Tariff Concession Order system, current regulatory compliance obligations and options for consideration by the Commission
Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) would like to acknowledge the extensive response from members, particularly licensed customs brokers, in contributing to a formal submission to the Productivity Commission project examining the costs and benefits associated with 'nuisance tariffs'. Specifically, the Commission defines the scope as tariffs that raise little revenue for the Australian Government, have negligible benefits for Australian producers, but impose compliance burdens on businesses.
FTA recommends retaining the WCO Harmonised System (HS) whatever the duty rate that attaches to each tariff classification. FTA noted that aside from the ongoing significant duty (general revenue) collected, the accurate tariff classification of goods is imperative for many other contemporary regulatory purposes, such as identification of import (and export) prohibitions and restrictions, key to biosecurity risk assessment and is fundamental for accurate trade statistics collation.
Importantly, the FTA submission makes extensive reference to the current Tariff Concession Order system, regulatory compliance obligations and options for consideration by the Commission in terms of tariff reform.
To view the FTA submission, please click HERE
Susan Danks – Head of Customs and Regulatory Compliance