Review of border charges, fees and taxes

The Government has commissioned a joint review of charges, fees and taxes at the border which will focus on identifying where the border charging arrangements can be improved to better support future border operations and outcomes for industry.

The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Scott Morrison announced the commencement of the Fees Review on 17 September 2014.

This Review will be led by the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) and the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) and will be conducted jointly with the Department of Agriculture (Agriculture) given similarities in certain border charging arrangements.

The Review will cover current major charging arrangements at the border, including:

• Import Processing and Passenger Movement Charges levied by ACBPS.
• Import related fees and charges recovered by Agriculture such as full import declaration charges, container charges and registration fees.
• Visa Application Charges administered by DIBP.
• Current and future cost recovery based charging for services, particularly those resulting from industry demand factors.

Industry, Government and the community can play a key role in the Fees Review by sharing their views on current charges at the border.

ACBPS wants to hear from industry participants involved in travel and trade across the border on how the current charging regime can be improved. Organisations and individuals with peak body representation are encouraged to direct their ideas through their respective industry body. Public comments and feedback may be provided online at www.customs.gov.au/feesreview using an online submission form. The closing date for submissions was 31 October 2014.