Bills Digest no. 43 1976
Customs Amendment Act (No. 2) 1976
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.
CONTENTS
Passage History
Provisions
Implications
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Passage History
Customs
Amendment Act (No. 2) 1976
Date introduced: 11 November 1976
House: House of Representatives
Provisions This Bill proposes 2 unrelated
amendments to the Customs Act 1901:
(a) it will redefine cannabis plants as plants of the genus cannabis
not of the genus cannabis sativa as at present;
(b) it will implement the Agreement on Trade and Commercial Relations
between the Australian and Papua New Guinea Governments by making special
provision for Papua New Guinea
goods in Section 151 of the Act which specifies the circumstances in
which goods from overseas countries are to be treated as manufactures
of such countries.
At present no special provision is made for goods of Papua
New Guinea origin. There is a special provision regarding
New Zealand goods and a general provision that goods not wholly manufactured
in a foreign country are to be treated as manufactures of the country
if the following conditions are satisfied –
(i) the last process of manufacture was performed in the country;
(ii) not less than three quarters of their cost is made up of local
or Australian labour or materials except in the case of goods notified
in the Gazette where the proportion is one quarter.
The proposed special provision will treat goods partly manufactured
in Papua New Guinea as manufactures of that country if at least one half
of their cost is made up of local or Australian labour or materials except
in the case of goods notified in the Gazette where the proportion will
be lower.
Implications
(a) Since the definition “cannabis sativa” was inserted in the Customs
Act in 1971, overseas research has led to a theory that cannabis sativa
is a species of the genus cannabis, and not itself a genus. Thus, in
some prosecutions there has been doubt as to whether the definition
cannabis sativa applied to the plant material produced in Court.
(b) Since 1926, Australia
has allowed special duty free entry of Papua New
Guinea products. At the present time, 95% of Australian
imports from Papua New Guinea
enter free of duty. The proposed amendment seeks to permit greater flexibility
in encouraging the expansion and diversification of trade between the
member countries of the Agreement.
Education and Welfare Group
17 November 1976
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
This paper has been prepared to support the work of the Australian Parliament
using information available at the time of production. The views expressed
do not reflect an official position of the Information and Research Service,
nor do they constitute professional legal opinion.
IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's contents
with Senators and Members and their staff but not with members of the
public.
ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 2006
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 Parliamentary Library,
other than by members of the Australian Parliament in the course of their
official duties.
Published by the Parliamentary Library, 2006.
|
