EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument 152/2007
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.
Kuver Designs Pty Ltd requested that the CEO revoke TCO 0512084 which covers organic cotton nappies.
Instrument
Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument No 152/2007 was made on 28 September 2007. It revokes TCO 0512084 as the CEO is satisfied that Kuver Designs 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Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument No.152/2007, TCO 0512084, was revoked on 28 September 2007 with the Revocation date of effect as from 31 July 2007.
Overview
The Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument 152/2007, enacted under the Customs Act 1901, was introduced to address the issue of tariff concession orders (TCOs) that no longer meet the core criteria for their existence, particularly in cases where substitutable goods are now being produced in Australia. This instrument provides a mechanism for the Chief Executive Officer of Customs to revoke a TCO when a producer claims that they are now manufacturing goods that were previously covered by the concession. The revocation process aims to ensure that tariff concessions are only granted when there is a genuine absence of domestic production of substitutable goods. This legislative instrument was created by the relevant authorities in accordance with the Customs Act 1901 and was enacted to uphold the policy objective of maintaining fair and competitive market conditions by preventing unnecessary tariff concessions.
Scope and Application
The Customs Act 1901 provides a framework for the imposition and concession of customs duties, including mechanisms for the establishment and revocation of Tariff Concession Orders (TCOs). The Act applies to individuals and entities involved in the importation and exportation of goods in Australia, as well as to industries that may benefit from tariff concessions. The geographic and jurisdictional reach of the Act is national, as it is a Commonwealth Act. The Act includes provisions for the revocation of TCOs if certain conditions are met, such as the emergence of domestic production of substitutable goods. The Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument 152/2007 specifically revokes TCO 0512084 concerning organic cotton nappies upon the CEO's determination that Kuver Designs Pty Ltd, a producer of substitutable goods, meets the criteria for revocation. This revocation took effect from 31 July 2007, and the CEO is mandated to notify the public of such requests and revocations through Gazette notices. The Act and its subordinate instruments may extend or restrict the application of tariff concessions based on the specific circumstances of domestic production and the requirements outlined within the legislative framework.
Key Provisions
The Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument 152/2007, which revoked Tariff Concession Order (TCO) 0512084, is primarily focused on the revocation of a tariff concession for organic cotton nappies. This revocation was based on a request by Kuver Designs Pty Ltd, who claimed to be a producer of substitutable goods in Australia (sections 269SB, 269SC). The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Customs revoked TCO 0512084 because they were satisfied that Kuver Designs Pty Ltd was indeed a producer of substitutable goods and that, had the situation been the same on the day the original application for the TCO was lodged, the CEO would not have made the TCO (subsections 269SC(1) and (3)). This means that the revocation of the tariff concession came into effect from 31 July 2007, the date on which the request to revoke the TCO was lodged (subsection 269SC(6)).
The Act imposes specific obligations and requirements on the CEO of Customs. Upon receiving a request for the revocation of a TCO, the CEO must publish a notice in a Gazette that includes a statement of the lodged request and full particulars of the TCO in question (subsection 269SC(1A)). This transparency measure ensures that interested parties are informed about the revocation process. Additionally, the CEO is required to make an order revoking the TCO if satisfied that the person requesting the revocation is a producer of substitutable goods and that the CEO would not have made the TCO had the circumstances been the same on the day the original application was lodged (subsections 269SC(1) and (3)).
The revocation of a TCO does not carry explicit offences or penalties within the provided text, but the process and conditions outlined ensure that the tariff concession scheme operates fairly and effectively. The revocation process is designed to maintain the integrity of the scheme by ensuring that tariff concessions are only granted when there are no substitutable goods produced in Australia. The failure to meet the conditions for maintaining a TCO could result in its revocation, which, while not a direct penalty, has significant economic implications for the beneficiaries of the tariff concession.