Draft (DIBP) Notices (DIBPN) 2016/12 and 2016/13
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft DIPBN’s.
The follow submission has been prepared by the Customs and International Transactions Committee of the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia.
The submission briefly reviews the legislation, previous Australian Customs Notice guidance (ACN’s) from the Australian Customs Service and the implications of the 2015 Studio Fashions case (Studio Fashion (Australia) Pty Ltd v The CEO of Customs [2015] AATA366). Some points regarding the need to narrow the scope of the liabilities described in the DIBPN’s are made in conclusion. These are to take account of uncertainty in the application of Studio Fashions regarding the extent to which “owner” and the provisions of section 165 are consistent with GST legislation.