The purpose of this Part is to amend the principal Act to enable indexation of the rates of excise duty and excise-equivalent duty on motor spirits by reference to the amounts required by section 40 of the Land Transport Management Act 2003 to be paid to the national land transport fund.

The principal Act is amended by inserting, after section 79, the following section:

79A Indexation of rates of excise duty and excise-equivalent duty on motor spirits by reference to diversion amounts

(1)

The Governor-General may, by Order in Council, amend Schedule 3 to impose on motor spirits (as defined in subsection (4)) such rates of excise duty and excise-equivalent duty as—

(a)

the Governor-General thinks fit; and

(b)

are permitted by subsections (2) and (3).

(2)

Any change in the rates of excise duty and excise-equivalent duty made by Order in Council under subsection (1)—

(a)

must be limited in accordance with subsection (3) having regard to the movements in the Consumers Price Index All Groups excluding credit services; and

(b)

may come into force only on 1 April in any calendar year.

(3)

No new rate of excise duty or excise-equivalent duty imposed on any goods under subsection (1) may exceed a rate calculated in accordance with the following formula:

where—

a

is the Index number of the Consumers Price Index All Groups excluding credit services issued by the Government Statistician for the quarter ending on 31 December in the calendar year before the year in which the order is to come into force

b

is the Index number of the quarterly Consumers Price Index All Groups excluding credit services issued by the Government Statistician for the quarter ending 12 months before, and expressed on the same base quarter as, the relevant quarter specified in item a of this formula

c

is the diversion amount (as defined in subsection (4)) in respect of the rate of duty specified in item d of this formula

d

is the existing rate of duty in respect of the goods to which the order relates.

(4)

In this section,—

diversion amount, in relation to the existing rate of duty in respect of goods, means the amount of duty required by section 40 of the Land Transport Management Act 2003 to be paid to the national land transport fund

motor spirits means goods specified in Excise item numbers 99.75.15C and 99.75.18H and Tariff items 2710.19.11 and 2710.19.29 set out in Schedule 3.

Section 80(1) and (3) of the principal Act is amended by omitting the words “of this Act” in both places where they occur, and substituting in each case the words “or section 79A(1)”

The purpose of this Part is to amend the principal Act to increase, by 5 cents per litre (excluding goods and services tax), the rates of excise duty and excise-equivalent duty on motor spirits.

Part A of Schedule 3 of the principal Act is amended by omitting so much as relates to Excise item numbers 99.75.15C and 99.75.18H, and substituting the Excise item numbers and rates of duty specified in Part A of the Schedule.

Part B of Schedule 3 of the principal Act is amended by omitting so much as relates to Tariff items 2710.19.11 and 2710.19.29, and substituting the Tariff items and rates of duty specified in Part B of the Schedule.