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• Vote: Commerce

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• Output Class > Policy Advice > Business and Competition
  • Business Environment, Business Law and Competition Policy
  • Business Facilitation Policy
  • Environmental Policy
  • Service Performance
  • Costs: Output Class - Policy Advice - Business and Competition
• Output Class > Administration of Part II Tariff Concessions
  • Service Performance
  • Costs: Output Class - Administration of Part II Tariff Concessions
• Output Class > Administration of Trade Remedies
  • Service Performance
  • Costs: Output Class - Administration of Trade Remedies
• Output Class > Registration and Granting of Intellectual Property Rights
  • Service Performance
  • Costs: Output Class - Registration and Granting of Intellectual Property Rights
• Output Class > Administration of Insolvencies
  • Service Performance
  • Costs: Output Class - Administration of Insolvencies
• Output Class > Registration and Provision of Statutory Information
  • Service Performance
  • Costs: Output Class - Registration and Provision of Statutory Information
• Output Class > Administration of Licensed Building Practitioners
  • Costs: Output Class - Administration of Licensed Building Practitioners

Output Class > Policy Advice > Business and Competition

This output class provides advice on the effective and low-cost regulation of economic activity. It includes strategic and technical policy advice on the creation and maintenance of a regulatory environment that provides greater certainty for, and positively encourages business innovation and growth. This work is being pursued in the following broad strategic context:

• the international convergence of norms and rules and the need to ensure that New Zealand's regulatory approaches and technical infrastructure reflect the evolving expectation around these approaches, and support innovation and economic development;
• advancing the concept of a single economic market with Australia;
• the emerging implications of the growth of China's economy, its interaction with New Zealand's economy, the negotiation of a bilateral free trade agenda, and development of ways to deepen regulatory cooperation and business; and
• the priority that must be accorded multilateral efforts to improve market access and trade rules under the Doha Round.

Business Environment, Business Law and Competition Policy

Within the above context this output provides policy advice on corporate and commercial law, including capital markets, insolvency, intellectual property law, and competition law and policy, with the aim of enhancing opportunities for business to innovate and grow, allowing investors to make choices with confidence, and reducing the costs of doing business. Key outputs include:

Business Law

• support the Insolvency Law Reform Bill and the Securities Trading Law Reform Bill through the parliamentary process;
• assist in the adoption of International Accounting Standards through a review of the Financial Reporting Act and developing a more closely coordinated approach with Australia;
• conduct a consolidated review of securities and insurance law, and regulation of non-bank financial institutions, and work with Treasury on the institutional trans-Tasman implications of strengthening prudential regulation;
• finalise an Australia-New Zealand Mutual Recognition Treaty relating to securities offerings;
• review the Memorandum of Understanding on Business Law Coordination with Australia;
• work with the State Services Commission on generic work with Australia on joint institutional design.

Competition Policy

• advance the programme of work arising from the recommendations of the Australian Productivity Commission research study on competition policy and law coordination;

Intellectual Property

• advance institutional and intellectual property policy co-ordination with Australia;
• advance the following legislative reform programmes:
  1. passage of the Copyright (Digital Technology and Performers' Rights) Amendment Bill;
  2. passage of the Geographical Indications (Amendment) Bill and Regulations; and
  3. introduction of the Patents and Plant Variety Rights Bill.

Business Facilitation Policy

Regulatory Policy

• develop an educative web-based portal on regulatory policy design; including guidance material and links to international best practice websites.

Standards and Conformance

• implement the recommendations of the inter-jurisdiction Review of the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement; and
• conclude a review of New Zealand's standards and conformance infrastructure with a view to ensuring that it effectively meets its objective of reducing health, safety and environmental risks, and supports trade and innovation.

Trade Policy and Rules

• support the negotiation of Bilateral Free Trade Agreements by providing policy and negotiating expertise on tariffs, trade remedies, rules of origin, competition, intellectual property, government procurement and technical barriers to trade, with particular priority to the China FTA; and
• assist New Zealand's negotiations on trade rules in the World Trade Organisation under the Doha Round.

