Guidance

How we handle requests for reconsiderations of our decisions

Updated 12 April 2024

Primary legislation in the Taxation (Cross Border Trade) Act 2018 (the Tax Act)

Paragraph 30 of Schedule 4 and paragraph 29 of Schedule 5 of the [Tax Act] provide for regulations to govern reconsideration of or appeal against our decisions.

Secondary legislation in The Trade Remedies (Reconsideration and Appeals) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 The Trade Remedies (Reconsideration and Appeals) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 provide the process for the reconsideration of decisions taken in our dumping, subsidy and safeguard investigations and reviews.

Introduction to reconsiderations

When we make certain decisions in a trade remedy investigation, we can be asked to reconsider them. When we carry out the reconsideration process, the decision we’re reviewing is called the ‘original decision’. Once we complete our reconsideration, we will either uphold or vary the decision. From this point, it will be known as a ‘reconsidered decision’, even if it has not changed.

Who can apply to us to reconsider an original decision?

The Regulations set out a list of decisions that can be reconsidered and who can apply for a reconsideration in each case. In most cases, any interested parties can apply, but in some cases, such as where the decision is to reject an application, only the person who made the application can apply. Examples include:

• when we reject an application to us to initiate a dumping, subsidy or safeguard investigation – only the person who made the application
• when we reject an application for a dumping or subsidy review, breach investigation or extension review – only the interested party who made the application
• when we make a determination on the amount of repayment of an anti-dumping or countervailing duty (or a determination not to make a repayment) – only the importer who made the application for a repayment investigation

If we receive multiple applications for reconsideration of a single original decision, we may make a single reconsidered decision.

When can parties apply for a reconsideration?

Decisions made within an investigation cannot be challenged until the investigation is complete. This means provisional determinations made during the investigation are not subject to reconsideration.

We must receive any application to reconsider a decision within a month and one day of that decision being published or (if this is a later date) coming into effect. Where there is no requirement for a decision to be published (for instance, when we reject an application to initiate an investigation), we should receive the request for reconsideration within a month and one day after we notify the applicant of our decision. Notifications of the decisions we make will state the deadline to apply for a reconsideration request.

How to apply for reconsideration of a decision

You should submit your application for reconsideration via the Trade Remedies Service.

In addition to applying within the deadlines, applicants should:

• set out the grounds for their application
• explain the outcome they are looking for
• demonstrate that they are eligible to apply for a reconsideration of this decision.

How we handle requests for reconsiderations

When we receive an application, we will consider the request carefully. If we decide to accept it, we will either notify the applicant directly or, if the original decision was published in a notice, we will publish a notice on the Trade Remedies Service to say that it is being reconsidered. If an application doesn’t meet any or all of the three criteria set out above, we will review this and may ultimately reject the application.

Late applications

If we receive an application for reconsideration outside the timeframe, we will normally reject it. However, if the applicant provides reasons for the late application, we may consider it appropriate to accept the application, although this also depends how far beyond the deadline the application is made.

Non-conforming applications

These are applications in which the applicant has not explained their eligibility to make an application, the grounds for their application, and/or what outcome they are looking for. We can still accept a non-conforming application if we decide it’s appropriate to do so.

If we decide to reject an application for reconsideration for any reason, we will notify the applicant of our decision and advise them of their right to appeal to the Upper Tribunal.

How we carry out reconsiderations

When we reconsider a decision, we will follow a process in which we re-examine relevant information we hold on the case, testing both our processes and our conclusions. This work will be carried out by a team which did not work on the original case. At the end of this process, we may decide either to uphold the original decision or to vary the original decision. In each case the result will be a ‘reconsidered decision’.

As part of this process, we may:

• request further information from the applicant and/or from any other person and set a time limit for responses
• review relevant material, which may include:
• information we have asked for
• the application and any information provided with it
• any information obtained from secondary sources
• [carry out hearings] (/government/publications/the-uk-trade-remedies-investigations-process/meetings-hearings-and-visits)
• disregard information if it has been submitted outside the time limit we have given or does not conform to our request
• take any other action we think is appropriate in line with the relevant regulations

Our process for handling confidential information is explained in our guidance on our investigation processes.

Use of information and facts available

We will consider information provided to us by interested parties, contributors and anyone else we ask for information, providing it is submitted within our deadlines and in a form we can use. We will also draw on information in the application for reconsideration and refer to secondary sources where necessary.

Non-cooperation in the reconsideration process

If a party doesn’t cooperate with us during the reconsideration or they significantly impede its progress, we may consider them to be non-cooperative and we may disregard the information they supply. This won’t apply if they acted to the best of their ability to cooperate or if they can demonstrate that to comply with our request for information would be unreasonably burdensome on them.

Disputes relating to a point of law

If we identify that an application for reconsideration relates to a dispute on a point of law, we can refer this to the Upper Tribunal.

If we do so, we will notify the applicant of this. We will do so directly if there was no published notice of the original decision. If the original decision was published, we will publish a notice via the Trade Remedies Service which sets out the questions we have referred.

The reconsideration process will not conclude until we receive a decision from the Upper Tribunal.

How to withdraw an application for a reconsideration

If you apply for a reconsideration, you can contact us through the Trade Remedies Service to withdraw your application. This must be done before we have communicated the outcome of our reconsideration.

If we accept your request to withdraw the application, we will either notify you directly through the Trade Remedies Service or, if the original decision you asked to be reconsidered was published by notice, we will publish a Notice of Termination for the reconsideration via the Service.

If the reconsideration has multiple applicants, all applicants must agree with the withdrawal request before the reconsideration can be terminated. We will publish a notice explaining our intention to terminate the reconsideration, inviting the other applicants to either agree or object. If any applicants don’t agree with the request for termination, the reconsideration process will continue.

What happens at the end of the reconsideration process

At the end of the reconsideration process, we will either:

1. uphold the original decision if we are satisfied it was correct
2. vary the original decision

If the original decision was a recommendation to the Secretary of State, then the Secretary of State must accept or reject the reconsidered decision.

We will notify the applicant of our reconsidered decision directly via the Trade Remedies Service or, if the original decision was published by notice, a notice of the reconsidered decision will be published.

Making an appeal to the Upper Tribunal

A reconsidered decision may provide a right of appeal to the Upper Tribunal. You can find out more about this in our guidance on making appeals.

Details on how to appeal will be given in the published notice of the reconsidered decision or in our notification to the applicant.