EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument 126/2007
Customs Act 1901
Background
Part XVA of the Customs Act 1901 (the Act) sets out a scheme under which Tariff Concession Orders (TCOs) may be made and revoked by the Chief Executive Officer of Customs (the CEO). A lower rate of customs duty applies to goods that are the subject of a TCO.
Under sections 269C and 269P of the Act, a TCO will be made if the application for the TCO meets the core criteria, that is, on the day on which the application was lodged, no substitutable goods were produced in Australia in the ordinary course of business.
Section 269SB of the Act provides, in part, that a person claiming to be a producer in Australia of substitutable goods in relation to the goods covered by a TCO may request the CEO to revoke the TCO.
Under subsections 269SC(1) and (3) of the Act, the CEO must make an order revoking the TCO if the CEO is satisfied:
− that, on the day of lodgement of the request, the person requesting the revocation of the TCO is a producer in Australia of goods that are substitutable goods in relation to the goods the subject of the TCO; and
− that, if the TCO were not in force on that day but that day were the day on which the application for that TCO was lodged, the CEO would not have made the TCO.
TST Carpet Manufacturers Pty Ltd requested that the CEO revoke TCO 0618514 which covers car mats.
Instrument
Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument No 126/2007 was made on 20 July 2007. It revokes TCO 0618514 as the CEO is satisfied that TST Carpet Manufacturers Pty Ltd is a producer in Australia of substitutable goods and that the CEO would not have made the TCO.
Consultation
Subsection 269SC(1A) of the Act provides that as soon as practicable after receiving a request for revocation of a TCO, the CEO must publish in a Gazette a notice which includes a statement that a request has been lodged and the full particulars of the TCO to which the request relates.
Commencement
Subsection 269SC(6) provides that an order revoking a TCO comes into force on the day on which the request to revoke the TCO was lodged. Subsection 239SD(8) provides, in part, that subsection 269SC(6) has effect despite section 12 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. Section 12 prohibits the making of certain retrospective legislative instruments.
Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument No.126/2007, TCO 0618514, was revoked on 20 July 2007 with the Revocation date of effect as from 7 June 2007.
Overview
The Customs Act 1901, enacted by the Parliament of Australia, governs the regulation of customs and excise within Australia. The Act includes provisions for the creation and revocation of Tariff Concession Orders (TCOs) which provide lower rates of customs duty on specified goods. The Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument No. 126/2007 was enacted to address a specific issue where a Tariff Concession Order (TCO 0618514) for car mats was subject to a revocation request by TST Carpet Manufacturers Pty Ltd. This revocation was necessitated because TST Carpet Manufacturers Pty Ltd claimed to be a domestic producer of substitutable goods, thus meeting the criteria for revocation under section 269SB of the Act. The Chief Executive Officer of Customs was satisfied that the conditions for revocation were met, leading to the revocation of TCO 0618514 effective from 7 June 2007. This revocation aligns with the policy objective of ensuring that tariff concessions are only applied when genuinely needed and to promote fair competition within the domestic market.
Scope and Application
The Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument 126/2007 pertains to the Customs Act 1901 and specifically addresses the revocation of Tariff Concession Orders (TCOs). This legislation applies to entities that can produce goods in Australia and may seek to have a TCO revoked if they believe it should not have been granted based on the availability of substitutable goods. The revocation process is triggered when a producer in Australia submits a request to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Customs, who is then required to make an order revoking the TCO if satisfied that the producer of substitutable goods would have made the CEO reconsider the concession. The instrument's jurisdictional reach is aligned with the Commonwealth, as it operates under the authority of the Customs Act 1901. The revocation comes into effect on the day the request is lodged, notwithstanding any prohibitions on retrospective legislative instruments. This particular instrument revoked TCO 0618514, which was related to car mats, following a request by TST Carpet Manufacturers Pty Ltd.
Key Provisions
The main operative sections of the Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument 126/2007, under the Customs Act 1901, pertain to the revocation of Tariff Concession Orders (TCOs) (section 269SB). Specifically, section 269SC(1) mandates that the Chief Executive Officer of Customs (CEO) must revoke a TCO if satisfied that a producer in Australia is manufacturing substitutable goods and that the CEO would not have made the TCO if the request for revocation was lodged on the day the original application for the TCO was made. Section 269SC(3) further explains that the CEO must make such an order if the request for revocation meets these criteria. This instrument revokes TCO 0618514, which covers car mats, based on a request from TST Carpet Manufacturers Pty Ltd.
The obligations imposed by this Act on the parties involved primarily revolve around the process of requesting and responding to a TCO revocation. For instance, section 269SC(1A) requires the CEO to publish a notice in a Gazette as soon as practicable after receiving a request for revocation, stating that a request has been lodged and providing full particulars of the TCO in question. Additionally, section 269SC(6) stipulates that an order revoking a TCO takes effect from the day the request for revocation was lodged. This ensures that the process is transparent and timely.
Any breach of the provisions outlined in the Customs Act 1901, including the revocation of TCOs, could lead to various civil and criminal consequences. However, the explanatory statement does not explicitly mention specific offences, penalties, or maximum penalties associated with the revocation process. In general, under Australian law, breaches of customs regulations can result in fines and imprisonment, with penalties varying based on the severity and intent behind the breach. The specifics of these penalties would typically be detailed in the relevant sections of the Customs Act 1901 or other associated legislation.