Environmental Policy

This output provides policy advice on the impact of environmental measures on economic development with a particular focus on the Resource Management Act (RMA) and the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO), climate change, and multilateral environmental agreements that impact directly on New Zealand businesses. In particular:

• provide advice (in conjunction with the Ministry for the Environment and other interested parties) on measures to improve the RMA, particularly proposals to improve consent decision-making, ensuring that economic development aspects are represented along with other interests; and
• provide advice (in conjunction with the Ministry for the Environment and other interested parties) on measures to improve the operation of the HSNO for business.

Service Performance

Policy advice will be delivered as agreed with the Minister and as detailed in the Ministry of Economic Development Output Plan.

Generic quantity, quality and timeliness performance measures for all policy advice, Ministerial services and briefings supplied by the Ministry of Economic Development are detailed in Quality Standards for Policy Advice and Ministerial Servicing.

Costs: Output Class - Policy Advice - Business and Competition

Output Class > Administration of Part II Tariff Concessions

This output class provides for the administration of tariff concessions, as required under section 8 of the Tariff Act 1988, through the timely assessment of applications by importers for exemption from import duties as defined by the tariff concessions policy.

Service Performance

Where appropriate, comparative figures for the previous year are shown in parentheses.

Quantity

Action an estimated 480 (485) applications lodged by importers.

Quality

Processes will comply with the standards contained in current Ministerial delegations and the policies contained in the Tariff Concessions Guidance Manual with no more than 3% (3%) of review decisions reversed on appeal.

Timeliness

90% (90%) of initial decisions to advertise or decline an application will be made within five (five) working days of receipt.

90% (90%) of final decisions on applications will be made within 10 (10) working days of the end of the advertising period.

Costs: Output Class - Administration of Part II Tariff Concessions

Output Class > Administration of Trade Remedies

This output class provides investigative services to establish whether New Zealand industries require remedies to prevent injury caused by dumped or subsidised imports or sudden import surges.

The investigative service is conducted under the Temporary Safeguard Authorities Act 1987 and the Dumping and Countervailing Duties Act 1988 in relation to dumped and subsidised goods.

Service Performance

Where appropriate, comparative figures for the previous year are shown in parentheses.

Quantity

An estimated 10 (10) product-by-country investigations, reviews and reassessments resulting from applications from New Zealand industries will be under action during 2005/2006.

Quality

Investigations and reporting will:

• be recognised by the parties involved as consistent with the requirements of either the Dumping and Countervailing Duties Act 1988 or the Temporary Safeguard Authorities Act 1987; and
• provide no grounds for successful court challenges during that period; and
• provide no grounds for successful World Trade Organisation dispute settlement action against New Zealand.

Timeliness

All (100%) interested parties will be advised of essential facts and conclusions on which a final determination will be based, no later than 150 (150) days from initiation.

All (100%) reports will be made in sufficient time to allow the Minister of Commerce to make final determinations no later than 180 (180) days from initiation of an investigation.

Costs: Output Class - Administration of Trade Remedies

Output Class > Registration and Granting of Intellectual Property Rights

This output class provides services relating to the administration of legislation providing for the protection of intellectual property rights in New Zealand by granting patents under the Patents Act 1953, registering trade marks under the Trade Marks Act 2002, registering designs under the Designs Act 1953, granting plant variety rights under the Plant Variety Rights Act 1987, providing registers of information relating to intellectual property, conducting hearings, and acting as a Receiving Office for the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

Service Performance

Where appropriate, comparative figures for the previous year are shown in parentheses.

Quantity

Action estimated numbers of:

New Applications

• 5,500 (5,300) patents;
• 24,000 (23,200) trade marks;
• 1,200 (1,200) designs; and
• 155 (155) plant variety rights.

Renewals

• 8,100 (9,300) patents;
• 10,400 (10,700) trade marks;
• 610 (730) designs; and
• 1,000 (940) plant variety rights.

Quality

99% of decisions to accept, grant or register intellectual property rights made by the Intellectual Property Office and the Plant Variety Rights Office will be upheld.

Timeliness

98% (98%) of completed applications¹² will be receipted, acknowledged and a filing date confirmed within one (one) clear business day of receipt.

