(2) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs fails to make a decision in respect of a request for the revocation of a TCO within 60 days after lodgement of the request, the Comptroller‑General of Customs is taken, for the purposes of subsection (1), at the end of that period, to have decided that he or she is not satisfied of the matters referred to in that subsection in relation to the request.
(3) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs is satisfied of the matters referred to in subsection (1) in relation to a request for revocation of a TCO, the Comptroller‑General of Customs must make an order revoking the TCO.
(4) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs is satisfied of the matters referred to in subsection (1) in relation to a request for revocation of a TCO but is also satisfied that if:
(a) the TCO were not in force on the day of lodgement of the request; and
(b) that day were the day of lodgment of an application for another TCO (the narrower TCO) in respect only of goods covered by the TCO that are not produced in Australia by the person making the request;
the Comptroller‑General of Customs would have made such a narrower TCO, he or she must:
(c) revoke the TCO; and
(d) make, in its place, such a narrower TCO.
(5) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs is not satisfied of the matters referred to in subsection (1) in relation to a request for revocation of a TCO, the Comptroller‑General of Customs must refuse the request.
(6) An order under subsection (3) or (4) revoking a TCO comes into force on the day on which the request to revoke the TCO was lodged.
(7) If a narrower TCO is made in place of another TCO that is revoked in subsection (4), that narrower TCO comes into force, for the purposes of this Part, from the date of effect of the revocation of the other TCO, as if it had been made under section 269P or 269Q.
(8) Subsections 269SC(6) and (7) have effect despite section 12 of the Legislation Act 2003.
269SD Revocation at the initiative of Comptroller‑General of Customs
(1AA) If:
(a) a TCO is in force on a particular day; and
(b) the Comptroller‑General of Customs believes that if:
(i) the TCO were not in force on that day; and
(ii) that day were the day on which the application for the TCO was lodged;
the Comptroller‑General of Customs would not have made the TCO;
the Comptroller‑General of Customs may, not later than 14 days after that day, publish a notice in the Gazette:
(c) declaring his or her intention, subject to subsection (1AB), to make an order revoking the TCO with effect from that particular day (the intended revocation day); and
(d) inviting any person who might be affected by the revocation of that TCO to give a written submission to the Comptroller‑General of Customs within 28 days of the notice concerning the proposed revocation.
(1AB) Within 60 days after the date of publication of the notice referred to in subsection (1AA), the Comptroller‑General of Customs must, after consideration of the matters raised in any submissions made in response to the invitation and of any other relevant matters:
(a) decide whether or not he or she is satisfied of the matters referred to in paragraph (1AA)(b); and
(b) if the Comptroller‑General of Customs is so satisfied—make an order revoking the TCO with effect from the intended revocation day.
(1) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs is satisfied that a TCO is no longer required because the general tariff rate in respect of the goods the subject of the order has been reduced to “Free”, the Comptroller‑General of Customs may make an order revoking the TCO with effect from the day the tariff rate was so reduced.
(1A) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs is satisfied on any day that a TCO is no longer required because, in the 2 years preceding that day, the TCO has not been quoted in an import entry to secure a concessional rate of duty, the Comptroller‑General of Customs may make an order revoking the TCO with effect from that day.
(2) If 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 is stated in a TCO to apply to the goods the subject of the TCO has not, with effect from a particular day, applied to those goods, the Comptroller‑General of Customs must:
(d) make an order revoking the TCO with effect from that day; and
(e) make a new TCO in respect of the goods with effect from the revocation.
(2A) If, because of an amendment of a Customs Tariff, the Comptroller‑General of Customs is satisfied that the tariff classification that is stated in a TCO to apply to the goods the subject of the TCO will not apply to those goods from a particular day, the Comptroller‑General of Customs may:
(a) make an order revoking the TCO with effect from that day; and
(b) make a new TCO in respect of the goods with effect from that day.
(3) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs is satisfied that, in making a TCO, there has been a transcription error in the description of goods the subject of the TCO including the tariff classification that is stated in the TCO to apply to the goods, the Comptroller‑General of Customs may:
(a) make an order revoking the TCO with effect from the day the TCO came into force; and
(b) make a new TCO in respect of goods that corrects the error with effect from the revocation.
(4) The particular day referred to in subsection (2) may be the day on which the TCO that is revoked came into force or a later day.
