Overview

The Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument No. 44/2011 is a legislative instrument under the Customs Act 1901, enacted to address the specific issue of revoking tariff concession orders where a producer in Australia claims to produce substitutable goods. This instrument was introduced by the Chief Executive Officer of Customs (CEO) in response to a request by Australian Paper to revoke Tariff Concession Order (TCO) 0707620, which pertains to bleached machine glazed paper. The CEO's authority to make such revocations is grounded in sections 269SB, 269SC, and 269SD of the Act, which outline the conditions under which a TCO can be revoked, including the necessity for the CEO to be satisfied that the requesting producer actually manufactures substitutable goods and that the TCO would not have been issued if the request had been made on the day the original application was lodged. The revocation of TCO 0707620, effective from 22 July 2010, was formally announced in a Gazette notice as mandated by the Act.

Scope and Application

The Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument 44/2011, which revokes Tariff Concession Order (TCO) 0707620, applies to the entity Australian Paper and its production of bleached machine glazed paper, a specific category of goods. This revocation is made under the authority granted by sections 269C, 269P, 269SB, and 269SC of the Customs Act 1901, where the Chief Executive Officer of Customs (CEO) is mandated to revoke a TCO if satisfied that a producer in Australia of substitutable goods has requested the revocation and that the CEO would not have made the TCO if the request had been lodged on the original application day. The Instrument revokes TCO 0707620 on the basis that Australian Paper meets the criteria for revocation, impacting the tariff concessions previously applicable to the specified goods. The revocation is effective from 22 July 2010, the date the request to revoke the TCO was lodged, as per the provisions of the Customs Act 1901, which ensure that the revocation takes effect notwithstanding the prohibitions against retrospective legislative instruments under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

Key Provisions

The Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument 44/2011, under the Customs Act 1901, focuses on the revocation of Tariff Concession Orders (TCOs) as per sections 269SB, 269SC, and 269SD of the Act. Specifically, it deals with the revocation of TCO 0707620, which previously provided a lower rate of customs duty on bleached machine glazed paper. The instrument was made on 15 September 2010, following a request from Australian Paper, who claimed to be a producer of substitutable goods. The Chief Executive Officer of Customs (CEO) revoked TCO 0707620, determining that Australian Paper met the criteria for revocation and that the TCO would not have been issued if the application had been lodged on the day the request was made. The main obligations and requirements imposed by the Act on the parties concerned revolve around the process for requesting and revoking TCOs. Under section 269SB, any person claiming to be a producer of substitutable goods in Australia can request the CEO to revoke a TCO. This request must be made on the basis that no substitutable goods were produced in Australia on the day the TCO application was lodged. Additionally, section 269SC(1) and (3) stipulate that the CEO must revoke the TCO if satisfied that the applicant is indeed a producer of substitutable goods and that the TCO would not have been issued had the application been made on the day of the revocation request. The CEO is also required to publish a notice in a Gazette under subsection 269SC(1A) as soon as practicable after receiving the request, detailing the request and the particulars of the TCO. The Act outlines specific consequences for the revocation of TCOs, although the instrument itself does not detail penalties or criminal/civil consequences for non-compliance. However, the revocation of a TCO under sections 269SB and 269SC results in the cessation of the lower customs duty rate for the goods covered by the TCO. This revocation takes effect from the date the request to revoke the TCO was lodged, as per subsection 269SC(6), and is effective despite the prohibitions in section 12 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, which generally disallows retrospective legislative instruments. The revocation of TCO 0707620, as implemented by Instrument 44/2011, therefore resulted in the termination of the tariff concession for bleached machine glazed paper as of 22 July 2010.