EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument 77/2008
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.
Shorko Australia Pty Ltd requested that the CEO revoke TCO 0804720 which covers polypropylene film.
Instrument
Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument No 77/2008 was made on 25 July 2008. It revokes TCO 0804720 as the CEO is satisfied that Shorko Australia 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Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument No.77/2008, TCO 0804720, was revoked on 25 July 2008 with the Revocation date of effect as from 7 July 2008.
Overview
The Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument 77/2008 was enacted to address the revocation of Tariff Concession Order 0804720, which covers polypropylene film. This legislation is an instrument under the Customs Act 1901, and was introduced to meet the criteria set out in sections 269SB, 269SC, and 269SD of the Act. The Customs Act 1901 provides a framework for the application and revocation of Tariff Concession Orders, which are designed to provide lower rates of customs duty on specified goods when no substitutable goods are produced in Australia. The enacting body in this case is the Chief Executive Officer of Customs, who is mandated to revoke a Tariff Concession Order if certain conditions are met, such as the presence of substitutable goods produced in Australia. The policy objective of this instrument is to ensure that tariff concessions are only granted when there is no domestic production of substitutable goods, thereby protecting Australian producers from unfair competition.
Scope and Application
The Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument 77/2008 operates under the Customs Act 1901, specifically concerning the revocation of Tariff Concession Orders (TCOs). This instrument applies to entities such as Shorko Australia Pty Ltd that have requested the revocation of a TCO, and it targets the TCO 0804720, which covers polypropylene film. The legislation mandates that the Chief Executive Officer of Customs (CEO) can revoke a TCO if satisfied that a producer in Australia of substitutable goods has made the request and that the TCO would not have been made if the request were lodged on the day the original application was made. This revocation has a national reach, affecting customs duty rates for the specified goods. There are no exclusions or exemptions stated in the text, and the application of the Act is not extended or restricted through subordinate instruments. The instrument revokes the TCO with effect from the date the revocation request was lodged, which was 7 July 2008, and it was officially made on 25 July 2008.
Key Provisions
The Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument 77/2008, as referenced in the explanatory statement, outlines the procedures for the revocation of a Tariff Concession Order (TCO) under the Customs Act 1901. Specifically, the key operative sections are sections 269C, 269P, 269SB, 269SC, and 269SD. Section 269C and 269P pertain to the conditions under which a TCO can be made, while section 269SB allows a producer of substitutable goods to request the revocation of a TCO. Sections 269SC(1) and (3) detail the criteria that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Customs must be satisfied with to revoke a TCO, which include verifying that the requesting party is a producer of substitutable goods and that the CEO would not have made the TCO if the request had been made on the day the original application was lodged.
The Act imposes several obligations on the parties involved. The CEO of Customs must ensure that the revocation criteria are met and must make an order revoking the TCO if these criteria are satisfied. The CEO is also required to publish a notice in the Gazette, as soon as practicable after receiving a revocation request, which includes a statement of the request and the full particulars of the TCO. Additionally, the producer requesting the revocation must provide sufficient evidence to substantiate their claim as a producer of substitutable goods.
The legislation does not explicitly outline specific offences or penalties for breach within the scope of the Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument 77/2008. However, any breaches of the Customs Act 1901, such as providing false or misleading information in an application or revocation request, may incur penalties under other sections of the Act. For instance, section 239 of the Customs Act provides for civil and criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment, for various contraventions of the Act. The maximum penalties can be substantial, depending on the nature and severity of the offence.
In summary, the Tariff Concessions Revocation Instrument 77/2008 provides a structured process for revoking TCOs under the Customs Act 1901, focusing on ensuring that the correct criteria are met by the CEO and that appropriate public notice is given. The obligations and requirements are clearly defined, and while specific penalties for breaches of this instrument are not outlined, the broader provisions of the Customs Act impose significant consequences for non-compliance.