Overview

The Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument 38/2011 was enacted to address the revocation of Tariff Concession Order (TCO) 0838090, which covered 2,2'-oxydiethanol. This instrument operates under the Customs Act 1901, allowing the Chief Executive Officer of Customs to revoke TCOs when certain criteria are met, specifically when a producer of substitutable goods in Australia requests the revocation and the CEO determines that the TCO would not have been issued if the current circumstances had existed at the time of the original application. The revocation instrument was made in response to a request from Huntsman Corporation Australia Pty Limited and took effect from 4 June 2009, with the formal revocation date being 27 July 2009. The policy objective, as outlined in the Act, is to ensure that tariff concessions are granted only when justified, thereby maintaining a fair and competitive marketplace for Australian producers.

Scope and Application

The Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument 38/2011 applies to the revocation of Tariff Concession Order (TCO) 0838090, which had been in place under Part XVA of the Customs Act 1901. The Act applies to the revocation process of TCOs concerning goods that attract a lower rate of customs duty. This revocation is relevant to any parties who have been affected by the original TCO, particularly those who may have been disadvantaged by the reduced duty on imported goods covered by the TCO. The revocation impacts entities such as Huntsman Corporation Australia Pty Limited, which requested the revocation as they are a producer of substitutable goods in Australia. The instrument revokes the TCO on the basis that Huntsman Corporation Australia Pty Limited is now producing goods that were previously imported under the concession. The revocation extends across the Commonwealth of Australia, reflecting the national scope of the Customs Act 1901. The instrument itself does not outline specific exclusions but operates within the constraints set by the Act, which requires satisfaction of specific conditions for revocation. The application and scope of the revocation can be further defined through subordinate instruments made under the authority of the Customs Act 1901.

Key Provisions

The Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument 38/2011, under the Customs Act 1901, addresses the revocation of Tariff Concession Orders (TCOs) that grant lower customs duty rates on certain goods. Specifically, section 269SC(1) and (3) mandates that the Chief Executive Officer of Customs (CEO) must revoke a TCO if satisfied that a producer in Australia of substitutable goods has requested its revocation, and if the CEO would not have made the TCO if the application were lodged on the day of the request. This legislative instrument revokes TCO 0838090, which covered 2,2'-oxydiethanol, following a request by Huntsman Corporation Australia Pty Limited, as the CEO was satisfied that Huntsman was a producer of substitutable goods and would not have approved the TCO under current circumstances. The Act imposes obligations on both the CEO and producers. The CEO is required to make a decision on a TCO revocation request within the stipulated timeframe and must publish a notice in a Gazette once a request is received, detailing the request and the specifics of the TCO in question (subsection 269SC(1A)). Producers, on the other hand, must provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that they are producing substitutable goods and that they would have been in production on the day the TCO application was originally lodged. Failure to meet these obligations can result in the CEO not revoking the TCO, thereby continuing the tariff concessions for the subject goods. Breaches of the requirements set forth in the Customs Act 1901 can result in significant penalties. Although specific penalties for non-compliance with the Act are not detailed within the explanatory statement, the general framework of the Act suggests that violations could lead to both civil and criminal consequences. Civil penalties could include fines, while criminal penalties might involve imprisonment, depending on the severity of the breach. The maximum penalties would be determined by the specific nature of the violation and the relevant sections of the Customs Act 1901. The revocation of a TCO, as outlined in this instrument, underscores the importance of adhering to the legislative requirements to maintain the integrity of the tariff concession scheme.