Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

Customs Tariff Proposal (No. 3) 2021.

Today I table Customs Tariff Proposal (No. 3) 2021. This proposal provides for a tariff concession for prescribed goods for use in the testing, quality control, manufacture, evaluation or engineering development of motor vehicles designed or engineered in Australia or components for inclusion in such motor vehicles imported by automotive services providers who have previously registered. This tariff concession continues the concessional treatment previously provided under item 39 of schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff Act 1995, the Customs Tariff Act.

Under item 39, eligible importers will be required to be registered under the Automotive Transformation Scheme Act 2009. The Automotive Transformation Scheme, the ATS, closed at the end of 2020, and all registrations held by registered automotive service providers ended on 31 March 2021. The new concessional item ensures that previously registered automotive service providers can continue to access the tariff concession and are not disadvantaged by any additional regulatory burden.

It will support continued research and development in the sector and support high-wage domestic employment. Under this concessional item, prescribed goods imported for use in the testing, quality control, manufacturing, evaluation, engineering and development of motor vehicles designed or engineered in Australia, or components for inclusion in such motor vehicles, will be eligible for a free rate of customs duty. To continue to support efficiencies in trade processes and the competitiveness of businesses operating in Australia, this proposal inserts new item 39A into the Customs Tariff Act. New item 39A commenced on 1 April 2021 and will operate until 30 June 2025.

Debate adjourned.