Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda[Index] [Search] [Download] [Bill] [Help]
1998-1999-2000-2001
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AIR PASSENGER TICKET LEVY
(COLLECTION) BILL
2001
SUPPLEMENTARY
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
Amendments and New Clauses to be Moved on
Behalf of the Government
(Circulated by
authority of the Minister for Transport and Regional Services,
the
Honourable John Anderson, MP)
AIR PASSENGER TICKET LEVY (COLLECTION) BILL 2001
• the levy to be payable on the purchase of a ticket;
• the levy to be collected by the ticketing airline;
• civil penalties as an alternative to some criminal penalties;
• refunds of overpaid levy; and
• consequential amendments.
These amendments are to facilitate the collection of the air passenger
ticket levy by airline operators and have no impact on the amount of levy
collected.
AIR PASSENGER TICKET LEVY (COLLECTION) BILL 2001
This amendment amends the definition of “due date” and
relates it to the time when the ticket is purchased (rather than when the flight
takes off), ie. due date for accounting of levy on a ticket is at the end of the
month following the month when the ticket is purchased.
This amendment defines “relevant flight” as an Australian
flight operated as part of a regular public transport operation.
This amendment provides for an additional regulation making power to
prescribe the circumstances under which what would otherwise be one air
passenger ticket is to be treated as 2 or more air passenger tickets for
purposes of the collection of the levy.
This amendment replaces subclause 9(1) to make payment of the levy due
when a ticket is purchased for a relevant flight on or after 1 October 2001, and
before the end of the final levy month.
This amendment deletes subclauses 9(3) to 9(6).
This amendment imposes the levy liability on the person who purchases the
ticket (rather than the person who uses the ticket for the relevant
flight).
This amendment replaces clause 11 and provides that an operator who
issues a ticket must collect the levy payable unless they have made adequate
arrangements for the collection of the levy, eg a travel agent may collect the
levy when the ticket is purchased.
New subclause 11(2) provides an
exception in that where operators issue separate tickets in conjunction with
each other (ie for one journey) only the operators of the first relevant flight
is required to collect the levy.
New subclause 11(3) provides that the
person who receives the levy from the purchaser must remit the payment to the
Commonwealth by the due date unless the purchaser is entitled to a
refund or the levy is applied to the purchase of another ticket.
This amendment allows the Minister to make an arrangement with an
operator of relevant flights for the payment of levy to the Commonwealth. In
deciding whether to make such an arrangement, the Minister must have regard to
relevant matters, including, the desirability of mitigating, or limiting, any
distortions that the operator’s ticketing arrangements would otherwise
cause in the incidence of the levy on tickets issued by the operator (compared
to tickets issued by other operators). The purchaser is taken to have paid the
levy when he or she purchases a ticket covered by the arrangement. Levy payable
under the arrangement is recoverable by the Commonwealth by action in a court of
competent jurisdiction.
This amendment requires an operator to lodge a monthly return on tickets
issued for relevant flights.
This amendment relates the obligation to lodge a return under clause 13
to the date of purchase of the ticket (rather than the take-off of the flight),
ie a return is to be lodged by the last day of the month following the month in
which the tickets are purchased.
This amendment makes the levy payable on purchase of the ticket.
This amendment makes provision for the refund of the levy to the
purchaser:
• if the levy is overpaid,
• if the ticket is cancelled; and
• if the ticket is not used for any relevant flight.
This amendment changes the reference to “passengers” to
“purchasers”.
This amendment changes the reference to “passengers” to
“purchasers”.
This amendment allows an authorised officer to also seek information
regarding any special arrangement made under the new clause 12A.
This amendment changes the reference to “passengers” to
“purchasers”.
This amendment allows an inspector to obtain documents regarding any
special arrangement made under the new clause 12A.
This amendment inserts additional regulation making powers providing for
civil penalties on operators for failure to collect the levy, failure to do what
is required with the collected levy, and failure to lodge a return as required.
The amendment also provides for regulations to be made for refunds of the levy
by issuers of tickets on behalf of the Commonwealth.
This amendment removes the power to make regulation to require persons to
keep records about the use of tickets for Australian flights.
This amendment removes the power to make regulation to require persons to
provide information about the use of tickets for Australian flights.