(2) The applicant may, within 28 days of receiving a notice under subsection (1) and having regard to the grounds on which each submission was made, notify the Comptroller‑General of Customs, in writing, that he or she proposes to amend the application by altering the description of the goods the subject of the application, and set out in that notice the proposed amendment.
(3) The applicant must not, under subsection (2), propose an amendment of an application:
(a) that would cause the goods to which the application relates to be covered by a different Customs tariff classification to the one notified by the Comptroller‑General of Customs in the Gazette under section 269K; or
(b) that would do otherwise than narrow the description of the goods as set out in the application.
(4) As soon as practicable after, but not more than 7 days after, a proposed amendment of a TCO application was notified to the Comptroller‑General of Customs, the Comptroller‑General of Customs must consider the proposed amendment and:
(a) if the Comptroller‑General of Customs is satisfied that the proposed amendment does not contravene subsection (3)—the Comptroller‑General of Customs must inform the applicant that he or she is so satisfied and that subsection (4B) applies accordingly; or
(b) if the Comptroller‑General of Customs is not so satisfied—the Comptroller‑General of Customs must inform the applicant that he or she is not so satisfied and of the reasons for not being so satisfied.
(4A) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs is not satisfied that a proposed amendment of a TCO does not contravene subsection (3), the Comptroller‑General of Customs must continue to consider the application as it was originally made.
(4B) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs is satisfied that the proposed amendment does not contravene the requirements of subsection (3), the Comptroller‑General of Customs must, within 14 days after becoming so satisfied:
(a) notify the proposed amendment to each person who lodged a submission referred to in subsection (1) and, subject to the operation of subsections (5) and (6), invite that person, if he or she considers there are reasons not dealt with in the original submission why the TCO as proposed to be amended should not be made, to lodge a further submission within 14 days after being so notified; and
(b) publish a notice in the Gazette setting out the amended description in relation to the application and inviting persons who consider that there are reasons why the TCO as proposed to be amended should not be made to lodge a submission with the Comptroller‑General of Customs no later than 14 days after the publication of that notice.
(4C) The notification and subsequent publication of an amendment of a TCO application does not affect the gazettal day in relation to the application or any time limits calculated by reference to that gazettal day.
(5) If a person who lodged a submission referred to in subsection (1) notifies the Comptroller‑General of Customs, in writing, within 14 days after being notified of a proposed amendment, that he or she no longer objects to the TCO application, the submission is taken to have been withdrawn.
(6) If a person who lodged a submission referred to in subsection (1) does not so notify the Comptroller‑General of Customs, he or she is taken to wish to proceed with the submission as if it were a submission made in respect of the amended application.
269M Comptroller‑General of Customs may invite submissions or seek other information, documents or material
(1) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs considers that, in relation to a particular TCO application, a person may have reason to oppose the making of the TCO to which the application relates, he or she may, by notice in writing, invite the person to lodge a written submission with the Comptroller‑General of Customs within a period specified in the notice ending not later than 150 days after the gazettal day.
(2) A submission must:
(a) be in writing; and
(b) be in an approved form; and
(c) contain such information as the form requires; and
(d) be signed in the manner indicated in the form.
(3) A submission:
(a) must be lodged with the Comptroller‑General of Customs in the same manner, and is taken to be lodged on the same day, as is specified in relation to a TCO application; and
(b) must have the day of its lodgement recorded.
(4) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs considers that, in relation to a particular TCO application, any person (including the applicant or a person who has lodged a submission with the Comptroller‑General of Customs) may be able to supply information or produce a document or material relevant to the consideration of the application, the Comptroller‑General of Customs may, by notice in writing, request the supply of the information in writing or the production of the document or material within a period specified in the notice and ending not later than 150 days after the gazettal day.
(5) If a person refuses or fails to lodge a submission under subsection (1) or to supply information or produce a document or material under subsection (4) within the period allowed but subsequently lodges that submission, supplies the information or produces the document or material, the Comptroller‑General of Customs must not take that submission, information, document or material into account in determining whether to make a TCO.
(6) At any time during the period of 150 days starting on the gazettal day, the Comptroller‑General of Customs may, for the purpose of dealing with a TCO application, and despite Part 6 of the Australian Border Force Act 2015, give a copy of all, or of a part, of the application to a prescribed organisation with a view to obtaining the advice of the organisation in relation to the question whether there are producers in Australia of substitutable goods.
