Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Customs Tariff Amendment (Incorporation of Proposals) Bill 2009 contains several amendments to the Customs Tariff Act 1995 (the Customs Tariff).

The amendments in this bill were given effect through the tabling of Customs Tariff proposals in the House of Representatives during 2009.

Schedule 1 of the bill creates a new concessional item 41H in schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff. Item 41H provides duty-free entry into Australia for goods for use in the testing, quality control, manufacturing evaluation or engineering development of motor vehicles designed or engineered in Australia but not necessarily manufactured in Australia.

The new item will encourage automotive manufacturers to undertake design and engineering work for the international automotive market, as well as reducing administrative costs in importing such equipment.

Schedule 2 of the bill amends rates of duty for certain alcohol and tobacco products that are imported under the Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement. The legislation that gave effect to Australia’s tariff commitments under that agreement did not include subsequent increases in the excise equivalent component of customs duty for these goods.

Schedule 2 of the bill applies the increased rates of duty for these goods, where required, from the commencement of the free trade agreement on 6 March 2009. This ensures that customs duty imposed on alcohol and tobacco products imported under the Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement is the same as the duty imposed on these goods when imported from other countries and also the same as duties of excise imposed on these goods when manufactured in Australia.

Schedule 3 of the bill amends rates of duty for certain beer and grape wine products. The Customs Tariff Amendment (2009 Measures No. 1) Act 2009 provided revised definitions for beer and grape wine products in the Customs Tariff. These revised definitions also required the creation of new subheadings in the Customs Tariff.

This legislation provided rates of duty for these subheadings that did not take into account subsequent increases in rates of excise equivalent customs duty. Schedule 3 of the bill applies the increased rates of duty, as required, to beer and grape wine products from the date of commencement of the legislation, on 28 August 2009. This ensures that customs duty imposed on these beer and grape wine products is consistent with duty imposed on other alcohol products and the excise duty imposed when these products are manufactured in Australia.

The creation of item 41H is a substantive amendment to the Customs Tariff with benefits to the Australian automotive manufacturing industry. The amendments relating to alcohol and tobacco products are technical but necessary to avoid a loss of government revenue and discrepancies between duty rates applying to imported and domestically manufactured alcohol and tobacco products.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate (on motion by Mr Billson) adjourned.