(2) A person who makes a self‑assessed clearance declaration in respect of goods may, at any time before the goods are dealt with in accordance with an authority to deal with the goods, change information in the declaration.
(3) If a person changes information in a self‑assessed clearance declaration, the person is taken, at the time when the self‑assessed clearance declaration advice is communicated in respect of the altered declaration, to have withdrawn the declaration as it previously stood.
(4) A withdrawal of a self‑assessed clearance declaration has no effect during any period while a requirement under subsection 71AAAO(2) or (7) in respect of the goods to which the declaration relates has not been complied with.
(5) A withdrawal of a self‑assessed clearance declaration is effected when it is, or is taken under section 71AAAT to have been, communicated to the Department.
(6) If:
(a) a self‑assessed clearance declaration is communicated to the Department; and
(b) any duty, fee, charge or tax in respect of goods covered by the declaration remains unpaid in respect of the goods for 30 days starting on:
(i) the day on which the self‑assessed clearance declaration advice relating to the goods is communicated; or
(ii) if under subsection 132AA(1) the duty is payable by a time worked out under the regulations—the day on which that time occurs; and
(c) after that period ends, the Comptroller‑General of Customs gives written notice to the owner of the goods requiring payment of the unpaid duty, fee, charge or tax (as appropriate) within a further period set out in the notice; and
(d) the unpaid duty, fee, charge or tax (as appropriate) is not paid within the further period;
the self‑assessed clearance declaration is taken to have been withdrawn under subsection (1).
71AAAQ Further self‑assessed clearance declaration not to be given while there is an existing self‑assessed clearance declaration
(1) If goods are covered by a self‑assessed clearance declaration, a person must not communicate a further self‑assessed clearance declaration in respect of the goods or any part of the goods unless the first‑mentioned self‑assessed clearance declaration is withdrawn.
Penalty: 60 penalty units.
(2) An offence under subsection (1) is an offence of strict liability.
Note: For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code.
71AAAR Effect of withdrawal of a self‑assessed clearance declaration
(1) When a withdrawal of a self‑assessed clearance declaration takes effect, any authority to deal with the goods to which the declaration relates is revoked.
(2) Despite the withdrawal:
(a) a person may be prosecuted under Division 4 of Part XIII, or an infringement notice may be given to a person, in respect of the self‑assessed clearance declaration; and
(b) a penalty may be imposed on a person who is convicted of an offence in respect of the declaration;
as if it had not been withdrawn.
71AAAS Annotation of self‑assessed clearance declaration by Collector for certain purposes not to constitute withdrawal
Any annotation of a self‑assessed clearance declaration that is made by a Collector as a result of the acceptance by a Collector of an application for:
(a) a refund or rebate of all or part of the duty paid on goods covered by the declaration; or
(b) a remission of all or part of the duty payable on goods covered by the declaration;
is not taken to constitute a withdrawal of the declaration for the purposes of this Act.
71AAAT Manner and effect of communicating self‑assessed clearance declarations to Department
(1) The Comptroller‑General of Customs may approve different statements for electronic communications to be made in relation to different classes of goods for which a self‑assessed clearance declaration is required.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, a self‑assessed clearance declaration is taken to have been communicated to the Department electronically:
(a) when a self‑assessed clearance declaration advice is communicated by a Collector electronically to the person identified in the declaration as the person sending the declaration; or
(b) in the case of a self‑assessed clearance declaration communicated to the Department together with a cargo report—when a Collector communicates electronically to the person who made the declaration an acknowledgment of the declaration.
(3) For the purposes of this Act, a withdrawal of a self‑assessed clearance declaration is taken to have been communicated to the Department electronically when an acknowledgment of the withdrawal is communicated by a Collector electronically to the person identified in the withdrawal as the person sending the withdrawal.
Subdivision B—Import declarations
71A Making an import declaration
(1) An import declaration is a communication to the Department in accordance with this section of information about:
(a) goods to which section 68 applies; or
(b) warehoused goods;
that are intended to be entered for home consumption.
(2) An import declaration can be communicated by document or electronically.
(3) A documentary import declaration must be communicated to the Department:
(a) by giving or sending it to an officer doing duty in relation to import declarations at the place at which the goods are to be delivered for home consumption; or
(b) by leaving it at a place:
(i) that has been allocated for lodgement of import declarations by notice published on the Department’s website; and
(ii) that is where the goods are to be delivered for home consumption.
(5) If the information communicated to the Department in an import declaration relating to goods adequately identifies any permission (however it is described) that has been given for the importation of those goods, the identification of the permission in that information is taken, for the purposes of any law of the Commonwealth (including this Act), to be the production of the permission to an officer.
