Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) wish to advise that the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (the department) has issued Industry Advice Notice 228-2023 advising of the publication of a Discussion Paper on Self-Assessed Clearances (SAC) Cost Recovery
What has changed? As part of the government's election commitment to sustainably fund the Commonwealth biosecurity system, announced in the 2023-24 Federal Budget, it was agreed that current industry biosecurity cost recovery arrangements would be extended to low value goods imported into Australian territory. The costs are currently being met by general taxpayers. The department has released a Discussion Paper to provide information to, and invite comments from, affected industry participants in relation to implementation arrangements. Key elements of the announced low value chargeLow value import items are those subject to self-assessed declaration and cargo reporting requirements under the Customs Act 1901 – often referred to as SACs – as opposed to imported goods required to meet full import declaration (FID) requirements. The new cost recovery charge will: - commence on 1 July 2024
- be administered by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF)
- be applied to declared low value import consignments (based on the declared item not the number of articles within it).
- be set at a rate to recover departmental costs associated with biosecurity clearance arrangements for these items.
- These costs were estimated at $27 million in 2024-25, which based on current estimates of SAC items, suggests a per item rate of around 40 cents.
- be collected by cargo reporters (entity that arranges the item to be carried on a ship or aircraft and lodges the self-assessed declaration and cargo report into the Integrated Cargo System) for these items.
- Cargo reporters would impose the fee at the same time other costs are applied (i.e. freight charges).
- be remitted directly to DAFF by cargo reporters on a quarterly in arrears basis.
- be reviewed and indexed annually, consistent with other biosecurity fees and charges.
- be established by regulation under the Biosecurity Charging Imposition/Biosecurity Act 2015.
- be reported on through an annual biosecurity cost recovery implementation statement (BCRIS), published on the DAFF website, and through its Cargo Consultative Committee.
Further informationFor more information about implementation of SAC cost recovery arrangements, please contact SACcostrecovery@aff.gov.au. |