Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda

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BOUNTY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 1996

1996


THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES





BOUNTY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 1996







EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM














(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Industry, Science and Tourism,
the Honourable John Moore, MP)

78611 Cat. No. 96 4976 X ISBN 0644 436549

BOUNTY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 1996

OUTLINE

This Bill amends 4 Bounty Acts to achieve savings announced by the Government in the 1996-97 Budget. In particular, the Bill amends:

the Bounty (Books) Act 1986 and the Bounty (Machine Tools and Robots) Act 1985 to terminate the Bounties with effect from 20 August 1996 and provide for limited eligibility for production after 20 August 1996 up until 20 February 1997 on condition that the production had already commenced before the Budget night announcement or was the subject of a contract entered into before that time;

the Bounty (Ships) Act 1989 to allow bounty eligibility only for ships already under construction on 20 August 1996 which are actually completed by 30 June 1997 (the current scheduled end date for this bounty) and for ships commenced after 20 August 1996 and completed by 30 June 1997 provided that on 20 August 1996 they were the subject of a contract for construction by 30 June 1997; and

the Bounty (Computers) Act 1984 to terminate the Bounty with effect from 1 July 1997.

FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT

The amendments to the 4 Bounty Acts are expected to result in the following savings:

Bounty (Books) Act 1986

Bounty (Machine Tools and Robots) Act 1986

Bounty (Ships) Act 1989

Bounty (Computers) Act 1984

BOUNTY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 1996

NOTES ON CLAUSES

Clause 1 - Short Title

This clause provides for the Bill to be cited as the Bounty Legislation Amendment Act 1996.

Clause 2 - Commencement

This clause provides for the amendments in Schedule 1 to be taken to have commenced at 7.30 pm by standard time in the Australian Capital Territory on 20 August 1996 (subclause (2) refers). The amendments in Schedule 1 give effect to the Budget night announcements in relation to the early termination of the Computers, Books, Ships and Machine Tools and Robots Bounties, all of which were to take effect immediately upon announcement.

Subclause (1) provides for the remaining provisions of the Bill (the short title, commencement and formal enabling provisions) to commence upon Royal Assent.

Clause 3 - Schedule(s)

This clause is the formal enabling provision for the Schedule to the Bill, providing that each Act specified in the Schedule (in this case the Bounty (Books) Act 1986, the Bounty (Computers) Act 1984, the Bounty (Machine Tools and Robots) Act 1985 and the Bounty (Ships) Act 1989) is amended in accordance with the applicable items of the Schedule. The clause also provides that the other items of the Schedules have effect according to their terms. This is a standard enabling clause for transitional, savings and application items in amending legislation. This Bill, however, has no such items.

Schedule 1 - Amendment of Bounty Acts

Bounty (Books) Act 1986

Item 1 - Subsection 4(1) (definition of bounty period)

This item gives effect to the Government's decision to terminate the Books Bounty with effect from Budget night 1996 by amending the definition of bounty period, being the period during which the production of books must be completed before bounty is payable. Paragraph (a) of the new definition provides for the bounty period to end on 20 August 1996 for the production of books generally (as opposed to the current end date of 31 December 1997).

In accordance with the Government's announcement to provide an additional 6 months for eligible production for certain work-in-progress, paragraph (b) of the new definition provides for the bounty period to end on 20 February 1997 in the case of:

(i) books in respect of which a production process had commenced in Australia before 7.30pm by standard time in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) on 20 August 1996 (ie the time of the Budget announcement); OR

(ii) books produced under a contract for the production of that book which had been entered into before the Budget announcement, provided that:

- the contract specified the title of the book: and
- the person claiming to be entitled to be paid bounty was a party to that contract.

Under this provision, books produced pursuant to contracts of a general nature under which, for example, a printer and publisher agree to publish 50,000 copies each of 20 paperback novels per month over 2 years but the actual titles of the books are not specified, would not be eligible for bounty after 20 August 1996. The only books under such contracts that would be eligible for bounty are those which had actually gone into production before the Budget night announcement.

The requirement that the person claiming the bounty payment must be a party to the contract is included because under the Books Bounty both publishers and printers are entitled to claim bounty. The requirement is intended to prevent, for example, a printer claiming bounty for a book produced after 20 August 1996 in reliance on a contract between a publisher and author for a book of a specific title.

