CONSULAR PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES ACT 1972

This compilation was prepared on 19 April 2011
taking into account amendments up to Act No. 5 of 2011

The text of any of those amendments not in force
on that date is appended in the Notes section

The operation of amendments that have been incorporated may be
affected by application provisions that are set out in the Notes section

Prepared by the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing,
Attorney-General's Department, Canberra

Contents

1............ Short title [see Note 1] ........................................................................ 1

2............ Commencement [see Note 1] .............................................................. 1

3............ Interpretation ....................................................................................... 1

4............ Extension to Territories ....................................................................... 2

5............ Vienna Convention on Consular Relations to have force of law ......... 2

6............ Provisions relating to exemption from customs duties ........................ 4

7............ Exemption from excise duty ................................................................ 6

9............ Regulations may grant consular privileges and immunities in certain cases 7

10.......... Privileges and immunities of certain consular employees of consular post 9

10AA.... Additional privileges or immunities granted by agreement, arrangement or understanding 9

10A....... Indirect tax concession scheme ......................................................... 10

11.......... Withdrawal of privileges and immunities .......................................... 11

12.......... Certificates by Minister ..................................................................... 11

12A....... Delegation ......................................................................................... 12

13.......... Regulations ....................................................................................... 12

Schedule 13

Notes 49

An Act relating to Consular Privileges and Immunities, and for other purposes

Notes to the Consular Privileges and Immunities Act 1972

Note 1

The Consular Privileges and Immunities Act 1972 as shown in this compilation comprises Act No. 62, 1972 amended as indicated in the Tables below.

All relevant information pertaining to application, saving or transitional provisions prior to 14 September 2006 is not included in this compilation. For subsequent information see Table A.

Table of Acts

Act	Number and year	Date of Assent		Date of commencement	Application, saving or transitional provisions
Consular Privileges and Immunities Act 1972	62, 1972	31 Aug 1972	31 Aug 1972
Statute Law Revision Act 1973	216, 1973	19 Dec 1973	31 Dec 1973		--
Administrative Changes (Consequential Provisions) Act 1976	91, 1976	20 Sept 1976	S. 3: (a)		--
Australian Federal Police (Consequential Amendments) Act 1979	155, 1979	28 Nov 1979	S. 3: (b)		--
Australian Federal Police (Consequential Amendments) Act 1980	70, 1980	28 May 1980	28 May 1980		--
Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act (No. 1) 1982	26, 1982	7 May 1982	Part XVII (ss. 134, 135): 4 June 1982 (c)		--
Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act (No. 2) 1982	80, 1982	22 Sept 1982	Part LXXVII (s. 280): Royal Assent (d)		S. 280(2) and (3)
Customs Tariff (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 1982	115, 1982	22 Nov 1982	Ss. 1, 2, 7 and 8(1): Royal Assent Remainder: 1 Jan 1983 (see s. 2(2) and Gazette 1982, No. S274)		--
Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No. 1) 1985	65, 1985	5 June 1985	S. 3: 3 July 1985 (e)		--
Customs Tariff (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 1987	76, 1987	5 June 1987	1 Jan 1988 (see s. 2 and Gazette 1987, No. S351)		--
Diplomatic and Consular Privileges Amendment Act 1988	15, 1988	11 May 1988	11 May 1988		S. 10
Sales Tax Amendment (Transitional) Act 1992	118, 1992	30 Sept 1992	28 Oct 1992		--
Customs Tariff (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 1996	15, 1996	24 June 1996	1 July 1996 (f)		--
Income Tax (Consequential Amendments) Act 1997	39, 1997	17 Apr 1997	1 July 1997		--
Foreign Affairs and Trade Legislation Amendment Act 1997	150, 1997	17 Oct 1997	Schedule 1 (item 6): Royal Assent (g)		--
A New Tax System (Indirect Tax and Consequential Amendments) Act (No. 2) 1999	177, 1999	22 Dec 1999	Schedule 7 (items 1-9): (h)		--
Consular Privileges and Immunities Amendment Act 2005	132, 2005	15 Nov 2005	15 Nov 2005		--
Tax Laws Amendment (Repeal of Inoperative Provisions) Act 2006	101, 2006	14 Sept 2006	Schedule 5 (item 44) and Schedule 6 (items 5-11): Royal Assent		Sch. 6 (items 5-11) [see Table A]
Australian Citizenship (Transitionals and Consequentials) Act 2007	21, 2007	15 Mar 2007	Schedules 1-3: 1 July 2007 (see s. 2(1) and F2007L01653) Remainder: Royal Assent		--
Statute Law Revision Act 2008	73, 2008	3 July 2008	Schedule 4 (items 193-199): 4 July 2008		--
Statute Law Revision Act 2011	5, 2011	22 Mar 2011	Schedule 5 (items 56-62): 19 Apr 2011		--

