12/11/02 - Customs to auction cartons of clothing

05/11/02 - Police retrieve $1.8m haul from raid on containers

28/10/02 - AQIS LCL Packing Scheme Deferred Implementation

10/09/02 - Australian Quarantine Import LCL Packing Declarations

21/08/02 - Airlift of sandbags for German floods

15/07/02 - New Customs advisory service for export AHECC codes

22/06/02 - Customs document retention requirements under CMR

20/05/02 - Sydney Airport upgrade

15/04/02 - Nine Charged in alleged freight industry heroin conspiracy

10/04/02 - Qantas to start Australian Airlines in October

04/04/02 - Fertiliser vessel remains under quarantine

10/03/02 - Government wants exporter numbers doubled by 2006

12/02/02 - Customs to start new penalty system in July

11/01/02 - Customs seizes 100m smuggled cigarettes from shipments


12/11/02 - Customs to auction cartons of clothing

Women's, men's and children's clothing and footwear are among thousands of abandoned, forfeited and seized goods to be sold at auction in Sydney by Customs later this month. Other items up for sale include indoor and outdoor furniture as well as two cars - a Mercedes Benz and a BMW.

There will be no reserve price on any of the goods which will be sold inclusive of Customs duties and GST. The auction will be held at the premises of Mason Gray Strange Auctioneers and Valuers, 11-15 Harley Crescent, Condell Park, Sydney, on Wednesday 20 November, starting at 10am. The public are able to view the goods on Monday and Tuesday 18 and 19 November from 9am to 3pm.

05/11/02 - Police retrieve $1.8m haul from raid on containers

A four-month investigation into the theft of large shipping and trucking containers has led the arrest of six men and the seizure of almost $2m worth of stolen goods. Officers from Operation Netivas executed a search warrant on commercial premises in Port Kembla, seizing $1.8m worth of DVD and video equipment, a hydroponic drug lab, shipping containers and a refrigerator.

Mascot police assisted by the New South Wales Crime Commission and the Marine Area Command arrested six men in relation to the incident. Five were charged with a range of offences that included armed robbery, stealing, receiving stolen property and drug offences. They will appear in Port Kembla court next month while the other man was released without charge.

28/10/02 - AQIS LCL Packing Scheme Deferred Implementation

AQIS has experienced delays to the IT system testing process required for the implementation of the Scheme. Therefore, AQIS in consultation with peak industry bodies has agreed that adjustments to the implementation strategy for the LCL Packing Scheme are appropriate.

The LCL Packing Scheme will now be implemented in all States from 1 February 2003. The original strategy for the LCL Packing Scheme was for a staged implementation to commence from 1 November 2002 in SA, NT, WA, Tas, ACT and Qld and then NSW and Vic would then commence from 1 February 2003.

To assist with the smooth national implementation of the scheme from 1 February 2003, AQIS will initially implement the LCL Packing Scheme on countries with a history of high levels of interceptions for insects, bark and other contamination. A list of these countries will be made available shortly. During the implementation period, AQIS will maintain its current surveillance activities on LCL cargo.

10/09/02 - Australian Quarantine Import LCL Packing Declarations

After a year of review the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) have formalised their documentary requirements for LCL consignments.

Packing Declarations, similar to those currently mandatory for import FCL containers will become mandatory for LCL consignments arriving after 1st November 2002. Packing Declarations must be provided by the supplier or packer of the goods. If wooden packing is used it must be treated in accordance with AQIS guidelines. Up to date information on acceptable treatments for wooden packing and approved treatment providers can be found in the AQIS website at: http://www.affa.gov.au/

Importers will need to advise their overseas suppliers of these new requirements to ensure that this documentation is forwarded with each shipment. Alternatively it is a good time to consider different packing options such as paper or plastic pallets.

21/08/02 - Airlift of sandbags for German floods

Lufthansa Cargo flew .5m sandbags from Amsterdam to Leipzip-Halle in support of the fight against floods in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg. A Boeing MD-11 freighter took 90 tonnes of sandbags on Sunday evening after an urgent call. Flooding of the Elbe has put large swathes of the Czech Republic and central and eastern Germany under water.

Authorities want to contain the flooding because of the risk of disease from the number of animal carcases the river has swept along. There are also fears of chemical contamination from a flooded Czech chemical plant.

"We gladly met the request put by the logistics centre coordinating relief activites to fly sandbags into the disaster area in order to contain flood damage as far as possible," Lufthansa Cargo chairman Jean-Peter Jansen said. "This terrible disaster has affected each and every one of us."

15/07/02 - New Customs advisory service for export AHECC codes

From 1st July 2002 the Australian Customs Service (ACS) has introduced the AHECC Classification Advisory Service. This is based on the Australian Harmonised Export Commodity Classification (AHECC) document used to classify goods for export from Australia. Information provided to exporters by the ACS about AHECC classification has now been developed into a formal process.

The service will be accessible primarily over the internet and will be provided centrally through the Sydney office of the ACS with a five working day turnaround. The main aim of the service is to raise the integrity of AHECC reporting by exporters to ensure data given to the Australian Bureau of Statistics is accurate.


22/06/02 - Customs document retention requirements under CMR

Under the new amendments to the Customs Act commencing 1st July 2002 (sec 240), the obligation on owners of imported and exported goods to retain commercial documents for five years has been extended to include anyone who causes cargo to be imported into or exported from Australiaas well as those who receive those goods. This includes freight forwarders, shipping lines, airlines, depots and stevedores.

