Tariff Concession Revocation Order HS2007/398A - Tariff Concession Order 0614380

The instrument relies on and illustrates three core procedural concepts embedded in its own text: revocation, replacement and linkage to Schedule 4 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995.

1. Revocation by delegate: The instrument begins by invoking a specific statutory power, stating that "Under Section 269SD(2) of the Customs Act 1901, I Robert Crawford a delegate of the Chief Executive Officer revoke Tariff Concession Order Number 9703699 made on 01.07.97, in respect of the goods described in TABLE A below." The textual form identifies the formal source of authority (s 269SD(2)), the actor (a named delegate of the CEO), the instrument being revoked and the date of the original TCO. The revocation is not framed as an amendment but as a straight revocation effective from a stated date, 01.01.07.

2. Replacement TCO: The instrument then records that the delegate "make in its place the Tariff Concession Orders described in TABLE B." This is not a mere reissue of the old order; the replacement TCO is documented separately in TABLE B with a distinct tariff classification and Schedule 4 item number. The new TCO entry repeats the descriptive specification of the goods, indicating continuity of the descriptive scope.

3. Link to Schedule 4, Part III: The instrument expressly ties the new TCO entries to the Customs Tariff Act 1995 by stating the goods in Column 1 of TABLE B "are goods to which the item in Part III of Schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff Act 1995 specified in Column 2 of TABLE B applies." The instrument therefore operates as an administrative bridge between the product description and the Schedule 4 item referenced by the number in Column 2. The instrument itself does not reproduce the contents of Schedule 4; rather it records which Schedule 4 item number applies to the listed goods.

Other notable textual features that are conceptually relevant and which the instrument itself contains are: the very granular product description (components (a) to (m) for a specific furnace type), explicit TCO identifiers and operation dates for both the revoked and replacement instruments (Op. 01.07.97 - TC 9703699 in TABLE A; Op. 01.01.07 - TC 0614380 in TABLE B), and the formal signatory/recording blocks showing the delegate's name and the date "Dated 20 June 2007". The instrument thus combines administrative provenance (delegate and date), precise goods-description, and the machine-readable linkage to tariff schedule item numbers.

The instrument names no beneficiaries or detractors by party label, but it does specify the exact goods to which the replacement TCO applies and thus indicates who must pay attention to the change. The primary affected parties, as inferred from the instrument's mechanism, are any persons or entities involved with importing, declaring, classifying or trading the goods described in Column 1 of TABLE A and TABLE B. The itemised list in both tables describes components for an "electric arc, tilting type" furnace with specific capacities and a 13-part component list (items (a) to (m)). Entities that use, supply, import or clear those listed components at Australian borders are the natural population the instrument affects because the instrument changes the administrative instrument (TCO) tied to those goods.

Operationally, the instrument identifies the goods in TABLE B as "goods to which the item in Part III of Schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff Act 1995 specified in Column 2 of TABLE B applies." The presence of a Schedule 4 item number (Column 2: "50" for TABLE B) means the new TCO creates an explicit connection between the product description and that Schedule 4 item. Anyone relying on tariff concession entries to determine applicable treatment for customs declarations (including importers, customs brokers, freight forwarders, logistics teams and in-house customs compliance officers) must be aware that, as of 01.01.07, the listed goods are recorded against the new TCO number and Schedule 4 item.

The instrument also affects administrative parties within the customs agency. The delegate of the Chief Executive Officer is recorded as the decision-maker and the instrument's administrative history (revocation and replacement) will need to be reflected in customs systems, TCO registers and any compliance or audit trails. The instrument itself gives the agent's name, "Robert Crawford", and the date "Dated 20 June 2007", providing the provenance customs systems rely upon.

Finally, the revocation of TCO Number 9703699 (Op. 01.07.97) and its replacement with TC 0614380 (Op. 01.01.07) affects historical record-keeping and any parties auditing or reviewing past importations. The revocation has effect from 01.01.07, so compliance records and retrospective analyses must acknowledge that the old order ceased to have effect from that date, and the new order applied from that date forward. The instrument does not name or identify end-users, manufacturers, or overseas suppliers; it identifies goods and records administrative changes that those market participants must account for when operating in Australia.

The instrument itself is an administrative record effecting revocation and replacement; it does not create new statutory duties or enumerate rights in the language of the instrument beyond the mechanical allocation of goods to a Schedule 4 item. Still, the text imposes clear practical duties on parties dealing with the listed goods by changing which administrative instrument (TCO) and which Schedule 4 item number applies.