Table of Amendments

ad. = added or inserted am. = amended rep. = repealed rs. = repealed and substituted
Provision affected	How affected
S. 3......................................	am. No. 216, 1973; No. 65, 1985; No. 15, 1988; No. 118, 1992; No. 177, 1999; No. 21, 2007; No. 5, 2011
S. 4......................................	am. No. 216, 1973
S. 5......................................	am. No. 216, 1973; No. 155, 1979; No. 70, 1980; No. 65, 1985; Nos. 39 and 150, 1997
S. 6......................................	am. No. 216, 1973; No. 91, 1976; Nos. 26, 80 and 115, 1982; No. 65, 1985; No. 76, 1987; No. 15, 1988; No. 15, 1996; No. 177, 1999: No. 73, 2008; No. 5, 2011
S. 7......................................	am. No. 216, 1973; No. 91, 1976; No. 80, 1982; No. 65, 1985; No. 15, 1988: No. 73, 2008; No. 5, 2011
S. 8......................................	am. No. 216, 1973; No. 65, 1985; No. 118, 1992
	rep. No. 101, 2006
S. 8A...................................	ad. No. 15, 1988
	am. No. 118, 1992
	rep. No. 101, 2006
S. 9......................................	am. No. 216, 1973; No. 65, 1985
S. 10....................................	am. No. 216, 1973
S. 10AA...............................	ad. No. 132, 2005
S. 10A.................................	ad. No. 177, 1999
S. 11....................................	am. No. 73, 2008
S. 12A.................................	ad. No. 65, 1985
	am. No. 5, 2011
Heading to The Schedule	rep. No. 65, 1985
Heading to Schedule........	ad. No. 65, 1985

Table A

Application, saving or transitional provisions

Tax Laws Amendment (Repeal of Inoperative Provisions) Act 2006
(No. 101, 2006)

Schedule 6

5 Application of Schedule 5 amendments

The repeals and amendments made by Schedule 5 apply to acts done or omitted to be done, or states of affairs existing, after the commencement of the amendments.

6 Object

The object of this Part is to ensure that, despite the repeals and amendments made by this Act, the full legal and administrative consequences of:

(a) any act done or omitted to be done; or

(b) any state of affairs existing; or

before such a repeal or amendment applies, can continue to arise and be carried out, directly or indirectly through an indefinite number of steps, even if some or all of those steps are taken after the repeal or amendment applies.

7 Making and amending assessments, and doing other things, in relation to past matters

Even though an Act is repealed or amended by this Act, the repeal or amendment is disregarded for the purpose of doing any of the following under any Act or legislative instrument (within the meaning of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003):

(a) making or amending an assessment (including under a provision that is itself repealed or amended);

(b) exercising any right or power, performing any obligation or duty or doing any other thing (including under a provision that is itself repealed or amended);

in relation to any act done or omitted to be done, any state of affairs existing, or any period ending, before the repeal or amendment applies.

Example 1: On 31 July 1999, Greg Ltd lodged its annual return under former section 160ARE of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936. The return stated that the company had a credit on its franking account and that no franking deficit tax was payable for the 1998-99 franking year. Under former section 160ARH of that Act, the Commissioner was taken to have made an assessment consistent with the return.

Following an audit undertaken after the repeal of Part IIIAA of that Act, the Commissioner concludes that Greg Ltd fraudulently overfranked dividends it paid during the 1998-99 franking year, and had a franking account deficit for that franking year. As a result, the Commissioner considers that franking deficit tax and a penalty by way of additional tax are payable.

The Commissioner can amend the assessment under former section 160ARN of that Act, because item 7 of this Schedule disregards the repeal of that section for the purposes of making an assessment in relation to the 1998-99 franking year. Item 7 will also disregard the repeal of Division 11 of former Part IIIAA to the extent necessary for the Commissioner to assess Greg Ltd's liability to a penalty by way of additional tax.

Despite the repeal of sections 160ARU and 160ARV, item 9 will ensure that the general interest charge will accrue on the unpaid franking deficit tax and penalty until they are paid.

Item 7 will also preserve Greg Ltd's right, under former section 160ART of that Act, to object against the Commissioner's amended assessment (including the penalty), since the objection is the exercise of a right in relation to a franking year that ended before the repeal of Part IIIAA.

Example 2: During the 1997-98 income year, Duffy Property Ltd withheld amounts from its employees' wages as required by former Divisions 1AAA and 2 of Part VI of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936. The company failed to notify the Commissioner of those amounts, and failed to remit them to the Commissioner.

Following an audit undertaken after the repeal of those Divisions, the Commissioner discovers that the withheld amounts have not been remitted. The company's records are incomplete and the Commissioner is unable to completely ascertain the extent of its liability for the withheld amounts. Under section 222AGA of that Act, the Commissioner makes an estimate of the liability.

Item 7 will disregard the repeal of section 220AAZA of that Act (which empowered the Commissioner to recover the amount of the estimate). Even though the estimate is made after the repeal, it relates to amounts withheld before the repeal.

8 Saving of provisions about effect of assessments

If a provision or part of a provision that is repealed or amended by this Act deals with the effect of an assessment, the repeal or amendment is disregarded in relation to assessments made, before or after the repeal or amendment applies, in relation to any act done or omitted to be done, any state of affairs existing, or any period ending, before the repeal or amendment applies.

9 Saving of provisions about general interest charge, failure to notify penalty or late reconciliation statement penalty

If:

(a) a provision or part of a provision that is repealed or amended by this Act provides for the payment of:

(i) general interest charge, failure to notify penalty or late reconciliation statement penalty (all within the meaning of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936); or

(ii) interest under the Taxation (Interest on Overpayments and Early Payments) Act 1983; and

(b) in a particular case, the period in respect of which the charge, penalty or interest is payable (whether under the provision or under the Taxation Administration Act 1953) has not begun, or has begun but not ended, when the provision is repealed or amended;

then, despite the repeal or amendment, the provision or part continues to apply in the particular case until the end of the period.

10 Repeals disregarded for the purposes of dependent provisions

If the operation of a provision (the subject provision) of any Act or legislative instrument (within the meaning of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003) made under any Act depends to any extent on an Act, or a provision of an Act, that is repealed by this Act, the repeal is disregarded so far as it affects the operation of the subject provision.

11 Schedule does not limit operation of section 8 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901

This Schedule does not limit the operation of section 8 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

CONSULAR PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES ACT 1972 - NOTES