Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Act 2019 (3 of 2019)

Schedule 3   Recoverable payments

Customs Act 1901

5   At the end of Part XVII

Add:

278 Recoverable payments

(1) If, apart from this subsection, the Commonwealth does not have power under this Act or the regulations to pay an amount (the relevant amount ) to a person purportedly as:

(a) a refund or rebate of duty to which the person is entitled to in accordance with section 163; or

(b) a drawback of duty to which the person is entitled to in accordance with regulations made for the purposes of section 168;

then the Commonwealth may pay the relevant amount to the person.

Debt

(2) If a payment is made under subsection (1) to the person, the relevant amount is a debt due to the Commonwealth by the person.

Note: For recovery of the debt, see section 165.

Appropriation

(3) The Consolidated Revenue Fund is appropriated for the purposes of making payments under subsection (1).

279 Reports about recoverable payments

(1) The Secretary of the Department must cause the following information to be included in the Department's annual report for a financial year:

(a) the number of payments under subsection 278(1) that APS employees in the Department are aware of that were made during that financial year;

(b) the total amount of the payments referred to in paragraph (a);

(c) the number of payments under subsection 278(1) that APS employees in the Department became aware of during that financial year that were made during an earlier financial year;

(d) the total amount of the payments referred to in paragraph (c);

(e) for each payment referred to in paragraph (c) - the financial year in which the payment was made.

(2) Information is not required in the Department's annual report if no APS employee in the Department is aware of any payments referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (c).