter 3 of the Agreement;

the exporter of the goods must not complete a Declaration of Origin for the goods unless the exporter is, under the regulations, an approved exporter.

(2) The regulations may make provision for and in relation to the approval of entities as approved exporters.

(3) Without limiting subsection (2), the regulations may make provision for and in relation to the following:

(a) the making of applications to the Comptroller-General of Customs by entities for approval as approved exporters and the withdrawal of those applications;

(b) the eligibility criteria that an entity must meet in order for the Comptroller-General to approve the entity as an approved exporter;

(c) the matters that the Comptroller-General must consider in deciding whether to approve an entity as an approved exporter;

(d) the making of decisions by the Comptroller-General in relation to the applications;

(e) the conditions that an approval of an entity as an approved exporter is subject to;

(f) the variation, suspension or termination of an approval of an entity as an approved exporter;

(g) the giving of notice of decisions made by the Comptroller-General;

(h) the review of decisions made by the Comptroller-General.

126AKDF ASEAN Register of Approved Exporters

(1) The Comptroller-General of Customs may maintain a register, to be known as the ASEAN Register of Approved Exporters, containing information (including personal information within the meaning of the Privacy Act 1988) that relates to the following:

(a) each entity approved as an approved exporter under regulations made for the purposes of section 126AKDE;

(b) the conditions that an approval of an entity as an approved exporter is subject to;

(c) the variation, suspension or termination of an approval of an entity as an approved exporter.

(2) The Comptroller-General must make any register publicly available.

(3) The register is not a legislative instrument.

126AKDG Inclusion of information in approved exporter database

The Comptroller-General of Customs may:

(a) include information (including personal information within the meaning of the Privacy Act 1988) in the approved exporter database; or

(b) disclose information (including personal information within the meaning of the Privacy Act 1988) to a person for the purpose of the information being included in the approved exporter database;

if the information covered by paragraph (a) or (b) relates to the following:

(c) an entity approved as an approved exporter under regulations made for the purposes of section 126AKDE;

(d) the conditions that an approval of an entity as an approved exporter is subject to;

(e) the variation, suspension or termination of an approval of an entity as an approved exporter.