Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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AGRICULTURAL AND VETERINARY CHEMICALS (ADMINISTRATION) REGULATIONS(AMENDMENT) 1997 NO. 320

STATUTORY RULES 1997 No. 320

Issued by file Authority of the Minister for Primary Industries and Energy

Agricultural And, Veterinary Chemicals (Administration) Act 1992

Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Administration) Regulations (Amendment)

Section 73 of the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Administration) Act 1992 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may, make regulations for the purpose of the Act.

The Agricultural and. Veterinary Chemicals (Administration) Act 1992 is part of the legislation which supports the National Registration Scheme for agricultural and veterinary chemicals.

The purpose of the regulations is to prescribe fees for "certificates of free sale". These are certificates which are required by some overseas importing countries as a means of verifying that the agricultural and veterinary chemical products entering that country are in fact registered for use in Australia.

These fees are being reintroduced at this time because when the legislation for the National Registration Scheme was being prepared, an oversight resulted in the National Registration Authority for Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (NRA) no longer having the legal power to issue these certificates. Prior to the implementation of the National Registration Scheme certificates of free sale were issued by the States, and a fee charged for each certificate. The proposed regulations are the final step in remedying this oversight.

In preparing the certificates the NRA undertakes the following tasks: assessing its database to validate that the product is registered; establishing the requirements of the importing country to ensure that issued certificates are in accordance with the requirements; checking the legality of certificates; and obtaining, where necessary, certification from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Details of the regulations are as follows:

Regulation 1 provides for the citation of the regulations.

Regulation 2 prescribes the fees applicable, as follows:

Certificates requiring DFAT certification       - $120

Each additional certificate requiring DFAT certification       - $40

Standard certificate of export       - $100

Each additional standard certificate       - $20

It is not a legislative requirement that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade verify certain certificates, but it is sometimes requested by exporters to facilitate the export of' products to particular foreign countries. The verification consists of preparing a certificate containing a statement attesting that the NRA is the authorised Australian organisation to provide a certificate of free sale, attesting as to 'the signature of the NRA officer signing, and affixing thereto the seal of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The regulations commence upon gazettal.