Commonwealth legislation

Customs By-law No. 2020321

RepealedCTH

This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Collection

legislative instrument

Plain English Summary

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This by-law specifies which medical and hygiene products qualify for special customs treatment (typically reduced or zero import duty) under Item 57B of Schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff Act 1995.

What goods are covered:

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Face masks, gloves, protective gowns or clothing, and eye protection (goggles, glasses, visors, or face shields) that limit the transmission of organisms to humans.
Disinfectants: Cleaning preparations classified under tariff heading 3808, but specifically excludes hand sanitisers.
Soaps: All types of soap.
COVID-19 testing supplies: Test kits, laboratory reagents (chemicals used for testing), and viral transport media (solutions used to preserve biological samples during transport).

Why it matters: This classification allows these essential health items to be imported more cheaply by applying a concessional tariff rate. It was designed to ensure critical medical supplies and hygiene products remained affordable and accessible during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Customs By-law No. 2020321

CUSTOMS ACT 1901

CUSTOMS TARIFF ACT 1995

SCHEDULE 4

BY-LAW No. 2020321

I, Alison Neil, delegate of the Comptroller‑General of Customs, under section 271 of the Customs Act 1901, make the by-law set out in the Schedule to this instrument.

This by-law commences on 1 January 2021.

Dated this 14th day of December 2020.

[Signed]

Alison Neil

Delegate of the

Comptroller-General of Customs

SCHEDULE

Item 57B

Schedule 4

This by-law may be cited as Customs By-law No. 2020321.
This by-law commences on 1 January 2021.
For the purposes of Item 57B of Schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff Act 1995 (the Customs Tariff), the following medical or hygiene products are prescribed:

(a) any of the following equipment that, when worn, is capable of limiting the transmission of organisms to humans:

(i) face masks;

(ii) gloves;

(iii) clothes or gowns;

(iv) goggles, glasses, eye visors or face shields;

(b) disinfectant preparations classified to heading 3808 in Schedule 3 to the Customs Tariff, excluding hand sanitisers;

(d) COVID-19 test kits, reagents and viral transport media.

In this by-law, the Customs Tariff Act 1995 means the Customs Tariff Act 1995, as amended or proposed to be altered.

Source text

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.

1 Customs By-law No. 2020321