Australian Capital Territory

Insurance Levy Act 1998
No 32
Republication No 1D
As in force on 30 June 2001
Includes all amendments up to Act 2001 No 22

Prepared by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel’s Office
This republication is not an authorised republication for the Legislation (Republication) Act 1996.
As in force on
30 June 2001

Australian Capital Territory

Insurance Levy Act 1998
CONTENTS
	Page
PART 1—PRELIMINARY
	1	Short title	1
	2	Commencement	1
	3	Incorporation of the Taxation Administration Act	1
	4	Interpretation	1
	5	Assessable portions of prescribed premiums—regulations	2
PART 2—LEVIES
	8	Liability for annual levy—no advance payment payable	4
	9	Advance payment—additional payments and adjustments to 
		take account of annual levy	4
PART 3—FOREIGN INSURERS
	11	Application	5
	12	Liability of property owner—foreign insurance	5
	13	Recovery of levy by property owners from foreign insurers	6
PART 4—MISCELLANEOUS
	16	Transitional—financial year 1998-99	6
	17	Regulations	6
	ENDNOTES
	1	About this republication	7
	2	Abbreviation key	7
	3	Table of legislation	8
	4	Table of amendments	8
	5	Table of earlier republications	8

As in force on
30 June 2001

Australian Capital Territory

Insurance Levy Act 1998
An Act to impose a levy on general insurers and on certain other persons and for a related purpose
part 1—preliminary
1 	Short title 
	This Act may be cited as the Insurance Levy Act 1998.
2 	Commencement
	This Act commences on the day on which it is notified in the Gazette.
3	Incorporation of the Taxation Administration Act
	The Taxation Administration Act 1999 is incorporated and shall be read as one with this Act. 
4 	Interpretation
(1) 	In this Act—
assessable portion, in relation to a prescribed premium for an insurance policy, means the proportion of that premium determined in accordance with regulations made in pursuance of section 5.
foreign insurer means a general insurer not authorised under a law of the Territory, the Commonwealth, a State or another Territory to carry on business as a general insurer.
general insurance means insurance in respect of—
	(a)	property situated in the Territory when the insurance was effected; or
	(b)	an act or omission occurring in the Territory.
general insurer means a person who carries on the business of general insurance.
premium, in relation to an insurance policy, includes any brokerage or commission paid or due to be paid or allowed on a premium, or on any bonus or return premium allowed in respect of the policy, but does not include—
	(a)	stamp duty payable in respect of the policy under a law of the Territory, a State or another Territory; or
	(b)	any part of the premium that is paid or due to be paid by way of reinsurance by the insurer to any other insurer in the Territory.
prescribed premium means a premium payable for a policy of general insurance, being a policy of a class that is prescribed by regulations made in pursuance of section 5.
total levy amount means $10,000,000 or such other sum as is determined by the Minister by instrument.
(2) 	A determination of the Minister for the purposes of the definition of total levy amount in subsection (1) is a disallowable instrument for the purposes of section 10 of the Subordinate Laws Act 1989.
5 	Assessable portions of prescribed premiums—regulations
	The regulations may determine assessable portions of prescribed premiums for the purposes of this Act.

part 2—levies
8 	Liability for annual levy—no advance payment payable
	If no advance payment is payable by a general insurer in a financial year, the amount of the annual levy in respect of that year is due and payable by the insurer to the commissioner in equal instalments on or before 1 January and 1 April in that year, or on or before such other days in that year as the commissioner approves on the written application of the insurer.
9 	Advance payment—additional payments and adjustments to take account of annual levy
(1) 	If the annual levy for a general insurer in a financial year is greater than the advance payment payable by the insurer in that year, the amount of the difference is due and payable by the insurer to the commissioner in equal instalments on or before 1 January and 1 April in that year, or on or before such other days in that year as the commissioner approves on the written application of the insurer.
(2) 	If the annual levy for a general insurer in a financial year is less than the advance payment payable by the insurer in that year, the commissioner shall credit the amount of the difference against—
	(a)	any instalments that remain to be paid in respect of the advance payment; and
	(b)	any instalments that are required to be paid in respect of the advance payment that is payable during the following financial year;
in such a manner as the commissioner determines.
(3) 	If subsection (2) applies, and any balance is outstanding at the end of the financial year referred to in paragraph (2) (b), the commissioner shall pay the outstanding amount to the insurer not later than 30 June in that financial year.
(4) 	If—
	(a)	a general insurer is entitled to a credit referred to in
subsection (2) in respect of an advance payment; and
	(b)	no prescribed premium was due to the insurer for the taking out or renewal of any insurance policy in the financial year in which the advance payment was made; and
	(c)	the insurer has notified the commissioner accordingly under subsection 10 (2); and
	(d)	the liabilities of the insurer in relation to payments under this Act have been discharged;
the commissioner shall, as soon as practicable, pay to the insurer the amount of the credit or the balance outstanding, as the case may be.

