Winterhalter (Australia) Pty Ltd and Comptroller-General of Customs

This matter concerned an application by Winterhalter (Australia) Pty Ltd (the Applicant) seeking to challenge a decision by the Comptroller-General of Customs (the Respondent) regarding the eligibility of the Applicant's commercial dishwashers for a Tariff Concession Order (TCO). The Applicant contended that its warewashers, specifically the UC series, PT series, UF series, and Classeq Duo models, should qualify for TCO 16/25, which applies to "Commercial Warewashing Machine" under tariff heading 8422.19.00. The core of the dispute centred on whether these machines met the TCO's requirement of having "one OR two OR four cycles."

The legal issue before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal was to determine the number of "cycles" available on the Applicant's warewashers, as defined within the context of the relevant TCO. The Applicant argued that their machines possessed two cycles: a wash cycle and a rinse cycle, each constituting a complete course of operations. Conversely, the Respondent's decision, which the Applicant sought to overturn, found that the machines had three standard wash programs, which were considered interchangeable with "cycles" in the context of dishwashers, and therefore did not meet the TCO's criteria of one, two, or four cycles.

The Tribunal considered the Applicant's submission that the terms "cycle" and "program" could be used interchangeably, but noted that the manufacturer's own documentation and website indicated three distinct standard wash programs (light, normal, and heavy). These programs, while operating within a single wash and rinse sequence, adjusted parameters such as water pressure, time, detergent, and temperature based on the user's selection. The Tribunal found that the TCO's requirement for "one OR two OR four cycles" was not met because the warewashers offered three distinct programs, which were considered to be the operative "cycles" for the purpose of the TCO.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the Respondent's decision, finding that the Applicant's warewashers did not meet the specified criteria of the TCO. The goods were therefore not eligible for the Tariff Concession Order.