Alstom Transport Australia Pty Ltd and Comptroller-General of Customs

Alstom Transport Australia Pty Ltd (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision by the Comptroller-General of Customs (the respondent) to refuse an application for a Tariff Concession Order (TCO). The dispute concerned whether goods imported by Alstom were eligible for a TCO, which would exempt them from customs duty. The matter was heard by Deputy President B W Rayment Oam Qc.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the applicant had satisfied the core criteria for a TCO, specifically whether substitutable goods were produced in Australia that were put, or capable of being put, to a use that corresponded with a use to which the imported goods could be put. This required the Court to consider the proper interpretation of the description of use in defining substitutable goods, the concept of "reasonable use," and whether the uses of the imported goods and any alleged substitutable Australian goods corresponded.

The Deputy President affirmed the respondent's decision, finding that the applicant had not demonstrated that the imported goods met the criteria for a TCO. The reasoning focused on the specificity required in describing the use of goods for the purpose of determining substitutability. The Court held that the alleged uses of the Australian goods did not sufficiently correspond with the uses of the imported goods, particularly when considering the reasonable uses to which the imported goods could be put. The Deputy President concluded that the applicant had failed to establish the necessary correspondence of use to justify the grant of a TCO.