Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Travel Agents Act 1986 - SECT 17

Annual fee and annual statement

17. Annual fee and annual statement



(1) Except where regulations made for the purposes of subsection (2) otherwise
provide, a licensee must pay to the Authority the prescribed annual licence
fee on each anniversary of the date the licensee was last granted a licence
under section 10.

(1A) An annual licence fee may be paid at any time in the 6 weeks before it
falls due.



(2) The regulations may make provision for and with respect to the date and
payment of the fee prescribed for the purposes of subsection (1) where
licensees carry on business in partnership.

(3) The payment of the prescribed annual licence fee must be accompanied by a
statement in respect of the year up to the date that the payment is made that
is in a form approved by the Authority.

(3A) A statement lodged under this section must be signed-

   (a)  if the licensee is a natural person, by the licensee; or

   (b)  if the licensee is a body corporate, by a director of the body
        corporate.



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(5) A statement under this section must contain any information and be
accompanied by any documents required by the Authority.



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(7) The Authority, on the application of a person required to comply with
subsection (1) or (3) and on payment of the prescribed fee, may extend or
further extend the time for compliance with that subsection.

(8) If a licensee fails to pay a fee, or lodge a statement, or pay a fee and
lodge a statement, in accordance with this section and the regulations, the
Authority must give notice in writing to the licensee that, unless the fee is
paid or the statement lodged, or the fee is paid and the statement lodged,
together with the prescribed late fee, before a day specified in the notice,
being a day that is not earlier than 14 days after the giving of the notice,
the licence will be cancelled.

(9) If a licensee has not complied with this section and has not paid the
prescribed late payment fee or late lodgement fee by the date specified in the
notice, the licence is automatically cancelled.



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(11) If, while a licence is in force, there occurs-





   (a)  between the time the application for the licence was granted and the
        time the first statement is lodged under subsection (3)-a change in
        the particulars specified in, or in connexion with, the application or
        provided in accordance with section 8(5); or

   (b)  between the lodging of successive annual statements under subsection
        (3)-a change in the particulars specified in the earlier of those
        statements-

(not, in either case, being a change required to be notified under section
14), the licensee within 14 days after the occurrence of the change, must give
to the Authority notice in writing specifying particulars of the change.
Penalty: 20 penalty units.

(11A) If at any time during the period of the licence the licensee proposes to
replace the person in charge of a place of business with another person (the
proposed person)-

   (a)  the licensee must notify the Authority in the form approved by the
        Authority; and

   (b)  the licensee must pay the prescribed fee (if any) for lodgment of the
        notice.

(11B) The Authority may-

   (a)  conduct any inquiries it thinks fit;

   (b)  require the proposed person to provide any further information that
        the Authority thinks fit in the manner required by the Authority;

   (c)  seek advice and information on the proposed person from any other
        person or body it thinks fit.

(12) A person must not, in or in relation to a statement required to be lodged
under subsection (3) or a notice required to be given under subsection (11),
make a statement that is false or misleading by reason of the inclusion of any
false or misleading matter or the omission of any material matter.

Penalty: 20 penalty units.

(13) It is a defence to a prosecution of a person for an offence under
subsection (12) if it is proved that, when the statement was lodged or the
notice given, the person-

   (a)  believed on reasonable grounds that the false matter was true; or

   (b)  believed on reasonable grounds that the misleading matter was not
        misleading; or

   (c)  in the case of an omission-believed on reasonable grounds that no
        material matter had been omitted; or

   (d)  in the case of an omission-did not know that the omitted matter was
        material.