On 22 July 2023, the world’s largest women’s sporting event, the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 (FWWC) will kick off across Australia and New Zealand. The Australian Border Force (ABF) has established Item 59 which provides duty-free entry to goods “for use in connection with international sporting events.” By-law No. 2320518 provides a ‘Free’ rate of customs duty for certain goods imported by FIFA and related entities for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 (FWWC).
Item 59 will be given retrospective effect back to 01 January 2023, as implemented by Australian Customs Notice No. 2023/31. Then when it is incorporated into the Customs Tariff Act, it will go back further and will be taken to have commenced on 01 January 2022.
Importers seeking to use item 59 and its associated by-law should record this by listing treatment code 759 on the import declaration for goods of a value greater than $1000 or on the self-assessed clearance declaration if goods are of a value of $1000 or less.
Refunds for goods already imported.
A refund of customs duty may be available for goods imported for the FWWC that have already been imported and which meet the requirements of the item and by-law.
To be eligible for a refund:
– The rate of duty must have been determined on or after 01 January 2023, and
– The customs duty must have been paid on the import declaration or self-assessed clearance.
The owner of the goods or the authorised representative of the owner may apply for a refund if they lodged the import declaration or self-assessed clearance.
Applications for refunds under Item 59 should use refund code EB.
Second New Bylaw Covering Returned Goods.
Australian Customs Notice No. 2023/31 also announces ‘New by-law for Item 17 to Schedule 4 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995.’ Customs By-law No. 2300145 prescribes goods exported from Australia and returned in an unaltered condition that are not subject to certain conditions.
It commences on 11 July 2023. This by-law replaces Customs By-law No. 0176871, which was due to sunset later this year and can no longer be used from 11 July 2023. The scope of goods covered by the new Customs By-law No. 2300145 is identical to the old one it replaces.
To see the complete notice and read amended Customs Tariff pages, see the 10-page notice in PDF format HERE.
Also read our related article: Imports for International Organisations.
As licensed Customs Brokers and International Freight Forwarders, Colless Young professionally handles all your import Customs clearance needs. We also provide export shipping, sea cargo and airfreight, including quarantine / fumigation treatment, warehousing and trucking. We are based in Brisbane and offer a complete range of logistics services through all Australian ports and airports.