Duty to use the correct TCO and item number: The instrument makes explicit that the goods in Column 1 of TABLE B "are goods to which the item in Part III of Schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff Act 1995 specified in Column 2 of TABLE B applies." Practically this imposes a duty on importers and declarants to reference the correct TCO (TC 0614380) and the Schedule 4 item number ("50" as recorded) when determining the applicable tariff treatment from 01.01.07 onward. The instrument also revokes the previous TCO (TC 9703699) effective 01.01.07, which inherently imposes a duty not to rely on the revoked TCO for declarations filed after the effective date.

Duty to identify goods against the descriptive scope: The instrument lists a specific set of components (items (a) to (m)) and a narrow product description (electric arc, tilting type furnace, specified capacities and melt times). Parties must determine whether the goods they are importing correspond to that descriptive scope to rely on whatever treatment applies via the Schedule 4 item. The instrument does not widen or generalise the description; it repeats the precise component list in TABLE B. Hence a duty to undertake factual classification against that description follows from basic customs practice and is implicit in recording an item-specific TCO.

Recordkeeping and procedural duty for administrative bodies: The instrument is executed by a named delegate "Robert Crawford" and dated 20 June 2007. Administrative bodies maintaining the official TCO register must record the revocation and the replacement TCO, ensure that importer guidance and tariff lookup systems reflect the change, and use the operative date specified in the instrument ("The Order shall have effect from the date notified in paragraph (a) above as the date of effect for the Revocation") when aligning transactional records.

No express new rights or appeal mechanisms are detailed in the instrument text. The instrument does not itself grant a new statutory right to relief, nor does it specify mechanisms such as refunds, retrospective relief, or administrative review. Any such rights or obligations must be located in the underlying statutes or in other administrative instruments; they are not contained in the text of this revocation order.

The Revocation Order text does not specify penalties, sanctify enforcement mechanisms, or set compliance sanctions. Its operative content is limited to the revocation of a prior TCO and the making of a replacement TCO, together with the identification of the relevant Schedule 4 item number and operative dates. The only statutory reference embedded in the text is to the enabling power: "Under Section 269SD(2) of the Customs Act 1901, I Robert Crawford a delegate of the Chief Executive Officer..." That citation identifies the statutory authority for making the revocation and replacement, but the instrument itself contains no language about enforcement powers, contraventions, or penalties.

Consequently, the instrument leaves any penalties or enforcement procedures to be derived from the primary statutes (for example the Customs Act 1901 and the Customs Tariff Act 1995), or from other instruments or regulatory material. Because those provisions are not reproduced in the instrument text, one cannot, from this instrument alone, state what penalties attach to failing to comply with the administrative change, how enforcement is to be carried out, or what remedial processes exist for disputes. The instrument is an administrative record that must be implemented by relevant customs processes; enforcement and penalties, if any, would be applied pursuant to the broader statutory framework which the instrument invokes but does not restate.

In practice, the instrument creates an administrative expectation that importers and declarants use the newly-specified TCO and Schedule 4 item number from the effective date. Failure to do so would typically be addressed under customs declaration rules and related enforcement mechanisms, but the text of the instrument does not itself describe those instruments or the consequences of non-compliance. The instrument therefore carries an implicit compliance imperative without setting its own sanctions.

The instrument references two statutes in its own text and thereby defines its formal interaction points. First, it is made "Under Section 269SD(2) of the Customs Act 1901", which the instrument cites as the specific statutory power authorising the revocation and replacement of Tariff Concession Orders. Second, it links the replacement TCO to the Customs Tariff Act 1995 by stating that the goods listed in TABLE B "are goods to which the item in Part III of Schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff Act 1995 specified in Column 2 of TABLE B applies." Those two references establish the instrument's legal touchpoints, but the instrument does not reproduce the texts of those statutes or their operative content beyond the two references.

Interaction with the Customs Act 1901: By expressly relying on s 269SD(2) of that Act for authority, the instrument situates its validity and effect within the powers conferred by that statutory provision. The instrument is an exercise of delegated administrative authority; it records who exercised that delegation (Robert Crawford) and when (Dated 20 June 2007). The instrument does not reproduce the content of s 269SD(2) and does not attempt to modify the primary legislation. Its effect is therefore a statutory-administrative action whose legality turns on the underlying statutory delegation.