The requirement that a production process has commenced "in Australia" is included to ensure that books which were not the subject of a contract on Budget night, but the typesetting or film preparation, for example, had been undertaken overseas before Budget night with the intention of having the book printed in Australia at some time after Budget night, are not eligible for bounty after 20 August 1996.

Item 2 - Paragraph 14(4)(d)

This item amends section 14 of the Bounty (Books) Act 1986 (the Books Act) to introduce an absolute end date of 20 May 1997 (being 90 days after the final day for the special class of eligible production outlined in item 1) for claims for bounty to be lodged with Customs.

To ensure that the majority of bounty payments for eligible production under this bounty are made before the end of the 1996-97 financial year and the administration of the scheme is wound-up as soon as possible after that, this amendment to the Books Act will require claims to be lodged with Customs within 12 months after completion of production of bountiable goods, or before 21 May 1997, whichever occurs first.

Item 3 - Paragraph 15(2)(d)

For the same reasons detailed for item 2 above, this item amends section 15 of the Books Act to introduce an absolute end date of 20 May 1997 for bounty claimants to lodge a variation of an initial inadequate claim for bounty.

Bounty (Computers) Act 1984

Item 4 - Subsection 3(1) (definition of bounty period)

This item gives effect to the Government's decision to terminate the Computers Bounty with effect from 1 July 1997 by amending the definition of bounty period, being the period during which the production of bountiable equipment must be completed before bounty is payable. The new definition defines the bounty period to mean the period commencing on 6 July 1984 and ending on 30 June 1997, as opposed to the current end date of 31 December 2000.

Item 5 - Paragraph 10(h)

This item effects a technical amendment to the "rate of bounty" provision in section 10 of the Bounty (Computers) Act 1984 to provide that the bounty rate of 5% of the value added is payable on bountiable equipment produced on or after 1 January 1997 and before 1 July 1997 .

Bounty (Machine Tools and Robots) Act 1985

Item 6 - Subsection 4(1) (definition of bounty period)

This item gives effect to the Government's decision to terminate the Machine Tools and Robots Bounty with effect from Budget night 1996 by amending the definition of bounty period, being the period during which the manufacture or modification of bountiable equipment must be completed before bounty is payable. Paragraph (a) of the new definition provides for the bounty period to end on 20 August 1996 for the manufacture or modification bountiable equipment generally.

In accordance with the Government's announcement to provide an additional 6 months for eligible production for certain work-in-progress, paragraph (b) of the new definition provides for the bounty period to end on 20 February 1997 in the case of the manufacture or modification of bountiable equipment:

(i) that had commenced before 7.30pm by standard time in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) on 20 August 1996 (ie the time of the Budget announcement); OR

(ii) for which a contract for that manufacture or modification had been entered into before the Budget announcement.

Item 7 - Subsection 4(1) (definition of terminating day)

This item repeals the definition of terminating day (previously defined to mean 30 June 1997) as the definition has become redundant due to the inclusion of the new end dates for eligible production in the definition of bounty period proposed in item 6 above.

Item 8 - Paragraph 21(2)(d)

This item amends section 21 of the Bounty (Machine Tools and Robots) Act 1985 (the MTR Act) to introduce an absolute end date of 20 May 1997 (being 90 days after the final day for the special class of eligible manufacture or modification of bountiable equipment outlined in item 6) for claims for bounty to be lodged with Customs.

To ensure that the majority of bounty payments for eligible manufacture or modification under this bounty are made before the end of the 1996-97 financial year and the administration of the scheme is wound-up as soon as possible after that, this amendment to the MTR Act requires claims to be lodged with Customs within 12 months after completion of production of bountiable goods, or before 21 May 1997, whichever occurs first.

Item 9- Paragraph 22(2)(d)

For the same reasons detailed for item 8 above, this item amends the section 22 of the MTR Act to introduce an absolute end date of 20 May 1997 for bounty claimants to lodge a variation of an initial inadequate claim for bounty.

Bounty (Ships) Act 1989

Item 10 - Paragraph 8(3)(a)

This item amends the "specification of bounty" provision in subsection 8(3) of the Bounty (Ships) Act 1989 (the Ships Act) give effect to the Government's decision to only allow bounty payments on ships completed before 1 July 1997 (the current statutory end to the bounty period) if the construction or modification of the ship:

(i) had already commenced before 7.30 pm by standard time in the ACT on 20 August 1996 (ie, the time of the Budget announcement); OR

(ii) commenced after that date under a contract for that construction or modification entered into before that date, provided that the contract specifically provided for the completion of the ship by 30 June 1997.

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