68Public officer of company

68 Public officer of company

(1) Every company which is a manufacturer or wholesale merchant in Australia shall at all times be represented by a person duly appointed by the company or by its duly authorized agent or attorney and with respect to every such company and person the following provisions shall apply: (a) Such person shall be called the public officer of the company for the purposes of this Act and shall, if not already appointed, be appointed within 3 months after the commencement of this paragraph or after the company commences to carry on business in Australia; (b) The company shall keep the office of public officer constantly filled and no appointment of a public officer shall be deemed to be duly made until after notice thereof in writing, specifying the name of the officer and address for service, has been given to the Commissioner; (c) The company shall duly appoint a public officer when and as often as such an appointment becomes necessary; (d) Service of any document at the address for service or on the public officer of a company shall be sufficient service upon the company for all the purposes of this Act or the regulations, and if at any time there is no public officer then service upon any person acting or appearing to act in the business of the company shall be sufficient; (e) The public officer shall be answerable for the doing of all such things as are required to be done by the company under this Act or the regulations, and in case of default shall be liable to the same penalties; (f) Everything done by the public officer which he is required to do in his representative capacity shall be deemed to have been done by the company. The absence or non‑appointment of a public officer shall not exclude the company from the necessity of complying with any of the provisions of this Act or the regulations, or from the penalties provided by any section on the refusal or failure to comply therewith, but the company shall be liable to the provisions of this Act as if there were no requirement to appoint a public officer; (g) In any proceedings under this Act taken against the public officer of the company the proceedings shall be deemed to have been taken against the company, and the company shall be liable jointly with the public officer for any penalty imposed upon him; (h) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, and without in any way limiting, altering or transferring the liability of the public officer of a company, every notice, process or proceeding which under this Act or the regulations may be given to, served upon or taken against the company or its public officer may, if the Commissioner thinks fit, be given to, served upon or taken against any director, secretary or other officer of the company or any attorney or agent of the company and that director, secretary, officer, attorney or agent shall have the same liability in respect of that notice process or proceedings as the company or public officer would have had if it had been given to, served upon, or taken against the company or public officer. (2) A person is not capable of being a public officer of a company unless the person: (a) is a natural person who has attained the age of 18 years; (b) is ordinarily resident in Australia; and (c) is capable of understanding the nature of the person’s appointment as the public officer of the company. (3) A company that contravenes paragraph (1)(c) is, in respect of each day on which it contravenes that paragraph (including the day of a conviction of an offence against this subsection or any subsequent day), guilty of an offence punishable on conviction by a fine not exceeding $50. (4) Unless the contrary intention appears, a reference in subsection (1) to this Act or the regulations includes a reference to Part III of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 to the extent to which that Part of that Act relates to this Act or the regulations.