- AFMA’s Guide to Levy Arrangements for
2012-2013
- December 2012
Table of Contents
What is the levy for? 4
Who pays the levy? 4
Does the government contribute to the cost of managing Commonwealth fisheries? 4
What does my levy pay for? 5
What period of time does my levy relate to? 5
When will I receive a levy invoice? 5
How much will my levy cost this year? 5
Why has my levy amount changed this year? 5
Are levies subject to GST? 6
How can I pay my levy? 6
BPAY 6
Direct Deposit 6
Your reference number is unique and allows AFMA to confirm your payment!Payment by mail 6
Payment by credit card 7
What happens if I don’t pay my levy? 7
How do I enter into an arrangement to pay my overdue levy? 8
What must be included in my payment plan? 8
AFMA’s consideration of arrangement 8
What if I don’t make a payment or a payment plan? 8
Overview of cost recovered budget and levy collection 9
Fisheries where levies have decreased this year 10
Small Pelagic Fishery 10
Southern Squid Jig Fishery 10
Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery 10
Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery 10
Eastern and Western Skipjack Fishery 10
Bass Strait Central Zone Scallop Fishery 10
Coral Sea Fishery 10
Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery 10
Fisheries where levies have increased this year 11
Heard Island and Macdonald Islands Fishery 11
Macquarie Island Toothfish Fishery 11
North West Slope Fishery 11
Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery 11
Northern Prawn Fishery 11
Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery 11
Levy Amounts for 2012-13 12
AFMA Contact details 12
Fishery contacts 12
Licensing Contacts 13
Attachment 1- Coral Sea Fishery 2012-13 Levy Amounts 14
Attachment 2 - Eastern Tuna & Billfish Fishery 2012-13 Levy Amounts 15
Attachment 3 - Small Pelagic Fishery 2012-13 Levy Amounts 16
Attachment 4 - Southern & Eastern Scalefish & Shark Fishery 2012-13 Levy Amounts 17
Attachment 5 - Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery 2012-13 Levy Amounts 19
New invoicing arrangements for 2012-13
For the first time AFMA has introduced new invoicing arrangements for the 2012-13 financial year.
Concession holders will receive three separate invoices in the first five months of 2013.
Each invoice will be one third of the total annual levy amount payable on concessions owned on the following dates 14 January, 11 March and 30 April 2013.
One invoice will now be issued for all your Commonwealth concessions
Permanent transfers will not be registered until the levy covering all of your AFMA concessions is paid in full once you have been issued your invoice.
To improve the ‘user pays’ approach, a new system to calculate levies in the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery has been introduced. This means a fishers level of fishing activity reflects how much they contribute to management costs.
Concession owners will see a shift in costing from their access rights (boat Statutory Fishing Rights and fishing permits) to their quota species Statutory Fishing Rights.
Several concession types that previously did not pay a levy will now be subject to levy.
These include:
· auto long-line permits
· linked coastal waters permits
· linked trap permits
· Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) quota species
· Alfonsino quota.
What is the levy for?
Commonwealth concession owners are charged a levy to cover the costs associated with managing Commonwealth fisheries.
AFMA’s Cost Recovery Impact Statement details the percentage of costs attributed to government and concession owners and is available on the AFMA website (www.afma.gov.au)
Who pays the levy?
Commonwealth concession owners pay a levy for each fishery in which they own a fishing concession.
Does the government contribute to the cost of managing Commonwealth fisheries?
Yes, the Australian Government contributes to the cost of managing Commonwealth fisheries.
The government contributes an amount based on AFMA’s Cost Recovery Impact Statement.
AFMA’s Cost Recovery Impact Statement states what the government pays for and what is to be recovered from industry to cover the costs of fisheries management.
What does my levy pay for?
Your levy covers the annual costs of managing the fishery in which you own concessions.
This includes the costs of running management advisory committees, logbook programs, licensing registers and transactions, quota management and research.