Interaction with the Customs Tariff Act 1995: The instrument connects specific goods to a particular item in Part III of Schedule 4 to that Act by listing the Schedule 4 item number in Column 2 of TABLE B ("50"). That linkage is the practical interaction: the replacement TCO tells readers which Schedule 4 item applies to the listed goods. The instrument does not specify the text or operative effect of Schedule 4 item "50"; it simply records the association between the goods and the item number. Any substantive tariff treatment, conditions or exclusions contained in Schedule 4 item 50 (or elsewhere in the Customs Tariff Act 1995) are external to this instrument.

No other statutes, regulatory instruments, or international obligations are cited in the instrument text. The instrument does not purport to alter or displace other legislative instruments; it records an administrative change that must be read alongside the cited statutes. Because the instrument does not reproduce or summarise the content of the relevant statutory provisions, readers must consult the Customs Act 1901 and the Customs Tariff Act 1995 themselves to understand the full legal consequences, enforcement architecture and substantive tariff treatment attached to the Schedule 4 item referenced.

The instrument itself is short and records a discrete sequence of administrative actions across time. The recorded timeline and amendment steps in the instrument are:

• Original issuance being revoked: TABLE A records a Tariff Concession Order with Op. 01.07.97 and a TCO identifier "TC 9703699". The entry in TABLE A describes the affected goods with the classification 8514.90.90 and reproduces the component list. TABLE A also contains a Column 2 entry shown as "5031.12.06", the textual form present in the instrument copy.

• Revocation effective date: The opening paragraph explicitly states that the revocation "has effect from 01.01.07". It also refers to the instrument being made under s 269SD(2) of the Customs Act 1901 and names the delegate who makes the revocation, Robert Crawford.

• Replacement order: TABLE B records the new Tariff Concession Order, with tariff classification 8514.90.00 and the same descriptive list of components. TABLE B lists the operation date as "Op. 01.01.07 - TC 0614380" and in Column 2 shows Schedule 4 Item Number "50".

• Administrative signature/date: Both pages (page 1 and page 2 of the instrument) include a record "This is page X of 2 Pages of the instrument... Robert Crawford...................... Dated 20 June 2007 Delegate of the Chief Executive Officer." The instrument therefore documents the delegate's name and a dated signature block for 20 June 2007.

In functional terms, the amendment history is the replacement of an instrument issued in 1997 (TC 9703699) by a new instrument effective 01.01.07 (TC 0614380), with the replacement recorded and dated 20 June 2007. The instrument does not contain any other amendments, cross-references, transitional provisions, or retrospective clarifications. It records neither partial amendments nor successive changes beyond the single revocation-and-replacement event.

The text of the revocation order contains no litigation history. It does not cite, refer to, or reproduce any judicial decisions, tribunal rulings, appeals, or administrative review outcomes. No court or tribunal names, case citations, or dispute summaries appear in the instrument. The instrument is silent as to whether the revocation or replacement was subject to any challenge or review, and it does not reflect any litigation-driven change.

Given the content of the instrument, any litigation or dispute arising from the revocation, the replacement TCO, or the applicable Schedule 4 item would need to be sought in external records such as court files, tribunal registries or internal agency records. Those are not part of the instrument text provided. The instrument therefore stands as an administrative record without embedded litigation context.

The instrument contains several textual and structural features that create practical pitfalls for users who rely on its representation without consulting the underlying statutory materials.

1. Identical descriptive scope but different classification codes: TABLE A and TABLE B reproduce near-identical descriptive lists of components (items (a) to (m)). However, the tariff classification code shifts from 8514.90.90 in TABLE A to 8514.90.00 in TABLE B. Users who assume the description alone governs entitlement may miss that the recorded tariff classification code has changed. The instrument ties entitlement to the Schedule 4 item number recorded in Column 2 of TABLE B, not to the old TCO number or old tariff heading. The instrument therefore requires attention to both description and recorded code.

2. Schedule 4 item number presentation: TABLE A's Column 2 shows "5031.12.06" while TABLE B's Column 2 shows "50". The instrument does not explain the meaning of "5031.12.06" or "50", or whether the first is a date, composite code, or prior schedule numbering. A reader should not assume the first entry is a date; the instrument text does not clarify it. The only clear statement is that TABLE B's Column 2 denotes the item in Part III of Schedule 4 applicable to the listed goods.

3. Effective date versus instrument date: The instrument is dated 20 June 2007, yet the revocation and replacement are recorded as having effect from 01.01.07. This mismatch between procedural date and effective date may be a source of confusion for record-keepers or auditors. The instrument explicitly states that the replacement order "shall have effect from the date notified in paragraph (a) above," which is 01.01.07. Users must ensure their declarations and accounting treat the operative change as from 1 January 2007 regardless of the instrument's signature date.