(5) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs is satisfied that a TCO contains a description of the goods the subject of the order in terms of their intended end use, the Comptroller‑General of Customs may make an order revoking the TCO with effect from the revocation.
(6) This section has effect despite section 12 of the Legislation Act 2003.
269SE Notification of revocation decisions
(1) As soon as practicable after the Comptroller‑General of Customs makes a decision under subsection 269SC(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) As soon as practicable after the Comptroller‑General of Customs makes a decision to make an order under subsection 269SD(1AB), (1) or (1A), (2), (2A) or (5), the Comptroller‑General of Customs must, by notice published in the Gazette, inform all interested persons of the decision.
(3) If the decision referred to in subsection (1) or (2) has led to the making of an order revoking a TCO or both to the making of an order revoking a TCO and the making of a new TCO, the notice of that decision given to the applicant and published in the Gazette must include full particulars of the order or orders.
(4) A failure to comply with subsection (1), (2) or (3) does not affect the validity of the decision concerned or of any order or orders to which it has led.
269SF Comptroller‑General of Customs may seek information, documents or material relating to revocation
(1) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs considers that, in relation to a request for revocation of a TCO, any person (including the person who made the request) may be able to supply information or produce a document or material relevant to the consideration of the request, the Comptroller‑General of Customs may, by notice in writing, request the supply of the information or the production of the document or material within a period specified in the notice and ending not later than 60 days after receiving the request.
(2) Any information provided in satisfaction of a request under subsection (1) must be provided in writing.
(3) If a person refuses or fails to supply information or produce a document or material under subsection (1) within the period allowed but subsequently supplies the information or produces the document or material, the Comptroller‑General of Customs must not take that information, document or material into account in determining whether to revoke a TCO.
269SG Effect of revocation on goods in transit and capital equipment on order
(1) Subject to subsection (2), if a TCO is revoked under subsection 269SC(3) or (4) or 269SD(1AB) or (1A), the TCO ceases to apply in relation to goods entered for home consumption on or after the day on which the revocation comes into effect.
(2) Despite the revocation of a TCO under subsection 269SC(3) or (4) or 269SD(1AB) or (1A) in respect of goods, the TCO continues to apply in relation to:
(a) goods that:
(i) were imported into Australia on or before the day on which the revocation came into effect; and
(ii) are entered for home consumption, before, on, or within 28 days after, that day; and
(b) goods that:
(i) were in transit to Australia on that day; and
(ii) are entered for home consumption before, on, or within 28 days after, the day on which they were imported into Australia.
(3) For the purposes of subparagraph (2)(b)(i), goods shall be taken to be in transit to Australia if, and only if, they have left for direct shipment to Australia from a place of manufacture, or a warehouse, in the country from which they are being exported.
(4) Where an officer of Customs is satisfied that, after a TCO in relation to made‑to‑order capital equipment comes into force but before its revocation under subsection 269SC(3) or (4) or 269SD(1AB) or (1A), a firm order had been placed for the purchase of any such equipment, the TCO continues to apply in relation to the importation into Australia of that capital equipment.
(5) In this section:
made‑to‑order capital equipment means a particular item of capital equipment:
(a) that is made on a one‑off basis to meet a specific order rather than being the subject of regular or intermittent production; and
(b) that is not produced in quantities indicative of a production run.
Division 5—Miscellaneous
269SH Internal review
(1) Not later than 28 days after gazettal of a decision (the original decision) on a TCO application or on a request for revocation of a TCO, any affected person within the meaning of subsection (13) who objects to the making of the decision may apply to the Comptroller‑General of Customs for its reconsideration.
(2) An application for reconsideration must:
(a) be in writing; and
(b) include the grounds on which the person objects to the decision (whether or not those grounds had previously been considered).
(3) An application for reconsideration:
(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.
(3A) As soon as practicable after receiving a request for reconsideration of a decision that leads to the making of a TCO or that refuses to revoke 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.
(4) Where application is made for reconsideration of a decision made on a TCO application, the Comptroller‑General of Customs, having regard to:
(a) the TCO application; and
(b) the submissions, information, documents and materials which the Comptroller‑General of Customs was entitled to take into account in considering the TCO application; and
(c) any new matter produced to the Comptroller‑General of Customs by the applicant for reconsideration which, under subsection (7), the Comptroller‑General of Customs is not prevented from taking into account for that purpose;
must decide, not later than 90 days after the last day for lodgement of the application for reconsideration, whether to affirm the original decision or to substitute any other decision that the Comptroller‑General of Customs might have made.
