When it comes to importing and exporting in Australia, there are several facets to it that people who are new to the system mightn’t be immediately conscious of.

One of these facets is the Tariff Concession Order or TCO, for short.

In essence, the purpose of the TCO is to give industries an upper hand and edge in the international scene. Basically, the Tariff Concession System helps an industry become more internationally competitive.

Through the TCO, members of the public have the privilege of paying less as a result of the inflow of duty free cargo into the country. Of course, this is restricted essentially to products that local industries aren’t capable of producing themselves.

As a result, there are specific goods that are by default ineligible for the TCO. A few of these include,

• Clothing items and attires,
• Food,
• Passenger vehicles.

Essentially, these items fall under the excluded goods category.

How do You Get a Tariff Concession Order

The process is somewhat lengthy, but on the whole isn’t too complicated. All you need to do to get started is submit some key information to the appropriate authorities and the rest will be promptly handled for you.

To get a TCO, one of the very first things that you have to do is provide accurate information on the inquiry form. Data that would be required from you on the form include;

• Service Type

Here, you have to pointedly indicate whether your inquiry is for,

• Government grants,
• Freight,
• Customs duty, or
• Management consulting.
• Full name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Company name
• A full description of your inquiry

How does TCO Work

Moving forward, the first thing you need to remember is that tariff concessions aren’t just granted at will. There are very specific requirements that need to be met before a TCO can be issued, according to the Tariff Concession System.

The most important qualification to take note of is that it is only granted to goods that do not have viable replacements produced or manufactured in the country at that specific point in time.

As such, you can only get TCO if the goods you’re importing don’t have a substitutable replacement in Australia.

By definition, a substitutable replacement is any Australian made product which can serve the same purpose as the goods you’re planning to import.

Can You Lose TCO

The simple answer to this question is, “Yes”.

Even if you do successfully manage to acquire a Tariff Concession Order for your imported goods, you could still forfeit it under certain conditions.

Arguably the most popular way that individuals or establishments lose their TCO is through a local industry submitting an application for the revocation of your TCO.

This application usually stands on the premise that the local industry is now producing goods that can serve as a substitutable product for the goods you’re currently importing.

If it is then subsequently determined that this local industry does indeed produce a substitutable product, your Tariff Concession Order will be revoked.

You can check here for more in-depth information on TCO in Australia.