269N Reprocessing of TCO applications
(1) If, after gazettal day in respect of a TCO application but before a decision is made on the application, the Comptroller‑General of Customs is satisfied that:
(a) because of an amendment of a Customs Tariff; or
(b) having regard to a decision of a court or of the Administrative Review Tribunal; or
(c) having regard to written advice on the matter given by an officer of Customs;
the tariff classification that was stated in the notice published in the Gazette under section 269K to apply to the goods the subject of the application has not, with effect from the gazettal day or a later day, applied to the goods, the Comptroller‑General of Customs must take action to reprocess the application.
(2) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs is satisfied that, in publishing a notice in the Gazette under section 269K in relation to a TCO application, there has been a transcription error in the description of the goods the subject of the application including the tariff classification that is stated to apply to the goods, the Comptroller‑General of Customs must take action to reprocess the application.
(3) Where the Comptroller‑General of Customs is required to take action under subsection (1) or (2), he or she must, as soon as practicable after becoming so required, notify:
(a) the applicant; and
(b) all persons from whom submissions in relation to the application have been received; and
(c) all persons from whom submissions in relation to the application have been sought;
that, for the reasons specified in subsection (1) or (2), it is necessary to reprocess the application and that a new notice of the application will be published in the Gazette for that purpose.
(4) As soon as practicable after giving a notice under subsection (3), the Comptroller‑General of Customs must publish in the Gazette a new notice under subsection 269K(1) in relation to the TCO application in substitution for the notice previously published.
(5) A person who had lodged a submission in relation to the original notice published under section 269K in respect of a TCO application may notify the Comptroller‑General of Customs in writing, not later than 50 days after the day of publication of the substituted notice under that section, that he or she wishes to proceed with the submission, or wishes to proceed with it subject to stated modifications, as if it had been provided in response to the substituted notice and, where the Comptroller‑General of Customs is so notified, the submission is to be treated as if it had been so provided on the day of that notification.
(6) If a TCO is made in respect of a TCO application that is reprocessed in accordance with this section, the day on which the TCO is to be taken to come into force is unaffected by the decision to reprocess that application.
Division 3—Making and operation of TCOs
269P The making of a standard TCO
(1) If a TCO application in respect of goods, other than goods sent out of Australia for repair, has been accepted as a valid application under section 269H, the Comptroller‑General of Customs must decide, not later than 150 days after the gazettal day, whether or not he or she is satisfied, having regard to:
(a) the application; and
(b) all submissions lodged with the Comptroller‑General of Customs before the last day for submissions; and
(c) all information supplied and documents and material produced to the Comptroller‑General of Customs in accordance with a notice under subsection 269M(4); and
(d) any inquiries made by the Comptroller‑General of Customs;
that the application meets the core criteria.
(2) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs fails to make a decision under subsection (1) in respect of a TCO application within 150 days after the gazettal day, the Comptroller‑General of Customs is taken, for the purposes of subsection (1), at the end of that period, to have made a decision that he or she is not satisfied that the application meets the core criteria.
(3) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs is satisfied that the application meets the core criteria, he or she must make a written order declaring that the goods the subject of the TCO application are goods to which a prescribed item specified in the order applies.
(4) The TCO must include:
(a) a description of the goods the subject of the order including a reference to the Customs tariff classification that, in the opinion of the Comptroller‑General of Customs, applies to the goods; and
(b) a statement of the day on which the TCO is to be taken to have come into force; and
(c) if subsection 269SA(1) applies in relation to the TCO—a statement of the day on which it ceases to be in force.
269Q The making of a TCO for goods requiring repair
(1) If a TCO application in respect of goods sent out of Australia for repair has been accepted as a valid application under section 269H, the Comptroller‑General of Customs must decide, not later than 150 days after the gazettal day, whether or not he or she is satisfied, having regard to:
(a) the application; and
(b) all submissions lodged with the Comptroller‑General of Customs before the last day for submissions; and
(c) all information supplied and documents and material produced to the Comptroller‑General of Customs in accordance with a notice under subsection 269M(4);
that there is no one in Australia capable of repairing those goods in the ordinary course of business.
(2) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs fails to make a decision under subsection (1) in respect of a TCO application within 150 days after the gazettal day, the Comptroller‑General of Customs is taken, for the purposes of subsection (1), at the end of that period, to have made a decision that he or she is not satisfied of the matters referred to in that subsection in relation to the application.
(3) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs is satisfied of the matters referred to in subsection (1) in relation to the application, he or she must make a written order declaring that the goods the subject of the TCO application are goods to which a prescribed item specified in the order applies.
