Customs Amendment (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation) Act 2018 (127 of 2018)

Schedule 1   Amendments

Part 2   Verification powers

Customs Act 1901

4   Before Division 4F of Part VI

Insert:

Division 4EB - Exportation of goods to Parties to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

126AKI Definitions

In this Division:

Agreement means the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, done at Santiago, Chile on 8 March 2018, as amended and in force for Australia from time to time.

Note 1: The Agreement could in 2018 be viewed in the Australian Treaties Library on the AustLII website (http://www.austlii.edu.au).

Note 2: Under Article 1 of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (the Santiago Agreement ), most of the provisions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (the Auckland Agreement ), done at Auckland on 4 February 2016, are incorporated, by reference, into and madepart of the Santiago Agreement. This means, for example, that Chapters 1 and 3 of the Auckland Agreement are, because of that Article, Chapters 1 and 3 of the Santiago Agreement.

customs administration , of a Party, has the meaning given by Annex 1-A to Chapter 1 of the Agreement.

Party has the meaning given by Article 1.3 of Chapter 1 of the Agreement.

producer means a person who engages in the production of goods.

production has the meaning given by Article 3.1 of Chapter 3 of the Agreement.

territory , for a Party, has the meaning given by Article 1.3 of Chapter 1 of the Agreement.

Trans-Pacific Partnership customs official , for a Party, means a person representing the customs administration of that Party.

126AKJ Record keeping obligations

Regulations may prescribe record keeping obligations

(1) The regulations may prescribe record keeping obligations that apply in relation to goods that:

(a) are exported to the territory of a Party; and

(b) are claimed to be originating goods, in accordance with Chapter 3 of the Agreement, for the purpose of obtaining a preferential tariff in the Party.

On whom obligations may be imposed

(2) Regulations for the purposes of subsection (1) may impose such obligations on an exporter or producer of goods.

126AKK Power to require records

Requirement to produce records

(1) An authorised officer may require a person who is subject to record keeping obligations under regulations made for the purposes of section 126AKJ to produce to the officer such of those records as the officer requires.

Note: Failing to produce a record when required to do so by an officer may be an offence: see section 243SB. However, a person does not have to produce a record if doing so would tend to incriminate the person: see section 243SC.

Disclosing records to Trans-Pacific Partnership customs official

(2) An authorised officer may, for the purpose of verifying a claim for a preferential tariff in a Party, disclose any records so produced to a Trans-Pacific Partnership customs official for that Party.

126AKL Power to ask questions

Power to ask questions

(1) An authorised officer may require a person who is an exporter or producer of goods that:

(a) are exported to the territory of a Party; and

(b) are claimed to be originating goods, in accordance with Chapter 3 of the Agreement, for the purpose of obtaining a preferential tariff in the Party;

to answer questions in order to verify the origin of the goods.

Note: Failing to answer a question when required to do so by an officer may be an offence: see section 243SA. However, a person does not have to answer a question if doing so would tend to incriminate the person: see section 243SC.

Disclosing answers to Trans-Pacific Partnership customs official

(2) An authorised officer may, for the purpose of verifying a claim for a preferential tariff in a Party, disclose any answers to such questions to a Trans-Pacific Partnership customs official for that Party.