Commonwealth Numbered Acts

INDUSTRIES ASSISTANCE COMMISSION ACT 1973 No. 169 of 1973 - SECT 23

23. (1) The Minister may refer to the Commission for inquiry and report any
matter relating to the giving, continuance or withdrawal of assistance to an
industry or to a particular group or groups of primary or secondary industries
by the Australian Government, and may, when so referring a matter, specify a
period within which the Commission is to report on that matter.

(2) Where a matter is so referred, the Commission shall inquire into, and
report to the Minister on, that matter, but may give consideration to the
necessity for any form of assistance in respect of the industry or to a
particular group or groups of primary or secondary industries concerned and
report accordingly.

(3) The Minister shall not take any action in respect of any of the matters
specified in sub-section (4), being action that is related to the provision of
assistance to a particular primary or secondary industry or to a particular
group or groups of primary or secondary industries but not being action that
is necessary in order to implement the policy of the Australian Government-

   (a)  in relation to, or in relation to negotiations for, bilateral or
        multilateral trade agreements; or

   (b)  in relation to tariff preferences for developing countries, unless he
        has received a report of the Commission in relation to that matter
        under this Act or, if the Minister referred that matter to the
        Commission for inquiry and report and, when so referring that matter,
        specified a period within which the Commission was to report on that
        matter, thirty days have elapsed since the expiration of that period,
        but nothing in this sub-section prevents action being taken to provide
        assistance to an industry or to a particular group or groups of
        primary or secondary industries in accordance with, or for the
        purposes of, a law of Australia that was passed or made before the
        commencement of this Act or to provide financial assistance to an
        industry or to a particular group or groups of primary or secondary
        industries in accordance with, or for the purposes of, a law of
        Australia that is passed or made after the commencement of this Act
        and before 1 July 1974.

(4) The matters referred to in sub-section (3) are-

   (a)  whether duties should be imposed on goods of a particular description
        imported into Australia;

   (b)  whether duties imposed on goods of a particular description imported
        into Australia should be removed or the rates of those duties should
        be increased or reduced;

   (c)  whether the importation of goods of a particular description into
        Australia should be prohibited or restricted;

   (d)  whether a prohibition on the importation of goods of a particular
        description into Australia should be removed;

   (e)  whether a restriction on the importation of goods of a particular
        description into Australia should be extended, reduced or removed;

   (f)  whether financial assistance for a period exceeding two years should
        be provided to an industry or to a particular group or groups of
        primary or secondary industries by the Australian Government, whether
        or not any financial assistance has previously been provided to that
        industry or to a particular group or groups of primary or secondary
        industries by the Australian Government;

   (g)  whether financial assistance for a period not exceeding two years
        should be provided by the Australian Government to an industry or to a
        particular group or groups of primary or secondary industries to which
        financial assistance (not being financial assistance provided after
        inquiry and report by the Commission or the Tariff Board) has
        previously been provided by the Australian Government, where-

        (i)    the period, or the sum of the periods, of the financial
               assistance that has previously been so provided (excluding so
               much of that period or those periods as occurred more than six
               years before the commencement of the period of the proposed
               further financial assistance or occurred before the
               commencement of this Act) is not less than two years; or

        (ii)   the sum of so much of the period or periods of the financial
               assistance that has previously been so provided as is required
               to be taken into account under sub-paragraph (i) and the period
               of the proposed further financial assistance exceeds two years;
               or

   (h)  whether financial assistance that has been provided to an industry or
        to a particular group or groups of primary or secondary industries by
        the Australian Government for a period exceeding two years should be
        suspended or withdrawn or the rate of that financial assistance should
        be increased or reduced.

(5) Without limiting the generality of sub-section (1), the Minister may refer
to the Commission for inquiry and report any of the following matters:-

   (a)  where any action by the Minister for Customs and Excise under the
        Customs Tariff (Dumping and Subsidies) Act 1961-1965 may be taken only
        if he is satisfied as to certain facts after inquiry and report by the
        Commission-a question as to the existence of any such facts;

   (b)  any matter in connexion with the interpretation of any Customs Tariff
        or Excise Tariff, or the classification of goods in any such Tariff,
        that has been referred to the Minister for Customs and Excise for
        review;

   (c)  whether goods not prescribed by a by-law or not specified in a
        determination for the purposes of a Customs Tariff Item or Excise
        Tariff Item should be so prescribed or specified;

   (d)  whether goods prescribed by a by-law or specified in a determination
        for the purposes of a Customs Tariff Item or Excise Tariff Item should
        continue to be so prescribed or specified;

   (e)  the question of the value for duty of goods under section 160 of the
        Customs Act 1901-1973;

   (f)  a matter relating to the addition of goods to the goods that are to
        remain or become free from duties in accordance with an agreement
        between the Australian Government and the New Zealand Government;

   (g)  a matter relating to the giving of concessions in respect of duties to
        goods that are the produce or manufacture of developing countries; and

   (h)  the reduction or removal of duties or other forms of assistance to
        industries in connexion with negotiations for bilateral or
        multilateral trade agreements.

(6) The Minister may, either generally or otherwise as provided by the
instrument of authorization, by writing signed by him, authorize another
Minister to exercise the powers conferred on the first-mentioned Minister
under paragraphs (5) (a) to (e) and, where such an authorization is given, the
Minister to whom the authorization is given may exercise those powers in
accordance with the authorization, but nothing in this sub-section prevents
the first-mentioned Minister from exercising any of those powers.