{"id":"C2004A00577","name":"Tradex Duty Imposition (General) Act 1999","slug":"tradex-duty-imposition-general-act-1999","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"188 of 1999","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":38571,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A00577-1775056581257","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"#### 1 Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Tradex Duty Imposition (General) Act 1999.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n  This Act commences on the day on which the Tradex Scheme Act 1999 commences.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"2A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Act does not extend to Norfolk Island","content":"#### 2A Act does not extend to Norfolk Island\n\n  This Act does not extend to Norfolk Island.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Imposition of tradex duty","content":"#### 3 Imposition of tradex duty\n\n  (1) The tax known as tradex duty that is payable under section 21 of the Tradex Scheme Act 1999 is imposed by this section.\n  (2) This section imposes the tax known as tradex duty only so far as that tax is neither a duty of customs nor a duty of excise within the meaning of section 55 of the Constitution.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Amount of tradex duty","content":"#### 4 Amount of tradex duty\n\n  The amount of the tradex duty imposed by this Act in respect of any goods is an amount equal to the duty of customs under the Customs Tariff Act 1995 that would have been payable in respect of the goods upon their entry for home consumption if the goods had not been entered under item 21A of Schedule 4 to that Act.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Act does not impose tax on property of a State","content":"#### 5 Act does not impose tax on property of a State\n\n  (1) This Act does not impose a tax on property of any kind belonging to a State.\n  (2) In this section:\n\n> property of any kind belonging to a State has the same meaning as in section 114 of the Constitution.","sortOrder":5}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act is tightly scoped and does exactly what its title says — it imposes tradex duty (general category only) as part of a deliberate three-Act constitutional structure. There is no evidence of scope creep from its original intent."},"complexity_factors":["Constitutional architecture: the Act is deliberately limited to tax that is neither customs duty nor excise under section 55 of the Constitution, requiring understanding of why three separate Acts exist to impose the same scheme","Cross-references to multiple other pieces of legislation (Tradex Scheme Act 1999, Customs Tariff Act 1995) making it impossible to understand in isolation","Technical constitutional concepts (section 114 exemption for State property, section 55 customs/excise distinction) embedded in operative provisions","The mechanism for calculating duty requires familiarity with the Customs Tariff Act 1995 and Schedule 4 item 21A","Short and deceptively simple — but the simplicity masks significant underlying legal complexity in the broader scheme"],"plain_english_summary":"The Tradex Duty Imposition (General) Act 1999 gives legal force to a penalty tax—tradex duty—charged when goods imported under the Tradex Scheme for export use are diverted to domestic use. It imposes the portion of that charge which is not a customs or excise duty (split off for constitutional reasons). It affects businesses using Tradex, exempts state property, and does not apply to Norfolk Island."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"No material in the supplied text indicates any change from an earlier or original instrument. The Act's scope is defined only by its own provisions and cross‑references; absent prior text or amendments, a change in scope cannot be demonstrated from the supplied text."},"complexity_factors":["Direct constitutional limits: operation 'only so far as' not a customs or excise duty (Constitution s55) creates legal boundary work.","Cross‑legislation dependencies: amount determined by reference to Customs Tariff Act 1995 (item 21A, Schedule 4) and payable under Tradex Scheme Act 1999 (s21).","State property exemption references Constitution s114, requiring constitutional interpretation to apply exemption.","Geographical exception: does not extend to Norfolk Island (s2A) affects territorial application.","Minimal internal definitions — effect and operation require consulting external Acts and constitutional provisions, increasing compliance and interpretive burden."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act imposes a tax called \"tradex duty\" as the tax payable under section 21 of the Tradex Scheme Act 1999, but only to the extent that it is not a customs or excise duty under Constitution s55. The tradex duty is an amount equal to the customs duty that would have applied if the goods had not been entered under item 21A of Schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff Act 1995. The Act excludes Norfolk Island and does not tax property belonging to a State (see Constitution s114)."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This legislation maintains its original narrow purpose: imposing a specific duty to backstop the Tradex Scheme. It has not expanded beyond this single function since enactment."},"complexity_factors":["Very short statute (only 5 sections)","Minimal defined terms (only 1 definition in section 5)","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the Tradex Scheme Act 1999, Customs Tariff Act 1995, and the Constitution","Simple conditional logic limited to constitutional carve-outs in sections 3(2) and 5","Single purpose legislation with straightforward operative provisions"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates a special tax called \"tradex duty\" that applies to certain imported goods. Here's what it does:\n\n**What is tradex duty?**\nIt's a backup tax that kicks in when businesses misuse a customs concession called the \"Tradex Scheme.\" The Tradex Scheme lets businesses import goods without paying customs duty, provided they later export those goods (or products made from them). If a business breaks the rules and keeps the goods in Australia instead of exporting them, they must pay tradex duty.\n\n**How much is it?**\nThe amount equals whatever customs duty would have been owed if the goods hadn't been imported under the special concession. This essentially wipes out the financial benefit of breaking the scheme's rules.\n\n**Why does this law exist?**\nAustralia's Constitution (section 55) requires that laws imposing taxes must only deal with taxation. The Tradex Scheme Act 1999 sets up the rules for the scheme, but this separate Act is needed to legally impose the tax itself. This law also carefully avoids imposing \"customs duty\" or \"excise duty\" (which have specific constitutional meanings), and it explicitly excludes state government property from taxation (as required by section 114 of the Constitution).\n\n**Who does it affect?**\nBusinesses participating in the Tradex Scheme who fail to meet their export obligations, and the Australian government which collects this duty."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/tradex-duty-imposition-general-act-1999","history":"/api/acts/tradex-duty-imposition-general-act-1999/history","analysis":"/api/acts/tradex-duty-imposition-general-act-1999/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/tradex-duty-imposition-general-act-1999/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/tradex-duty-imposition-general-act-1999/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/tradex-duty-imposition-general-act-1999/documents"}}