Power to alter tariff

(1) The National Assembly may, by resolution, increase, reduce, abolish or otherwise alter any Customs or Excise duty leviable in Belize or may impose a Customs or an Excise duty 18 Custom and Excise Duties upon any goods whereon a Customs or an Excise duty at the time when such resolution is passed, is not leviable. (2) Whenever any resolution imposing any new, or increasing or reducing any existing Customs or Excise duty has been passed by the National Assembly such duty shall, unless it be otherwise expressed in the resolution and subject to sub- section (4), from and after the passing thereof, be leviable and recoverable in accordance with the provisions of any existing Act relating to the demand and recovery of duties of the like nature. (3) A Bill to validate any such resolution shall be introduced into the National Assembly as soon as possible after the passing of such resolution and not later than at the meeting of the National Assembly which takes place next after the passing of such resolution. (4) In case no Bill is introduced into the National Assembly as provided by sub-section (3), or on the withdrawal or rejection by the National Assembly of such Bill, or in case such Bill otherwise fails to become law, every such resolution shall cease to have effect. (5) In the event of such resolution ceasing to have effect, (a) a refund of any new duties or any increasing of existing duties collected under the resolution shall be made to the person who shall have paid the same; and (b) when the resolution shall have effected a reduction of the duty, the Comptroller is hereby authorised to collect the difference between the duty payable at the time of reduction and that fixed by the resolution. Custom and Excise Duties 19 (6) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section the Minister may, when he deems it necessary or expedient to do so, by Order which shall take effect from the date of its publication in the Gazette, reduce or abolish any customs duty set out in Schedule I, or restore any such duty to its original level as it was before such reduction or abolition. Schedule I. (7) Every Order made by the Minister under sub-section (6), shall be laid before the National Assembly as soon as possible after the making thereof (but no later than at the meeting of the National Assembly which takes place next after the publication of the Order in the Gazette, or within 40 days of such publication, whichever occurs first) and shall be subject to negative resolution. (8) In case the Order as aforesaid is not laid before the National Assembly as provided in sub-section (7) or on the withdrawal or rejection by the National Assembly of such Order every such Order shall cease to have effect. (9) In the event of any such Order as is referred in sub- section (8), ceasing to have effect, the provisions of sub-section (5), shall mutatis mutandis apply to any such Order. Schedule II.