(6) However, subsection (5) does not affect any power of an officer, under this Act, to require the production of a permission referred to in that subsection.
(7) If:
(a) an import declaration is, or is taken under section 71L to have been, communicated to the Department; and
(b) before the time when the declaration is, or is so taken to have been, communicated to the Department, the goods to which the declaration relates:
(i) have been imported; or
(ii) for goods carried on board a ship or aircraft—have been brought to the first port or airport in Australia at which any goods are to be discharged; or
(iii) for goods that are a ship or aircraft and that are not carried on board a ship or aircraft—have arrived at a port or airport in Australia;
the goods are taken to have been entered for home consumption.
(8) If:
(a) an import declaration is, or is taken under section 71L to have been, communicated to the Department; and
(b) at the time when the declaration is, or is so taken to have been, communicated to the Department, the goods to which the declaration relates:
(i) for goods carried on board a ship or aircraft—have not been brought to the first port or airport in Australia at which any goods are to be discharged; or
(ii) for goods that are a ship or aircraft and that are not carried on board a ship or aircraft—have not arrived at a port or airport in Australia;
the goods are taken to be entered for home consumption only when they are brought to that first port or airport in Australia or when they arrive at a port or airport in Australia (as the case requires).
71B Liability for import declaration processing charge
(1) When an import declaration (including an altered import declaration) in respect of goods to which section 68 applies (other than warehoused goods) is, or is taken to have been, communicated to the Department under section 71A, the owner of the goods becomes liable to pay import declaration processing charge in respect of the declaration.
(2) If a person who is an owner of goods pays import declaration processing charge in respect of an import declaration relating to particular goods, any other person who is an owner of those goods ceases to be liable to pay charge in respect of that declaration.
(3) If an import declaration is withdrawn under subsection 71F(1), or is taken, under subsection 71F(2) or (7), to have been withdrawn, before the issue of an authority to deal in respect of goods covered by the declaration, then, despite subsection (1), the owner of the goods is not liable to pay import declaration processing charge in respect of the declaration.
Exemptions from charge
(4) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine one or more of the following:
(a) that specified persons are exempt from liability to pay import declaration processing charge;
(b) that persons are exempt from liability to pay import declaration processing charge in respect of import declarations relating to specified goods;
(c) that specified persons are exempt from liability to pay import declaration processing charge in respect of import declarations relating to specified goods.
(5) An instrument under subsection (4) takes effect on the day specified in the instrument (which may be earlier or later than the day the instrument is made).
Refund of charge
(6) If:
(a) a person pays an amount of import declaration processing charge on or after the day an instrument under subsection (4) takes effect; and
(b) the person is exempt from liability to pay that amount of charge because of that instrument;
the Comptroller‑General of Customs must, on behalf of the Commonwealth, refund to the person an amount equal to the amount of charge paid.
Debt
(7) An amount of import declaration processing charge that a person is liable to pay:
(a) is a debt due by the person to the Commonwealth; and
(b) may be recovered by action in a court of competent jurisdiction.
71BA Warehoused goods declaration fee
(1) An owner of warehoused goods who makes an import declaration in respect of the goods is liable to pay a fee (the warehoused goods declaration fee) for the processing of the declaration.
(2) The amount of the warehoused goods declaration fee is:
(a) if the import declaration is made electronically—$23.00 or, if another amount (not exceeding $34.00) is prescribed by the regulations, the amount so prescribed; or
(b) if the import declaration is made by document—$63.00 or, if another amount (not exceeding $94.00) is prescribed by the regulations, the amount so prescribed.
(3) If a person who is an owner of warehoused goods pays the warehoused goods declaration fee for the processing of an import declaration in respect of the goods, any other person who is an owner of the goods ceases to be liable to pay the fee for the processing of the import declaration.
(4) In this section:
warehoused goods includes goods that, under section 100, may be dealt with as warehoused goods.
71C Authority to deal with goods in respect of which an import declaration has been made
(1) If an import declaration in respect of goods has been communicated to the Department, a Collector must give an import declaration advice, by document or electronically, in accordance with this section.
(2) An import declaration advice relating to goods entered by documentary import declaration:
(a) must be given to the owner of the goods or be made available for collection by leaving it at a place that has been allocated for collection of such advices by notice published on the Department’s website; and
(b) must contain:
(i) a statement to the effect that the goods are cleared for home consumption; or
(ii) a statement that the goods are directed to be held in their current location or are directed for further examination.
