Tonnage tax option requires prescribed application and approval and imposes a multi-year lock-in with limited renewal. A qualifying company may opt into the tonnage tax scheme by prescribed application to the Joint Commissioner within specified three-month windows; the Commissioner may call for information, must afford a hearing before refusal, and must decide within a statutory timeframe. Approval applies from the tax year of exercise and remains effective for a fixed multi-year period, subject to renewal; the option ends on loss of qualifying status, statutory noncompliance, exclusion, or written withdrawal, after which shipping profits are taxed under other provisions, and opt-out/default/exclusion triggers a ten-year bar on re opting.