4. No substantive tariff terms included: The instrument does not reproduce the text of the Schedule 4 item to which it links the goods. Readers who need to know duty rates, conditions, or other substantive terms cannot obtain them from this instrument alone and must consult Part III of Schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff Act 1995. Treating the instrument as a complete statement of tariff relief would be an error.

5. No mention of transitional arrangements or retrospective relief: The instrument revokes an older TCO and makes a replacement effective from 01.01.07, but it contains no transitional rules, grandfathering, or retroactive relief. Parties who imported goods during the interval around the effective date must not assume the instrument provides retrospective treatment; the instrument is silent on such matters.

6. Delegated authority indicated but not fully explained: The instrument records that it is made under s 269SD(2) by a delegate. The text does not reproduce or summarise the scope, limits or procedural constraints of that delegation. Users relying on the instrument to understand the legal robustness of the change must consult the enabling statute.

7. Ambiguity in Column labelling and layout: The instrument as provided contains truncated table headers and compact layout that can be misread if not transferred carefully into customs classification systems. Careful cross-checking of TCO numbers, operation dates and schedule item numbers is necessary.

The instrument’s text provides the precise steps users must follow to align their customs practices with the administrative change, albeit implicitly. Compliance requires actions by importers, customs agents, and internal compliance officers. The following steps are grounded in the instrument’s operative statements.

1. Confirm whether goods match the listed description: The instrument identifies the affected goods by a specific product description and an enumerated list of components (a) to (m). Parties must compare their actual imported goods with that description to determine whether they fall within the scope. The instrument repeats the description in TABLE B as the operative definition for the replacement TCO.

2. Use the replacement TCO and Schedule 4 item from the effective date: The instrument revokes TCO Number 9703699 effective 01.01.07 and records the replacement as Op. 01.01.07 - TC 0614380. It also states that the replacement order "shall have effect from the date notified in paragraph (a) above as the date of effect for the Revocation." Therefore, from 1 January 2007 onward import declarations referencing a TCO for these goods should reference TC 0614380 and the Schedule 4 item number "50" as recorded in Column 2 of TABLE B.

3. Update customs declarations and internal systems: Declarants and customs brokers should update any electronic tariff lookup, classification cross-references, and declaration templates to reflect the change from TC 9703699 to TC 0614380 and the associated tariff classification code change from 8514.90.90 to 8514.90.00 as recorded in TABLE B. The instrument names these identifiers explicitly in both TABLE A and TABLE B.

4. Maintain documentary evidence: The instrument is signed by a named delegate and dated 20 June 2007. Importers should retain a copy of the instrument (the dated pages with the delegate’s name) together with evidence of the date of importation and classification analyses showing why goods correspond to the descriptive scope. Because the instrument does not set out the text of the Schedule 4 item, compliance records should include a contemporaneous copy of Part III Schedule 4 item "50" from the Customs Tariff Act 1995 for full evidentiary support.

5. Reconcile historical records for the transition date: As the old TCO is revoked effective 01.01.07, parties should reconcile whether any import entries declared using the old TCO prior to that date need retrospective correction, or whether entries filed after that date inadvertently relied on the revoked TCO. The instrument does not provide transitional or remedial instructions; therefore, practical compliance requires proactive review of entries around the effective date.

6. Seek clarification where ambiguity exists: The instrument records a previous Column 2 entry "5031.12.06" in TABLE A and "50" in TABLE B. Where the meaning of prior item numbers or codes is unclear, declarants should consult the customs authority’s explanatory material or the printed Schedule 4 to ascertain whether the change in numbering reflects a renumbering of Schedule items or a substantive re-linking to a different Schedule 4 item.

7. Do not presume substantive tariff treatment from the instrument alone: The instrument ties the goods to a Schedule 4 item number, but it does not reproduce the substance of that item. For proper calculation of duty, conditions, or eligibility, the importer should consult the text of Part III of Schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff Act 1995 corresponding to item "50".

8. Retain communications and advice: Any binding rulings, advance rulings or written advice from customs authorities that refer to TC 9703699 should be checked to determine whether they remain applicable, have been superseded by TC 0614380, or require revalidation. The instrument itself is the authorising administrative act for the revocation and replacement but does not address the continuity of any prior rulings.

Following these steps will align declarants’ administrative practice with the instrument’s effect as recorded: the older TCO is revoked effective 01.01.07 and the listed goods are recorded against a new TCO (TC 0614380) and Schedule 4 item number as set out in TABLE B.