Recovering the Costs of Customs Goods Clearance Activities
This submission is made on the behalf of the New Zealand Shippers’ Council. The Council is the peak body for New Zealand’s freight owners. We represent a very large proportion of New Zealand’s imports and exports.
The Council appreciates the opportunity to submit on the proposed Customs user charges and is grateful that officials from the Customs Department went to the trouble of attending our AGM to brief the membership on the proposal.
Individual members of the Council will be submitting separately but as a Council we agree that these charges should be consistent with WTO rules and represent charges that reflect the cost of their provision. We support, in principle, the methodology that you have employed to determine the proposed new charges.
The relationship with the NZ Customs Department is an important one for the Council. We have appreciated being part of past reference groups that have assisted Customs re-write the Customs Act and other matters. We suggest that thought be given to establishing a similar group to monitor the implementation of the new charging regime and to act as a sounding board for the Department with key stakeholders on other matters. We would happily participate in such a group.