(5) Where application is made for reconsideration of a decision on a request for revocation, the Comptroller‑General of Customs, having regard to:
(a) the request for revocation; and
(b) the information, documents and materials which the Comptroller‑General of Customs was entitled to take into account in considering the request; and
(c) any new matter produced to the Comptroller‑General of Customs by the applicant for reconsideration which, under subsection (7), the Comptroller‑General of Customs is not prevented from taking into account for that purpose;
must decide, not later than 60 days after the last day for lodgement of the application for reconsideration, whether to affirm the original decision or to substitute any other decision that the Comptroller‑General of Customs might have made.
(6) If the Comptroller‑General of Customs fails to make a decision under subsection (4) or (5) within the period referred to in that subsection, the Comptroller‑General of Customs is taken, for the purposes of the reconsideration, at the end of that period, to have made a decision to affirm the original decision.
(7) For the purposes of subsections (4) and (5), the Comptroller‑General of Customs must not take into account any new material that is not produced to him or her by the applicant for reconsideration of an original decision within the period of 28 days after notification of the original decision in the Gazette.
(8) Where the Comptroller‑General of Customs, on reconsidering an original decision, decides to substitute for that decision any decision that he or she might have made, the substituted decision is to be taken to have been made when the original decision was made.
(9) If the substituted decision involves the making of a TCO, or of an order revoking a TCO, that TCO or revocation order comes into force on the day on which, if the original decision had involved making the TCO or order revoking a TCO, that TCO or order would have come into force.
(10) As soon as practicable after the Comptroller‑General of Customs makes a decision under subsection (4) or (5) on an application for reconsideration, the Comptroller‑General of Customs must:
(a) by notice in writing inform the applicant for reconsideration of the decision made on the reconsideration; and
(b) by notice published in the Gazette, inform all other interested persons of the decision made on that reconsideration.
(11) If the decision on an application for reconsideration has led to the making of an order or orders, the notice of the decision given to the applicant for reconsideration and published in the Gazette must include full particulars of the order or orders.
(12) A failure to comply with subsection (10) does not affect the validity of any decision on a reconsideration or of any order or orders to which it has led.
(13) In subsection (1):
affected person means:
(a) in relation to a decision on a TCO application:
(i) the applicant for the TCO; or
(ii) any person who lodged a submission before the last day for submissions in relation to the TCO application; or
(iii) any person who, in the opinion of the Comptroller‑General of Customs, was not reasonably able to lodge a submission in relation to the TCO application within 50 days of the gazettal day; and
(b) in relation to a decision on a request for revocation:
(i) the person requesting the revocation; or
(ii) any other person whose interests are affected by the decision made on the request.
269SHA Administrative Review Tribunal Review of reconsideration decisions
(1) For the purpose of an application to the Administrative Review Tribunal under section 273GA for review of a decision under subsection 269SH(4) or (5) (a reconsideration decision), application may be made by any person who is an affected person in relation to that decision within the meaning of subsection 269SH(13).
(2) If an affected person applies to the Tribunal for review of a reconsideration decision, the Comptroller‑General of Customs must, as soon as practicable after being notified of the application or of the first such application, publish in the Gazette:
(a) particulars of the decision (including any relevant TCO number or TCO application number) in respect of which such an application for review has been made; and
(b) the name of the person who made such an application; and
(c) sufficient particulars to identify the review proceedings before the Tribunal.
(3) Any person who had not applied under section 273GA for review of a reconsideration decision but whose interests are affected by the decision (whether or not that person is an affected person within the meaning of subsection 269SH(13)) may apply under the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024 to be made a party to the proceedings within 60 days of the publication under subsection (2) or within such further period as the Tribunal allows.
(4) The Tribunal must not grant a person applying to be joined as a party to proceedings for review of a reconsideration decision an extension of the period of 60 days referred to in subsection (3) unless it is satisfied that the person was not reasonably able to apply within the period.
(5) Any document on which a party to proceedings for review of a reconsideration decision before the Administrative Review Tribunal intends to rely must, subject to the provisions of the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024:
(a) be filed with the Tribunal; and
(b) be served on the other parties to the proceeding;
not less than 28 days before the date set for hearing, unless the Tribunal makes an order permitting the document to be filed and served within a lesser period or to be introduced at the hearing without being so filed or served.