part 3—foreign insurers
11 	Application
	This Part applies in respect of a policy of general insurance with a foreign insurer for which a prescribed premium is payable irrespective of where such a premium is received.
12 	Liability of property owner—foreign insurance
(1) 	This section applies where the commissioner gives a written notice to the owner of property in respect of which a general insurance policy has been taken out with a foreign insurer that the owner is responsible for any payments to be made under this Act in respect of prescribed premiums received, or due to be received, by the insurer in respect of that property.
(2) 	Where this section applies—
	(a)	the property owner shall pay the commissioner any amounts that would otherwise be payable by the insurer under this Act in respect of the prescribed premiums; and
	(b)	this Act (except section 10) applies with all necessary changes to the property owner as if the owner were the foreign insurer, subject to any modification of this Act prescribed by the regulations in relation to that application; and
	(c)	the application of section 10 to the foreign insurer is not affected.
13 	Recovery of levy by property owners from foreign insurers
	The amount of any payment made by a person to the commissioner in pursuance of section 12 may be recovered by the person from the foreign insurer to whom the relevant prescribed premiums were paid—
	(a)	by means of deductions from any prescribed premium recoverable in the Territory by or on behalf of the insurer on the issue or renewal of any general insurance policy taken out with the insurer; or
	(b)	as a debt.

part 4—miscellaneous
16 	Transitional—financial year 1998-99
	No advance payment is payable by a general insurer under
section 6 in the financial year beginning on 1 July 1998.
17 	Regulations
	The Executive may make regulations for the purposes of this Act.

ENDNOTES
1	About this republication
This is a republication of the Insurance Levy Act 1998  as in force on 30 June 2001.  It includes all amendments made to the Act up to Act 2001 No 22.
Amending laws are annotated in the table of legislation and table of amendments.
The Parliamentary Counsel’s Office currently prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws:  authorised printed republications to which the Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 applies and unauthorised electronic republications.  The status of this republication appears on the cover.
Section 13 of the Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 authorises the Parliamentary Counsel, in preparing a law for republication, to make textual amendments of a formal nature which the Parliamentary Counsel considers desirable in accordance with current legislative drafting practice.  The amendments do not effect a substantive change in the law.
In preparing this republication, amendments have not been made under section 13.
Not all amendments made under section 13 are annotated in the table of amendments.  Full details of any amendments can be obtained from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.
2	Abbreviation key
Key to abbreviations in tables

am = amended
amdt = amendment
ch = chapter
cl = clause
def = definition
div = division
exp = expires/expired
Gaz = Gazette
hdg = heading
ins = inserted/added
LR = Legislation (Republication) Act 1996
mod = modified
No = number
notfd = notified
o = order
om = omitted/repealed
orig = original
p = page
par = paragraph
pres = present
prev = previous
(prev...) = previously
prov = provision
pt = part
r = rule/subrule
reg = regulation/subregulation
renum = renumbered
reloc = relocated
R[X] = Republication No
s = section/subsection
sch = schedule
sdiv = subdivision
sub = substituted
SL  = Subordinate Law
sp = spent
*  = SL unless otherwise stated
† = Act or Ordinance unless otherwise stated

3	Table of legislation
Act†	Year and number†	Gazette
notification	Commencement	Transitional provisions	
Insurance Levy Act 1998	1998 No 32	11 Sept 1998	11 Sept 1998		
Taxation Administration (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 1999	1999 No 5	1 Mar 1999	1 Mar 1999	—	
Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1999	1999 No 66	10 Nov 1999	10 Nov 1999	—	
Insurance Levy Legislation Repeal Act 2001	2001 No 22	19 Apr 2001	ss 1-3:  19 Apr 2001
ss 4 and 5:  1 July 2002
amdt 1.3:  1 May 2001
amdts 1.2, 1.4-1.7:  30 June 2001
	—	
4	Table of amendments

Provision	How affected†

s 3	sub 1999 No 5
s 6	om 2001 No 22 amdts 1.2-1.4
s 7	om 2001 No 22 amdt 1.5
s 10	am 1999 No 66 s 6 sch 3
	om 2001 No 22 amdt 1.6
s 14	om 2001 No 22 amdt 1.7
s 15	om R2 (LR s 15 (1) (o) (iv))

5	Table of earlier republications
Republication No	Amendments to	Republication date	
1	Act 1999 No 5	31 July 1999	
1A	Act 1999 No 5 	31 July 1999	
1B	Act 1999 No 66	10 November 1999	
1C	Act 2001 No 22	1 May 2001	

©  Australian Capital Territory 2001

The Copyright Act 1968 (Cwlth) permits certain reproduction and publication of this legislation.  For reproduction or publication beyond that permitted by the Act, written permission must be sought from the Government Printer, c/o Information Management and Libraries, Department of Urban Services, ACT Government, GPO Box 158, Canberra City ACT 2601.