(4) The TCO must include:
(a) a description of the goods the subject of the order including a reference to the Customs tariff classification that, in the opinion of the Comptroller‑General of Customs, applies to the goods; and
(b) a statement of the day on which the TCO is to be taken to have come into force.
(5) For the purposes of this section, a person is taken to be capable of repairing goods in the ordinary course of business if, in the ordinary course of business, the person is prepared to accept orders to repair those goods.
269R Notification of TCO decisions
(1) As soon as practicable after the Comptroller‑General of Customs makes a decision under subsection 269P(1) or 269Q(1), the Comptroller‑General of Customs must:
(a) by notice in writing, inform the applicant of the decision; and
(b) by notice published in the Gazette, inform all other interested persons of the decision.
(2) If the decision has led to the making of a TCO, the notice given to the applicant and published in the Gazette must include full particulars of the TCO.
(3) A failure to comply with subsection (1) or (2) does not affect the validity of the TCO concerned.
269S Operation of TCOs
(1) Subject to the operation of subsection 269SA(2), a TCO is to be taken to have come into force on:
(a) unless paragraph (b) applies—the day on which the application for the TCO was lodged; or
(b) if there was more than one application for the TCO—the day on which the earliest application for the TCO was lodged.
(2) Subject to section 269SG, a TCO applies in relation to the goods the subject of the TCO that were or are first entered for home consumption on or after the day on which the TCO is taken to have come into force.
(3) Subject to the operation of subsection 269SA(1), a TCO continues in force until it is revoked under section 269SC or 269SD.
269SA Consequence of commencement or cessation of production before TCO decision
(1) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs is satisfied, in relation to a TCO application:
(a) that the application meets the core criteria; and
(b) that on a day (the production start‑up day) occurring later than the day on which the application was lodged but before the making of the decision on the application, substitutable goods in relation to the goods the subject of the application commenced to be produced in Australia; and
(c) that if the production start‑up day had occurred on the day on which the application was lodged, the Comptroller‑General of Customs would not have been satisfied that the application met the core criteria;
the TCO that the Comptroller‑General of Customs makes continues in force only until the production start‑up day.
(2) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs is satisfied, in relation to a TCO application:
(a) that the application does not meet the core criteria; and
(b) that on a day (the production close‑down day) occurring later than the day on which the application was lodged but before the making of the decision on the application, substitutable goods in relation to the goods the subject of the application ceased to be produced in Australia; and
(c) that if the production close‑down day had occurred on the day on which the application was lodged the Comptroller‑General of Customs would have been satisfied that the application met the core criteria;
the Comptroller‑General of Customs must make a TCO in accordance with section 269P, but the TCO is in force only from the production close‑down day.
Division 4—Revocation of TCOs
269SB Request for revocation of TCOs
(1) If:
(a) a TCO is in force on a particular day; and
(b) a person claiming to be a producer in Australia of substitutable goods in relation to the goods covered by the order is of the view that if:
(i) the TCO were not in force on that particular day; and
(ii) that particular day were the day on which the TCO application was lodged;
the TCO would not have been made;
the person may request the Comptroller‑General of Customs to revoke the order.
(2) A request must:
(a) be in writing; and
(b) be in an approved form; and
(c) contain such information as the form requires; and
(d) be signed in the manner indicated in the form.
(3) A request for revocation may be lodged:
(a) by leaving it at a place that has been allocated for the lodgement of TCO applications by notice published on the Department’s website; or
(b) by posting it by prepaid post to a postal address specified in the approved form; or
(c) by sending it by fax to a fax number specified in the approved form;
and the request is taken to have been lodged when the request, or a fax of the request, is first received by an officer of Customs.
(4) The day on which the request is to be taken to be lodged, must be recorded on the request.
269SC Processing requests for revocation of TCOs
(1) Not later than 60 days after lodgement of a request for revocation of a TCO, and after having regard to the request and to any other information, document or material given to the Comptroller‑General of Customs under section 269SF, the Comptroller‑General of Customs must decide whether or not he or she is satisfied:
(a) 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 order; and
(b) 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 Comptroller‑General of Customs would not have made the TCO.
(1A) As soon as practicable after receiving a request for revocation of a TCO, the Comptroller‑General of Customs must publish a Gazette notice stating:
(a) that the request has been lodged; and
(b) the date that the request was lodged; and
(c) the full particulars of the TCO to which the request relates.