replies by australia to the questions from Switzerland regarding
Australia's notification on quantitative restrictions
(g/ma/qr/n/aus/3)
Communication from australia
The
following communication, dated 13 November 2017, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Australia.
_______________
Question No.1:
Could Australia
provide more details regarding QR number 7 (Counterfeit credit cards). It seems
that counterfeit credit, debit and charge [cards] can be exported if a
permission has been given by the Minister for Immigration and Border
Protection. Is this understanding correct?
Response:
Regulation 13D of
the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1958 prohibits the export of
counterfeit credit, debit and charge cards without permission from the Minister
for Justice. Counterfeit credit, debit and charge cards are also
controlled under Regulation 4T of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations
1958.
In the regulations
the Minister means the Minister
administering the Australian Federal Police Act 1979. Currently,
this is the Minister for Justice. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) are the
relevant policy agency for this control.
Annual domestic
credit card fraud, and international fraud involving Australian credit cards,
is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. There is also
evidence that counterfeit cards are being manufactured overseas and brought
into Australia to commit fraud against Australian businesses and financial
institutions. Legislation to control the importation and exportation of
counterfeit credit cards was introduced as a result of discussions with other
agencies including the AFP, the Attorney-General’s Department and the Treasury,
which resulted in unanimous agreement to import and export prohibitions on
counterfeit cards.
The ordinary meaning
of the term “counterfeit” applies to these controls. This means that any non‑genuine
credit, debit and charge cards that are made to imitate and pass for genuine
cards are intended to be subject to the controls. Examples of the situations
that are intended to be covered include where a card has a name and number that
do not match the issuing authority’s records, and where more than one card has
the same number embossed on it.
There may be limited
circumstances where the importation or exportation of such cards is appropriate
and the Minister may grant permission. For example, it is possible that law
enforcement agencies, financial institutions or credit providers (such as the
credit card companies) may seek to examine such cards to enable them to improve
mechanisms to avoid counterfeiting, or for training or for law enforcement
evidentiary purposes.