What period of time does my levy relate to?
Your levy covers the period 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013.
When will I receive a levy invoice?
Levy invoices for a third of the prescribed levy amount will be sent out on the following dates in 2013;
- 14 January
- 11 March
- 30 April
How much will my levy cost this year?
Table 1 on page 12 of this document outlines the amount of levy you will be required to pay for each of your fishing concessions for the 2012-13 financial year.
Why has my levy amount changed this year?
AFMA only recovers the costs of managing each fishery in accordance with AFMA’s Cost Recovery Impact Statement.
If management costs go down then amount collected from industry also goes down, if costs increase this increase is reflected in the levies. Your levies may have increased or decreased this year depending on any changes in costs to be recovered from your fishery or a change in who is responsible for those costs.
Are levies subject to GST?
No, levies are excluded from GST. This is why AFMA does not issue a tax invoice for levies.
How can I pay my levy?
AFMA offers a number of payment methods:
Each year AFMA receives levy payments that we are unable to match up to an invoice because a reference number has not been provided.
Include your levy reference numbers when making all payments to make sure this doesn’t happen to you!
BPAY
To pay via BPAY, you can find the biller code and reference number on your levy remittance advice. If you do not use the reference number provided, AFMA will not be able to confirm your payment.
Finalised transactions can take on average 2-3 working days, so make sure you allow yourself processing time to ensure your payment is received on time.
Direct Deposit
You can pay by direct deposit by 2 ways.
1. Direct deposit using electronic funds transfer. A confirmation receipt must be either faxed or emailed to AFMA Licensing. Fax number 02 6225 5426 or email address .
2. Complete the ‘Deposit Credit form’ attached to your levy invoice/reminder notice and take the deposit slip to any branch of the National Australia Bank. The bank should stamp the levy invoice/reminder notice, this is your proof of receipt.
Please note: You CANNOT use the deposit slip for any other levy than the one it is intended for.
If you misplace your Levy Invoice and/or Reminder Notice, contact AFMA Direct on 1300 723 621 to obtain a copy.
Your reference number is unique and allows AFMA to confirm your payment!Payment by mail
To submit your payment by mail, please attach your cheque or money order, made payable to the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, to the deposit slip on the reverse side of the levy invoice and return it to:
Australian Fisheries Management Authority
PO Box 7051
CANBERRA BC ACT 2610
Please note: AFMA takes no responsibility for mail delays. Please ensure you post your cheque or money order well in advance to allow for any delays in delivery.
If your cheque or money order is not received at AFMA by the ‘due date’ for payment, your levy will automatically become overdue and penalties may apply. Any instalment provisions will also be cancelled (if applicable).
Payment by credit card
To pay by credit card, complete the credit card details on the levy invoice/reminder notice and fax it to 02 6225 5426 or you can email a scanned copy to .
Please note an additional 1% fee is charged for payments made by credit card.
What happens if I don’t pay my levy?
All levies are a debt due to the Commonwealth of Australia.
AFMA has an obligation to collect the levy once an invoice has been issued.
If you are having difficulty paying your levy by the due date, please contact AFMA Licensing on 02 6225 5555 to discuss payment options to ensure compliance action is not taken against your concessions.
If you do not pay your levy by the due date, AFMA will issue an overdue notice five days after the levy due date or instalment date.
The overdue notice will advise:
· that the levy amount is overdue and will incur an interest penalty of 20% per annum calculated daily on the overdue amount
· if no payment is received within 14 days from the date of the overdue notice, the fishing concession(s) may be suspended
· if the levy remains unpaid, the fishing concessions may be cancelled and legal action commenced to recover the debt.
AFMA will take all reasonable measures to ensure all levies are recovered.
Regardless of whether you were the concession owner that was issued the original levy invoice or not AFMA reserves the right to suspend or cancel a concession due to outstanding levies or penalties relating to the concession.
