Download PDF

INFORMATION, ANALYSIS AND ADVICE FOR THE PARLIAMENT

I N F O R M A T I O N A N D R E S E A R C H S E R V I C E S

Bills Digest No. 168 2002-03

Customs Tariff Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2003

D E P A R T M E N T O F T H E P A R L I A M E N T A R Y L I B R A R Y

ISSN 1328-8091

 Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2003

Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means including information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior written consent of the Department of the Parliamentary Library, other than by Senators and Members of the Australian Parliament in the course of their official duties.

This paper has been prepared for general distribution to Senators and Members of the Australian Parliament. While great care is taken to ensure that the paper is accurate and balanced, the paper is written using information publicly available at the time of production. The views expressed are those of the author and should not be attributed to the Information and Research Services (IRS). Advice on legislation or legal policy issues contained in this paper is provided for use in parliamentary debate and for related parliamentary purposes. This paper is not professional legal opinion. Readers are reminded that the paper is not an official parliamentary or Australian government document. IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's contents with Senators and Members and their staff but not with members of the public.

Inquiries

Members, Senators and Parliamentary staff can obtain further information from the Information and Research Services on (02) 6277 2646.

Information and Research Services publications are available on the ParlInfo database. On the Internet the Department of the Parliamentary Library can be found at: http://www.aph.gov.au/library/

Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library, 2003

I N F O R M A T I O N A N D R E S E A R C H S E R V I C E S

Bills Digest

No. 168 2002-03

Customs Tariff Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2003

Richard Webb Economics, Commerce and Industrial Relations Group 5 June 2003

Contents

Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Main Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Customs Tariff Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2003

Date Introduced: 29 May 2003

House: House of Representatives

Portfolio: Justice and Customs

Commencement: 18 September 2002

Purpose

To impose customs duty on fuel ethanol—ethanol blended with petrol—at the same rate as the excise on fuel ethanol and petrol.

Background

Background to the Bill can be found in the Bills Digest to the companion Bill: the Excise Tariff Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2003. The latter imposes excise on fuel ethanol at the same rate as excise on unleaded petrol, now 38.143 cent a litre. Customs duty is imposed at the same rate as excise duty to ensure that neither domestic production nor imports is favoured. Rather, domestic production is subsidised by a grant of 38.143 cents a litre.

Main Provisions

Schedule 3 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995 deals with the classification of goods and general and special rates of duty. Subheading 2207.20.00 relates to ‘ethyl alcohol and other spirits, denatured, of any strength’. Item 1 of Schedule 1 repeals this subheading and substitutes three new subheadings:

• 2207.20 replicates the wording of 2207.20.00

• 2207.20.10 refers to ‘ethanol for use as fuel in an internal combustion engine’, and

• 2207.20.90 refers to ‘other’.

The effect is to identify ethanol separately. The new customs duty on ethanol is the general rate of five per cent plus 38.143 cents a litre.

Warning:

This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments.

This Digest does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the Bill.