This release was originally published via aucustomsclearance.com.au.
New Concessional Item 59 and By-laws for Items 17 and 59 to Schedule 4 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995
New Concessional item 59 to Schedule 4 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995
Notice of Intention to Propose Customs Tariff Alterations (No.3) 2023 (the Notice), signed on 30 June 2023 establishes Item 59 to Schedule 4 (Item 59) of the Customs Tariff Act 1995 (Customs Tariff Act). Item 59 provides a ‘Free’ rate of customs duty to goods “for use in connection with international sporting events” to which the Australian Government has agreed to provide a customs duty concession.
Item 59 | Rate |
Goods, as prescribed by by-law, for use in connection with an international sporting event prescribed by the by-law. | Free |
By-law No. 2320518 provides a ‘Free’ rate of customs duty for certain goods imported by FIFA and related entities for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 (FWWC). The complete text of the by-law, including conditions and entities that qualify for the by-law, is at Attachment A.
Retrospective commencement – 1 January 2023
Item 59, as implemented by the Notice, will be taken to have commenced on 1 January 2023. This is the maximum length of time possible for a retrospective Notice as it is constrained by the Customs Act 1901. The associated By-law No. 2320518 will also be taken to have commenced on 1 January 2023. Eligible goods imported in the first half of the 2023 calendar year will be able to request a refund of duty paid.
Item 59 will be given further retrospective effect back to 1 January 2022 when it is incorporated into the Customs Tariff Act. Information on refund arrangements for eligible goods imported during 2022 will be provided at this time.
Utilising Item 59
Importers seeking to use item 59 and its associated by-law should record this by listing treatment code 759 on the import declaration for goods of a value greater than $1000 or on the self-assessed clearance declaration if goods are of a value of $1000 or less.
Use of Item 59 will not affect other taxes and charges that may be payable on the imported goods. The goods must meet the requirements of the item to access the concessional rate of customs duty.
Refunds for goods already imported
A refund of customs duty may be available for goods imported for the FWWC that have already been imported and which meet the requirements of the item and by-law.
To be eligible for a refund:
The rate of duty must have been determined on or after 1 January 2023, and
The customs duty must have been paid on the import declaration or self-assessed clearance.
The owner of the goods or the authorised representative of the owner may apply for a refund if they lodged the import declaration or self-assessed clearance. Information on how to apply for a refund is at Refund of customs duty (abf.gov.au).
Applications for refunds under Item 59 should use refund code EB.
New by-law for Item 17 to Schedule 4 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995
New Customs by-law No. 2300145 commences on 11 July 2023. This by-law replaces
Customs By-law No. 0176871, which was due to sunset later this year and can no longer be used from 11 July 2023. Customs By-law No. 2300145 prescribes goods exported from Australia and returned in an unaltered condition that are not subject to certain conditions. The scope of goods covered by Customs By-law No. 2300145 is identical to Customs By-law No. 0176871.
Customs Tariff Working Pages and the Online Tariff
Attachment A includes the working pages for Item 59, Customs By-law No. 2320518 and Customs By-law No. 2300145. An online version can be viewed at Schedule 4 (abf.gov.au).
Any queries related to this issue can be directed to tradepolicy1@abf.gov.au.