For this reason AFMA recommends that you check on the status of levy payments before purchasing or leasing concessions.
How do I enter into an arrangement to pay my overdue levy?
A concession holder can request to enter into an arrangement for the payment of overdue levy.
The request must be in writing and set out a proposed “payment plan” and include a payment of $220 (including GST) administration fee.
In accordance with the Fisheries Management Act 1991, entering into an arrangement to pay the 2012–13 levies does not exclude the concession owner from accruing the interest penalty. Penalty is calculated at the rate of 20% per annum (calculated daily) on overdue amounts.
What must be included in my payment plan?
A payment plan must include:
· a statement as to why the concession owner is entering into an arrangement to pay
· a repayment schedule which sets out the instalment dates of payments and the amount to be paid at each date
· at least one scheduled payment for each calendar month
· an undertaking from the fishing concession owner of their commitment to making each repayment on or before the due date for payment
· an acknowledgement that penalty is accruing at the rate of 20% per annum on the outstanding amount.
The payment schedule must not extend beyond 30 June 2013.
AFMA’s consideration of arrangement
In considering whether or not to enter into an arrangement for payment of overdue levy AFMA will take the following considerations into account:
· statements from the applicant in relation to their financial situation
· the timing of arrangements for payment of the overdue levy.
If AFMA agrees to an arrangement for payment, a letter will be sent which:
· sets out the conditions and terms applying to the arrangement
· sets out the payment plan
· advises that if any repayment is missed the balance will immediately become due and payable and the fishing concession will be suspended
· gives details of who to contact regarding the arrangement.
What if I don’t make a payment or a payment plan?
If you think you will be unable to make the agreed payment by the due date please contact AFMA Licensing as soon as possible on 02 6225 5555.
If any scheduled repayment is not made by the date agreed in the arrangement:
· the total outstanding levy falls due immediately
and
· the fishing concession will be suspended.
In this event, if a concession owner misses a payment and the concession is suspended, the concession holder may re-renter into an arrangement by:
· submitting a new payment plan and statement in relation to their financial situation; and
· paying an additional $220 administration fee.
Overview of cost recovered budget and levy collection
Despite inflation, AFMA’s cost recovered budgets for fisheries management have remained relatively consistent since 2005.
For 2012–2013, the total AFMA budget subject to cost recovery is $14.389 million. This amount is an increase of 2.97 per cent from the total AFMA 2011-2012 cost recovered budget of $13.974 million and includes fee for service and Torres Strait Prawn Levy.
The amount to be collected from the fishing industry each year includes the budgeted cost recovery amount, plus or minus the acquittal from the previous financial year.
In addition, AFMA collects a research levy of 0.25% of each fishery’s gross value of production (GVP) on behalf of the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC).
The actual amount proposed to be collected through the Levy Regulations for Commonwealth fisheries for 2012-2013 is $13.881 million, excluding the FRDC research component. This is an increase of $0.238 million or 1.74 per cent on the amount levied in the 2011–2012 financial year of $13.642 million.
Across all fisheries the total levy amount for 2012-13 is relatively unchanged from 2011-12, however the levy amount for each fishery may vary substantially due to several factors including:
· Changes in management and research priorities for each fishery
· Adjustment for prior year over/under collections
· Changes in priorities through the financial year that alter the amount of resources required to administer the fishery
· Changes to the formula used to apportion the levy to concession owners (Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF) only)
The formula used to distribute the levy across fishing concessions in the SESSF has changed.
AFMA engaged an independent fisheries consultant to examine the allocation formula used in the SESSF since 2005 and make recommendations for change guided by a set of principles developed by the South East Management Advisory Committee (SEMAC).
The primary recommendation was a reallocation of levies between fishing concession types to better align recoverable costs against those concession types that are causing those costs to be incurred.
The outcomes of the investigation were presented to SEMAC who supported the recommendations. AFMA has implemented the new allocation formula for the recovery of costs.