Customs Act 1901

The Comptroller‑General of Customs may, on application by the holder of a depot licence, vary the licence by:

omitting the description of the place that is currently described in the licence and substituting a description of another place; or

altering the description of the place that is currently described in the licence.

See subsection (8) for variation on the Comptroller‑General’s own initiative.

An application under subsection (1) may be made by document or electronically.

A documentary application must:

be in writing; and

be in an approved form; and

contain such information as the form requires; and

be signed in the manner indicated in the form; and

be accompanied by payment of the depot licence variation charge.

An electronic application must:

communicate such information as is set out in an approved statement; and

be accompanied by payment of the depot licence variation charge.

The Comptroller‑General of Customs may, by written notice given to an applicant for the variation of a depot licence, require the applicant to supply further information in relation to the application within the period that is specified in the notice or within such further period as the Comptroller‑General of Customs allows.

See section 77ZA for the ways in which the notice may be given to the applicant.

The Comptroller‑General of Customs must not grant an application for the substitution of the description of a place not currently described in the licence, or for the alteration to the description of a place currently described in the licence, if, in his or her opinion:

the physical security of the place whose description is to be substituted, or of the place that would have the altered description, as the case may be, would not be adequate having regard to:

the nature of the place; or

the procedures and methods that would be adopted by the applicant to ensure the security of goods in the place if the variation were made; or

the records that would be kept in relation to the place would not be suitable to enable an officer of Customs adequately to audit those records.

The Comptroller‑General of Customs must not grant an application for the substitution of the description of a place not currently described in the licence if, in his or her opinion, the place would be too remote from the nearest place where officers of Customs regularly perform their functions for those officers to be able to conveniently check whether the Customs Acts are being complied with at the place.

The Comptroller‑General of Customs must decide whether or not to grant the application within 60 days after:

if paragraph (b) does not apply—the receipt of the application; or

if the Comptroller‑General of Customs requires further information relating to the application to be supplied by the applicant under subsection (3) and the applicant supplied the information in accordance with that subsection—the receipt of the information.

If the Comptroller‑General of Customs has not made the decision whether or not to grant the application within the period applicable under subsection (6), the Comptroller‑General of Customs is taken to have refused the application.

The Comptroller‑General of Customs may, on the Comptroller‑General’s own initiative, vary a depot licence by:

omitting the description of the place that is currently described in the licence and substituting a description of another place; or

altering the description of the place that is currently described in the licence.

The Comptroller‑General of Customs must give the holder of the depot licence a copy of the variation under subsection (8). The variation takes effect at the time the copy is given.