Commonwealth act

Customs Tariff (New Zealand Preference) Validation Act 1942

RepealedCTH

This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Act Number

39 of 1942

Collection

act

Plain English Summary

1/10 complexity

What this law does:

This Act makes legal any customs duties (import taxes) collected on goods from New Zealand under temporary trade rules that existed in 1942.

The background: In March 1942, the Australian government proposed new tariff rates giving New Zealand preferential treatment (lower taxes on imports). Customs officials started collecting these duties immediately, but the full laws hadn't passed Parliament yet.

Why it matters: Without this Act, anyone who paid these import duties between March 1942 and March 1943 could have challenged them as invalid, since they were collected under "proposals" rather than finalized law. This Act backdates legal authority to those collections, ensuring:

The government keeps the revenue it collected
Importers can't demand refunds
Trade between Australia and New Zealand continues smoothly during wartime

Who it affects: Businesses that imported goods from New Zealand during 1942-1943, and the Australian government (Customs Department).

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Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in Customs Tariff (New Zealand Preference) Validation Act 1942.

Customs Tariff (New Zealand Preference) Validation Act 1942

CUSTOMS TARIFF (NEW ZEALAND PREFERENCE) VALIDATION.

No. 39 of 1942.

An Act to provide for the Validation of Collections of Duties of Customs under Customs Tariff (New Zealand Preference) Proposals.

[Assented to 4th September, 1942.]

BE it enacted by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Customs Tariff (New Zealand Preference) Validation Act 1942.

Commencement.

This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

Validation of collections under Customs Tariff (New Zealand Preference) Proposals.

All duties of Customs demanded or collected (whether before or after the commencement of this Act and on or before the fifth day of March, One thousand nine hundred and forty-three) pursuant to the Customs Tariff (New Zealand Preference) Proposals introduced into the House of Representatives on the fifth day of March, One thousand nine hundred and forty-two, shall be deemed to have been lawfully imposed and lawfully demanded or collected.

Source text

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

1 Customs Tariff (New Zealand Preference) Validation Act 1942