The department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) and Australian Border Force (ABF)  have published Notice 2017/16 – containing advice to industry and owners/importers on the definition of ‘Owner’ contained in the Customs Act 1901. The Notice also outlines the broad compliance approach for the purposes of duty demands and revenue recovery under section 165 of the Customs Act.
Who is an ‘Owner’ under the Customs Act?
Section 4 of the Customs Act defines ‘Owner’ as follows:
‘Owner’ in respect of goods includes any person (other than an officer of Customs) being or holding himself or herself out to be the owner, importer, exporter, consignee, agent, or person possessed of, or beneficially interested in, or having any control of, or power of disposition over the goods.
This means that most parties participating in an import or export supply chain, including licensed customs brokers, may be considered the ‘Owner’ for the purposes of Customs Act. It is particularly relevant to importations where the goods are sold under the ‘Delivered Duty Paid’(DDP) type of transaction.
Once a decision has been made that a demand for duty should be issued to a party other than the importer named on the import declaration, a written demand will be issued. The demand notice will provide details as to why it was issued, a breakdown of the outstanding amount and details of how to proceed if the demand is disputed.
As always, contact us here at Colless Young if you need advice on your import transactions.