Under Section 240AA an authorised Customs Officer may require people to produce commercial documents.The Customs Act defines this as documents prepared in the normal course of business for the purposes of a commercial transaction involving goods or their carriage, but does not include electronic communications to or from Customs.

A new obligation has also been introduced requiring that any person engaged to communicate information to Customs (on behalf of people who have reporting obligations for imported or exported goods) is also obliged to retain records of such communications for one year.

Commercial documents and records may be kept at any place, including a place outside Australia, and may be kept in any form or stored in any manner.

20/05/02 - Sydney Airport upgrade

A $10 million upgrade at Sydney Airport was opened at the end of April by the Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator Ellison, in conjunction with the Minister for Agriculture, Warren Truss.

The upgrade includes 24 X-Ray machines to screen passengers baggage as well as an additional 164 Customs staff. According to Senator Ellison:

"The improved border protection initiatives originally brought in to prevent the introduction of foot and mouth and other exotic diseases, is now providing a more seamless barrier at Sydney Airport.

There has been a 360% increase in detection of undeclared prohibited goods including a number of significant drug and other seizures"

15/04/02 - Nine Charged in alleged freight industry heroin conspiracy

Nine Sydney men are facing drug-related charges involving an alleged conspiracy to import heroin, Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator Chris Ellison said today.

Two of those charged are Sydney-based employees, one a manager, of an international express courier company.

"Customs and the Federal Police began investigations last August into a suspected conspiracy to import narcotics into Australia. The investigation, involving considerable surveillance and monitoring of the group's activities, led to the detection on 4th April of 1.55kg of heroin at Sydney Airport," Senator Ellison said.

The investigation culminated when Customs Officer's intercepted an air cargo consignment of sample computer sound cards which was found to contain two blocks of heroin imported from Hong Kong.

"This operation again demonstrates the value of the AFP and Customs working closely together to combat drug trafficking and that attempts to import illicit drugs into Australia are unlikely to succeed," Senator Ellison said.

10/04/02 - Qantas to start Australian Airlines in October

Qantas Airways' budget airline, Australian Airlines, will begin operations in October 2002.

Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon, said Australian Airlines has been given the go-ahead after achieving a satisfactory cost structure and completing negotiations with various unions regarding wages, conditions and work practices.

The first stage of the new airline's operations will involve phasing in services between Cairns and Osaka, Fukuoka, Singapore, Taipei, Hong Kong and Nagoya between late October and December.

The second stage will begin early next year, with flights departing from a yet-to-be-determined city in Australia to destinations including Phuket in Thailand and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

Mr Dixon said the airline will not compete with Qantas, but will operate on routes Qantas has withdrawn from or on routes where Qantas has been unable to extract a satisfactory return.

04/04/02 - Fertiliser vessel remains under quarantine

The quaratining in the last two weeks of two vessels carrying fertiliser to Australia is a "freak occurrence", according to Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) spokesman, Carson Creagh.

AQIS is still deciding what to do with the two vessels after they were blocked last week because of fears about potential contamination. In both cases, traces of barley from the previous cargo were found in the structural framework of the hold. The barley came from Germany and the UK.

AQIS is worried that the fertiliser could become contaminated during unloading. Of particular concern are a number of fungi common in European grains.The fungi are not found in Australia so contamination of the fertiliser could cause damage to agricultural crops and native grasses.

Officials are continuing talks with the importers about ways to prevent contamination, with options such as heating the fertilizer or partial unloading or re-export.

10/03/02 - Government wants exporter numbers doubled by 2006

Trade ministers agreed to target a doubling of the number of Australian exporters by 2006 when they met in Canberra recently. State, Territory and Federal trade ministers came to an agreement that will provide a framework for state and Commonwealth agencies to jointly develop programs to assist export growth.

Five priorities make up the agreement, including developing new exporters, better export facilitation in regional Australia and encouraging private sector support services for exporters. Other topics on the agenda included the Commonwealth's foreign and trade policy White Paper, US steel tariffs, World Trade Organisation developments, and Free Trade Agreements with Singapore, the US and Thailand.


12/02/02 - Customs to start new penalty system in July

The Australian Customs Service will start operating the new infringement and penalty system for customs users on July 1 this year.

The system is part of the Cargo Management Re-engineering system, which is being gradually introduced after last year’s passage of the Trade Modernisation Bill. Customs will start consulting industry on the new penalty guides soon. The industry consultation must take place before the new system can be tabled in Federal Parliament and enacted.


11/01/02 - Customs seizes 100m smuggled cigarettes from shipments

Customs seized over 100m smuggled cigarettes during 2001, four times as many as the previous year. The cigarettes were detected in over 30 separate cargo consignments from overseas.

One of the latest seizures, in which investigations are still continuing, saw 3.75m branded cigarettes concealed in a container of hardwood doors. The 26 pallets of doors, sea cargo from Malaysia, included one or two complete items but the rest had been cut out to form a hollow concealment space. In another December seizure, Customs officers in Melbourne found 2.6m cigarettes hidden in a container shipment of prawn crackers from China.

The minister for justice and customs, Senator Chris Ellison, said the detections are the result of on-going Customs investigations into alleged attempts to smuggle cigarettes into Australia without duty being paid on them. Of the 100m cigarettes intercepted in 2001, 72m were found in Sydney and 26m in Melbourne. The national total amounts to attempts to evade payment of revenue of more than $22m.