Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Hansard source

I will be brief in speaking on the Customs Tariff Amendment (Tobacco Content) Bill 2008. The purpose of this bill is to make a minor amendment to the Customs Tariff Act 1995. The bill will insert a definition of ‘tobacco content’ into subsection 3(1) of that act. This amendment will clarify the existing references to tobacco content found within the Customs Tariff Act, confirming that the non-stick excise-equivalent customs duty on tobacco and tobacco products is based on the total weight of the goods, as intended. This is how tobacco content has been treated since 1 November 1999, when the term was introduced into the act by the previous government, and this bill is to be retroactive to that date. The amendments in this bill were initially suggested by the Customs department last year to clear up any potential misunderstanding. The legislation is non-controversial in that it puts into legislation what has been the practice for over eight years. The opposition supports the bill.

See this speech in context