The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has granted interim authorisation to allow Refrigerant Reclaim Australia to continue to apply an industry levy on refrigerant gases imported and sold in Australia.
RRA is an industry funded not-for-profit organisation that recovers, reclaims and destroys ozone depleting and synthetic greenhouse gas refrigerants. The recovery programme is funded by the industry levy, currently set at $2 per kilogram of refrigerant gases.
The program has been authorised by the ACCC in various forms since 1994. An existing authorisation for the program expires on 31 December 2010
"Interim authorisation will allow the program to continue to operate while the substantive application for authorisation is being considered," ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said.
The RRA has sought authorisation to expand the scope of its program and this will be assessed as part of the authorisation application process.
The ACCC expects to issue a draft determination about the application to continue to operate and expand the scope of the scheme early in the new year.
Further information about Refrigerant Reclaim Australia's application is available on the ACCC public register.