Many of you would recently have attended CBFCA Member Forums which were conducted in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. During those sessions, we referred to ACN 2009/44 issued by the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service ("Customs") which indicated those were the countries where the AANZFTA would enter into force on 1 January 2010.
However, by way of more recent ACN number 2009/51, Customs has advised that, contrary to earlier advice provided to Customs, the AANZFTA will only enter into force on 1 January 2010 for Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Myanmar (Burma), Singapore and Vietnam. This means that the AANZFTA will not enter into force on 1 January 2010 for the remaining ASEAN Member States, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.
Recommendations
It seems that earlier advice provided to Customs that the AANZFTA would enter into force the Philippines on 1 January 2010, was incorrect. It is recommended that you all amend your records and advise your clients accordingly as you prepare for the commencement of the AANZFTA. For these purposes, it is strongly recommend that close attention is paid to ACN 2009/44 and Customs AANZFTA website, which includes significant and important information.
In addition, we also recommend close review to that section of the DFAT website at www.dfat.gov.au which also includes important and useful information on the AANZFTA.
http://www.hunthunt.com.au
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
