Vote: Commerce

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Output Expense > Policy and Purchase Advice - Business Law and Competition Policy

This output expense 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 output expense is a part of a multi-class output appropriation in conjunction with Administration of Part II Tariff Concessions.

The strategic focus of all the work that falls under this output is on ensuring that New Zealand's regulatory approaches and technical infrastructure support innovation and economic development and reflect evolving international norms and expectations, advancing a single economic market with Australia, the negotiation of a bilateral free trade agreement with China, the development of ways to deepen regulatory co-operation to remove barriers for business, and the priority that must be accorded multilateral efforts to improve market access and trade rules under the Doha Round.

The outputs included in this output expense for 2007/2008 contribute to achieving the following business outcomes: Making the most of intellectual property; Protecting dynamic competition; Promoting dynamic and trusted capital markets; Building international links; Managing our natural resources; and Promoting responsible business governance.

The outputs are:

• Business Environment, Business Law and Competition Policy - which relates to the provision of policy advice on corporate and commercial law, 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 areas of policy advice cover financial markets, insurance, superannuation, financial institutions, insolvency, corporate governance, financial reporting, intellectual property policy and law, the intellectual property/traditional knowledge interface, competition policy and law, general savings, investment, and capital markets issues.
• Business Facilitation Policy - which relates to the provision of strategic, economic and technical policy advice on enhancing the effectiveness of and reducing the costs to business from compliance with laws and regulations. Key areas of policy advice cover competitive and sustainable government procurement, quality of the regulatory environment and the systems associated with ensuring that the impacts of potential changes to the regulatory environment are clearly identified, trade rules (especially trade remedies, tariff policy and rules of origin), standards (including eco-verification), accreditation and certification infrastructures (domestic and international), technical barriers to trade, mutual recognition arrangements, and trade facilitation.
• Environmental Policy - which relates to the provision of 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), and multilateral environmental agreements that impact directly on New Zealand businesses.

Service Performance

Output activities under this output expense will be delivered as agreed with the Minister and as detailed in the Ministry of Economic Development Output Plan 2007/2008.

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 Expense - Policy and Purchase Advice - Business Law and Competition Policy

Output Expense > Administration of Trade Remedies

This output expense provides investigative services to establish whether New Zealand industries require remedies to prevent injury caused by dumped or subsidised imports or sudden import surges. This output contributes to achieving the business outcome: Building international links.

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 forecast figures for the previous year are shown in parentheses.

Quantity

• An estimated 9 (8) product-by-country investigations, reviews and reassessments resulting from applications from New Zealand industries will be under action during 2007/2008.

This work is demand-driven, dependent on applications from New Zealand industries. It is therefore difficult to estimate numbers of applications.

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;
• provide no grounds for successful court challenges during that period; and
• provide no grounds for successful World Trade Organization 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 Expense - Administration of Trade Remedies

Output Expense > Administration of Part II Tariff Concessions

This output expense 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 and contributes to the Ministry's business outcome: Building international links. This output expense is a part of a multi-class output appropriation in conjunction with Policy and Purchase Advice - Business Law and Competition Policy.

Service Performance

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

Quantity

Action an estimated 550 (500) 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. Decisions reversed on review will represent no more than one per cent of applications.

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 Expense - Administration of Part II Tariff Concessions

Output Expense > Registration and Granting of Intellectual Property Rights

This output expense 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 Organization.

This output expense contributes to achieving the business outcome: Making the most of intellectual property.

Service Performance

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

Quantity

Action estimated numbers of:

New Applications

• 5,500 (5,500) patents;
• 29,600 (29,100) trade marks (classes);
• 1,200 (1,200) designs; and
• 150 (155) plant variety rights.

Renewals

• 9,700 (9,700) patents;
• 11,200 (10,800) trade marks;
• 680 (670) designs; and
• 960 (1,000) plant variety rights.

Quality

• 99% (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.
• 99% of decisions not to accept, grant or register intellectual property rights made by the Intellectual Property Office and the Plant Variety Rights Office will be upheld.¹⁸

Timeliness

• 98% (98%) of completed applications¹⁹ will be receipted, acknowledged and a filing date confirmed within one (one) clear business day of receipt.
• 95% of completed trade mark, standard patent, and design applications will be examined and a compliance or examination report issued within five clear business days of receipt.
• 95% of completed patent applications for entry into PCT national phase will be examined and an examination report issued within 20 clear business days of receipt.
• 90% of incoming examination correspondence will be responded to within 15 clear business days of receipt.

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

Output Expense > Administration of Insolvencies

This output expense provides services relating to the administration of bankruptcies and liquidations by the Official Assignee pursuant to the Insolvency Act 2006 and the Companies Act 1993, 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.

This output expense contributes to achieving the business outcome: Promoting responsible business governance.

Service Performance

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

Quantity

Administer estimated²⁰ numbers:

• 3,500 (2,900) bankruptcies;
• 150 (150) liquidations; and
• 40 (40) 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 2²¹) of compliance was achieved.

Timeliness²²

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

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

Costs: Output Expense - Administration of Insolvencies

Output Expense > Registration and Provision of Statutory Information

This output expense 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 including under the KiwiSaver Act 2006, 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.

This output expense contributes to achieving the business outcome: Promoting responsible business governance.

Service Performance

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

Quantity

Companies Office

Expected numbers of documents filed:

• 55,275 (55,780) company incorporations of which 99% (99%) will be electronic;
• 1,100 (870) incorporated societies, all of which are manual;
• 875 (1,000) incorporations of other entities, all of which are manual;
• 83,000 (86,850) name approvals of which 99% (99%) will be electronic;
• 560 (700) prospectuses;
• 390,000 (358,000) annual returns of which 99% (99%) will be electronic;
• 606,000 (638,000) personal property security interest registrations; and
• 142,000 personal property security interest re-registrations.

An estimated:

• 6,500,000 (6,477,000) free electronic company searches conducted;
• 32,000 (24,000) company dissolutions actioned;
• 600 (1,600) incorporated society dissolutions actioned; and
• 2,880,000 (2,600,000) Personal Property Securities Register electronic searches conducted.

Insurance and Superannuation Unit

• An estimated 592 (592) Trustee Annual Reports will be filed; and
• 24 (24) new scheme registrations are expected to be actioned.

KiwiSaver

An estimated:

• 40 KiwiSaver Trustee Annual Reports and Statistical Annual Returns will be filed;
• 10 applications for new or bolt on KiwiSaver scheme registrations are expected to be actioned; and
• 80 applications for exempt employer and/or complying fund status 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 Standards,²³ 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

Companies Office

• 99% (99%) of material documents²⁴ 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;
• The Companies Office websites will be available for searching and registration, where the legislation permits, 98% of the time over a 24/7 basis (allowing for scheduled maintenance or an unplanned systems outage).

Costs: Output Expense - Registration and Provision of Statutory Information

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