(3) An import declaration advice relating to goods entered by an electronic import declaration:
(a) must refer to the number given by a Collector to identify the particular import declaration; and
(b) must be communicated electronically to the person who made the declaration; and
(c) must contain:
(i) a statement to the effect that the goods are cleared for home consumption; or
(ii) a statement that the goods are directed to be held in their current location or are directed for further examination.
(4) Subject to subsection (5), if:
(a) an import declaration advice is given or communicated under this section; and
(b) a payment is made of any duty, assessed GST, assessed luxury car tax, assessed wine tax, import declaration processing charge or other charge or fee payable at the time of entry of, or in respect of, the goods covered by the import declaration advice;
a Collector must:
(c) if the advice was given under subsection (2)—give the person to whom the advice was given an authority, in writing, to take the goods into home consumption; and
(d) if the advice was communicated electronically under subsection (3)—communicate electronically, to the person to whom the advice was communicated, an authority to take the goods into home consumption.
(5) A Collector is not required to give or communicate an authority under subsection (4) while the goods concerned are subject to a direction referred to in subparagraph (2)(b)(ii) or (3)(c)(ii).
(6) A Collector must give an authority under subsection (4) in relation to goods covered by item 2 of the table in subsection 132AA(1) if subsection (4) would require a Collector to do so apart from paragraph (4)(b).
Note: Subsection 132AA(1) provides that import duty on goods covered by item 2 of the table in that subsection must be paid by a time worked out under the regulations.
(7) A Collector must give an authority under subsection (4) in relation to goods if:
(a) that subsection would require a Collector to do so apart from the fact that any or all of the following were not paid when duty on the goods was paid (or would have been payable if the goods had been subject to duty):
(i) the assessed GST payable on the taxable importation, if any, that is associated with the import of the goods;
(ii) if a taxable importation of a luxury car is associated with the import of the goods—the assessed luxury car tax payable on that taxable importation;
(iii) if a taxable dealing is associated with the import of the goods—the assessed wine tax payable on that dealing; and
(b) because of the following provisions, the unpaid assessed GST, assessed luxury car tax or assessed wine tax (as appropriate) was not payable until after duty on the goods was payable (or would have been payable if the goods had been subject to duty):
(i) paragraph 33‑15(1)(b) of the GST Act;
(ii) paragraph 13‑20(1)(b) of the Luxury Car Tax Act;
(iii) paragraph 23‑5(1)(b) of the Wine Tax Act.
(8) If goods are authorised to be taken into home consumption, the authority to deal, whether given by a document or electronically, must set out:
(a) any condition of the kind referred to in subsection (9) to which the authority is subject; and
(b) the date on which the authority is given; and
(c) such other information as is prescribed.
(9) An authority to deal with goods may be expressed to be subject to a condition that a specified permission for the goods to be dealt with (however it is described) be obtained under another law of the Commonwealth.
(10) If an authority to deal with goods is expressed to be subject to the condition that a specified permission be obtained, the authority is taken not to have been given until the permission has been obtained.
(11) An officer may, at any time before goods authorised to be taken into home consumption are so dealt with, cancel the authority:
(a) if the authority was given in respect of a documentary declaration, by:
(i) signing a notice stating that the authority is cancelled and setting out the reasons for the cancellation; and
(ii) serving a copy of the notice on the person who made the declaration or, if that person does not have possession of the goods, on the person who has possession of the goods; or
(b) if the authority was given in respect of an electronic declaration—by sending electronically, to the person who made the declaration, a message stating that the authority is cancelled and setting out the reasons for the cancellation.
(12) If, at any time before goods authorised to be taken into home consumption are so dealt with, an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that the goods were imported into Australia in contravention of any Customs‑related law, the officer may suspend the authority for a specified period:
(a) if the authority was given in respect of a documentary declaration, by:
(i) signing a notice stating that the authority is so suspended and setting out the reasons for the suspension; and
(ii) serving a copy of the notice on the person who made the declaration or, if that person does not have possession of the goods, on the person who has possession of the goods; or
(b) if the authority was given in respect of an electronic declaration—by sending electronically, to the person who made the declaration, a message stating that the authority is so suspended and setting out the reasons for the suspension.
(13) If, during the suspension under subsection (12) of an authority, an officer becomes satisfied that there are no longer reasonable grounds to suspect that the goods were imported into Australia in contravention of a Customs‑related law, the officer must revoke the suspension:
(a) if the authority was given in respect of a documentary declaration, by:
(i) signing a notice stating that the suspension is revoked; and
(ii) serving a copy of the notice on the person to whom the notice of the suspension was given; or
(b) if the authority was given in respect of an electronic declaration—by sending electronically, to the person to whom the message notifying the suspension was sent, a message stating that the suspension is revoked.