30th November, 2022
Sea FID Charges to Increase in 2023:
Dear Valued Gava Customers,
We would like to inform you that the Full Import Declaration Charge for Sea Cargo (Sea FID) for each declared consignment arriving by sea will increase in 2023.
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has advised of its intent to commence implementation of cost recovery for its increased efforts to manage the risks posed by hitchhiker pests and diseases through the 2021–22 Biosecurity Cost Recovery Statement (CRIS).
The Biosecurity (Hitchhiker) CRIS 2022-23 sets out the details of this intention and the proposed increase to the Full Import Declaration charge for sea cargo (Sea FID) for each declared consignment arriving by sea.
In the May 2021-22 Budget, the Australian Government committed $96.9 million (over 4 years) to better manage the risk of hitchhiker pests and diseases that can cause considerable disruption and costs to agricultural production and the Australian environment. The program is to be funded through a combination of existing departmental sources and cost recovery from the industry.
Furthermore, the program addresses the growing risk of major hitchhiker pests, for instance, the Khapra beetle and the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, that can be carried in and on containers and their contents (around 2.5 million containers arrive each year).
Noting that it is not possible to check all containers and that increased screening effort potentially causes delays at ports, the funding aims to better manage the threat of hitchhiker pests through working with the industry to design and introduce innovative ways to better profile risk and enable more rapid screening.
To achieve this, the Department intends to increase the Full Import Declaration charge for sea cargo (Sea FID) for each declared consignment arriving by sea from $49 to $58, commencing 16 January 2023.
Additionally, billing arrangements will remain the same, with the increase only applying to Sea FID’s lodged on or after this date.
A draft Biosecurity (Hitchhiker) Cost Recovery Implementation Statement 2022-23 sets out the details of this proposed change to the Sea FID and is now available on the Department’s website.
