86Regulations imposing levies

1. The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations providing for the levies that must be paid by a retailer, distributor, importer, or manufacturer of a notifiable product under Part 4.

2. Levies may be prescribed on the basis of—

3. the costs of the Director-General in performing or exercising the Director-General’s functions, powers, and duties under Part 4, where the size of the portion to be met by levies under that Part is determined by the Minister; and
4. the costs of the Director-General in performing or exercising the Director-General’s functions, powers, and duties under Part 1B, to the extent that the costs are not met by fees imposed by regulations made under section 85; and
5. the costs of collecting the levy money.

6. Levies may be prescribed on the basis that any actual cost that could have been, but has not been, recovered as a levy shortfall for a year may be recovered (along with any financing charge) over any period of up to 5 years.

7. The regulations may—

8. specify the class or classes of retailer, distributor, importer, or manufacturer that are required to pay a levy:
9. specify the amount of levies, or method of calculating or ascertaining the amount of levies:
10. include in levies, or provide for the inclusion in levies of, any shortfall in recovering the actual costs:
11. provide for refunds of any over-recovery of the actual costs:
12. provide for the payment and collection of levies:
13. provide different levies for different classes of retailer, distributor, importer, or manufacturer:
14. specify the financial year or part financial year to which a levy applies, and apply that levy to that financial year or part financial year and each subsequent financial year until the levy is revoked or replaced:
15. for the first financial year to which a levy applies, include in a levy amount or method the costs relating to establishing the database and performing or exercising the functions, duties, and powers of the Director-General that relate to Part 4:
16. require payment of a levy for a financial year or part financial year, irrespective of the fact that the regulations may be made after that financial year has commenced:
17. provide for waivers or refunds of the whole or any part of a levy for any case or class of cases.

18. If a person is in 2 or more classes of retailer, distributor, importer, or manufacturer in respect of which different levies have been prescribed, the person must pay each of those levies (unless the regulations provide otherwise).

19. Any levy prescribed under this section is recoverable in any court of competent jurisdiction as a debt due to the Crown.

20. Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).