{"id":"F2018L01372","name":"Tradex Scheme Regulations 2018","slug":"tradex-scheme-regulations-2018","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":439791,"registerId":"F2018L01372-fast-fetch-1775955679735","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Tradex Scheme Regulations 2018","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nTradex Scheme Regulations 2018\n\nI, General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Ret’d), Governor‑General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following regulations.\n\nDated 27 September 2018\n\nPeter Cosgrove\n\nGovernor‑General\n\nBy His Excellency’s Command\n\nKaren Andrews\n\nMinister for Industry, Science and Technology\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Schedules\n\n5 Definitions\n\n6 Core criteria—imported goods not to be consumed or used\n\nPart 2—Liability to pay tradex duty in respect of nominated goods in certain circumstances\n\n7 Value of goods\n\n8 Permitted consumption or use\n\nPart 3—Miscellaneous\n\n9 Request for refund of overpaid tradex duty\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nTradex Scheme Regulations 2008\n\n \n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Tradex Scheme Regulations 2018.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument The day after this instrument is registered. 29 September 2018\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under the Tradex Scheme Act 1999.\n\n4  Schedules\n\n  Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\n5  Definitions\n\nNote: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in the Act, including the following:\n\n(a) nominated goods;\n\n(b) person;\n\n(c) Secretary;\n\n(d) tradex duty;\n\n(e) tradex order.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Tradex Scheme Act 1999.\n\nconsumed or used has the meaning given by subsection 21(6) of the Act.\n\nNote: See also section 8 of this instrument.\n\n6  Core criteria—imported goods not to be consumed or used\n\n (1) For the purposes of paragraph 5(1)(b) of the Act, the nominated goods must not be intended to be consumed or used in Australia.\n\n (2) For the purposes of paragraph 5(2)(b) of the Act, the nominated goods must not have been consumed or used in Australia.\n\nNote: For the meaning of consumed or used, see subsection 21(6) of the Act and section 8 of this instrument.\n\nPart 2—Liability to pay tradex duty in respect of nominated goods in certain circumstances\n\n \n\n7  Value of goods\n\n  For the purposes of subsection 21(2) of the Act, the value of goods for the purposes of calculating an amount of tradex duty, or a related purpose, is the customs value of the goods within the meaning of Division 2 of Part VIII of the Customs Act 1901.\n\nNote: For the amount of tradex duty, see the Tradex Duty Imposition (Customs) Act 1999, the Tradex Duty Imposition (Excise) Act 1999 and the Tradex Duty Imposition (General) Act 1999.\n\n8  Permitted consumption or use\n\n (1) For the purposes of the definition of consumed or used in subsection 21(6) of the Act, the following consumption or use is permitted in relation to goods:\n\n (a) accidental damage in Australia;\n\n (b) accidental destruction in Australia;\n\n (c) inspection or exhibition in Australia before the goods are exported;\n\n (d) incidental use that occurs immediately before the goods are exported;\n\n (e) if the goods are traveller’s cheques—writing on the cheques in Australia, other than countersigning the cheques in exchange for goods, services or cash.\n\n (2) However, the consumption or use mentioned in subsection (1) is not permitted if:\n\n (a) the goods are subsequently further consumed or used in Australia; and\n\n (b) the further consumption or use is not permitted by this section.\n\nPart 3—Miscellaneous\n\n \n\n9  Request for refund of overpaid tradex duty\n\n  A request by a person for the purposes of subsection 42A(1) of the Act (for a refund of an amount of tradex duty under that subsection) must:\n\n (a) be given to the Secretary; and\n\n (b) include:\n\n (i) the reference number of the relevant tradex order; and\n\n (ii) sufficient evidence to satisfy the Secretary as to the amount of refund to which the person is entitled under that subsection.\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\n \n\nTradex Scheme Regulations 2008\n\n1  The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument.\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The instrument expressly repeals the Tradex Scheme Regulations 2008 (Schedule 1) and restates core regulatory rules: it narrows the core criterion that nominated goods must not be intended or have been consumed/used in Australia (s6), sets customs value as the basis for tradex duty calculations (s7), specifies permitted limited uses that do not attract duty (s8), and prescribes refund request content and recipient (s9). These changes replace the prior regulatory text with a more compact set of rules that rely on external Acts for definitions and valuation."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑references to the Tradex Scheme Act 1999 for key terms (nominated goods, consumed or used) increases dependence on external definitions (see s5, s6).","Use of the Customs Act 1901 definition of customs value to determine duty introduces technical valuation rules outside this instrument (see s7).","Limited exceptions for permitted consumption/use require fact‑specific assessments of accidental, inspection or incidental uses (see s8).","Refund procedure vests evidential assessment and administrative receipt with the Secretary, creating administrative discretion and compliance burden (see s9).","Repeal of the 2008 Regulations and replacement by this concise instrument means rights and obligations rely on interplay between this instrument and multiple tradex duty imposition Acts (Schedule 1; notes)."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument replaces the earlier Tradex Scheme Regulations and sets when tradex duty applies to “nominated goods”, affecting importers and any person holding those goods (see s6). It fixes the value basis for duty as the customs value (s7), narrows permitted accidental or temporary uses that do not trigger duty (s8), and requires refund requests to be given to the Secretary with a tradex order reference and evidence (s9)."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations appear to maintain the original scope of the Tradex Scheme. They repeal and replace the 2008 Regulations without apparent expansion into new policy areas. The provisions cover the same operational matters: defining when goods are considered consumed/used, setting valuation methods, listing permitted exceptions, and establishing refund procedures. No evidence of scope creep into unrelated regulatory domains."},"complexity_factors":["Short length (9 substantive sections plus repeal schedule)","Minimal defined terms (only 2 explicit definitions in the instrument itself: 'Act' and 'consumed or used')","Heavy reliance on external definitions — core concepts like 'nominated goods', 'tradex duty', and 'tradex order' are defined in the parent Act (Tradex Scheme Act 1999), not these regulations","Simple conditional structure in section 8 (permitted uses listed, then a single 'however' exception)","No nested cross-references beyond basic references to the parent Act and Customs Act 1901","Straightforward administrative procedure in section 9 (refund requests)"],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations set the operating rules for the Tradex Scheme, which lets businesses import goods without paying customs duty upfront provided the goods are subsequently exported. They define when imported items count as “used” in Australia (triggering duty), how duty is calculated, and how overpayments can be refunded. The rules affect importers, exporters, customs brokers and the administering department, and ensure certainty for firms importing inputs for export."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/tradex-scheme-regulations-2018","history":"/api/acts/tradex-scheme-regulations-2018/history","analysis":"/api/acts/tradex-scheme-regulations-2018/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/tradex-scheme-regulations-2018/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/tradex-scheme-regulations-2018/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/tradex-scheme-regulations-2018/documents"}}