Costs: Output Class - Registration and Granting of Intellectual Property Rights

Output Class > Administration of Insolvencies

This output class provides services relating to the administration of bankruptcies and liquidations by the Official Assignee pursuant to the Insolvency Act 1967 and the Companies Act 1993 and the management or disposal of property restrained or forfeited under the Proceeds of Crime Act 1991, and provides enforcement functions under the Insolvency Act 1967.

Service Performance

Where appropriate, comparative figures for the previous year are shown in parentheses.

Quantity

Administer estimated numbers:

• 2,700 (2,700) bankruptcies;
• 180 (180) liquidations; and
• 25 (15) proceeds of crime orders.

Quality

The annual average quality assurance rating for estate administration as assessed from an internal audit programme demonstrates that at least "an acceptable level" (level 2¹³) of compliance was achieved.

Timeliness¹⁴

To achieve a maximum percentage of case closures as measured against total cases received:

• 80% (80% bankruptcy cases; 60% liquidation cases) or more of cases that are between six months and one year old will be closed;
• 90% (90% bankruptcy cases; 85% liquidation cases) or more of cases that are between one and two years old will be closed; and
• 95% (95% bankruptcy and liquidation cases) or more of cases that are between two and three years old will be closed.

Costs: Output Class - Administration of Insolvencies

Output Class > Registration and Provision of Statutory Information

This output class provides services relating to the registration and provision of a range of documents and information required to be filed on a public record by corporate and non-corporate entities, insurance and superannuation funds, issuers of securities and holders of securities over personal property interests, motor vehicle traders, and the provision of information services related to the same. It also provides a prosecution and enforcement function under the Companies Act 1993, Securities Act 1978 and Corporations (Investigation and Management Act) 1989.

Service Performance

Where appropriate, comparative figures for the previous year are shown in parentheses.

Quantity

Companies Office

Expected numbers of documents filed:

• 62,500 (63,100) company incorporations of which 98% (95%) will be electronic;
• 950 incorporated societies, all of which are manual;
• 1,000 incorporations of other entities, all of which are manual;
• 90,000 (92,000) name approvals of which 99% (96%) will be electronic;
• 700 (1,000) prospectuses;
• 328,500 (326,100) annual returns of which 95% (75%) will be electronic; and
• 536,000 (520,300) personal property security interest registrations.

An estimated:

• 557,000 (553,400) electronic company searches will be conducted;
• 20,000 (29,000) company dissolutions will be actioned;
• 2,500 incorporated society dissolutions will be actioned; and
• 1,465,000 (1,460,800) Personal Property Securities Register electronic searches will be conducted.

Insurance and Superannuation Unit

• An estimated 612 (680) Trustee Annual Reports will be filed; and
• 14 (14) new scheme registrations are expected to be actioned.

Quality

Companies Office

• 99% (99%) of documents entered into the database will be free of material errors, as defined in the Companies Office Standards¹⁵, for both electronic and manual information.
• 99% (99%) of images entered into the database will be to the required standard to ensure clarity, accuracy and completeness of the data captured.

Timeliness

99% (99%) of material documents¹⁶ will be processed within one (one) clear business day of receipt for paper documents and within 45 (45) minutes of receipt for documents filed electronically.

Costs: Output Class - Registration and Provision of Statutory Information

Output Class > Administration of Licensed Building Practitioners

The appropriation for this output class was transferred to the Department of Building and Housing on 1 November 2004.

Costs: Output Class - Administration of Licensed Building Practitioners

¹²A completed application is one where all information required by the relevant legislation has been provided, and the prescribed fees have been paid in full.

¹³The internal audit programme rates the quality of estate administration on a rating level of 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest and 5 being the lowest. Each rating level is defined as follows: 1 is a high level of compliance; 2 an acceptable level of compliance; 3 a marginal level of compliance; 4 an unacceptable level of compliance; 5 the office does not comply.

¹⁴Covers both bankruptcies and liquidations administered by the Insolvency and Trustee Service.

¹⁵Companies Office Standards dated 12 February 2003.

¹⁶Material documents are all company registration documents except for client modified Annual Returns.