Guidance

Our repayment investigation process

Updated 12 April 2024

This guidance covers:

• the information an application for a repayment investigation needs to cover
• how we calculate whether a repayment amount is due
• possible outcomes of a repayment investigation

Primary legislation in the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 (the Taxation Act)

Schedule 4 Paragraph 28 gives provision for the TRA to investigate matters relating to repayment of an anti-dumping or countervailing duty, or any interest paid as part of this duty.

Secondary legislation: in The Trade Remedies (Dumping and Subsidisation) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (the D&S Regulations)

Part 10: Investigations regarding repayments (Regulation 89) sets out the investigation procedure required to decide whether a repayment should be made and how an importer can apply for a repayment.

The Customs (Import Duty)(EU Exit) Regulations 2018

Regulation 53A defines the ‘importation period’ as any continuous six month period which an application for repayment can cover.

Introduction to repayment investigations

When a trade remedy measure (for example, an anti-dumping or subsidy measure) is imposed on imported goods coming into the UK, it is usually in the form of an additional duty on those goods, which is collected at the border. In some instances, an importer of goods may believe that the level of the duty is incorrect and apply to us to have some of the duty repaid through HMRC. This guidance explains how to do this.

With dumping measures, the duty level is based on the lower of either the injury margin or the dumping margin (the difference between the export price of the goods covered by the measure and their normal value, given as a percentage of the export price). With a subsidy measure, the duty level is based on the lower of either the injury margin or the amount of subsidy on the goods. In a repayment investigation, we need to establish whether the dumping margin or subsidy amount have been eliminated or reduced to a level lower than when the measure was put in place.

Following our investigation, if we determine that the importer has overpaid, we will instruct HMRC to make the refund.

Applying for a repayment investigation

Importers can apply for a repayment investigation via our online platform, the Trade Remedies Service. Any application should be made no later than 6 months after the end of the import period the application relates to. Please note that our investigation can only cover goods which were imported into the country after the UK left the EU customs union.

What you need to include in your application

You will need to provide sufficient evidence of why the duty should be repaid. This means:

• with a dumping measure, that the dumping margin has been eliminated or reduced to a level lower than was seen in the original investigation
• with a countervailing measure, that the amount of subsidy has been eliminated or reduced to a level lower than was seen in the original investigation

The application must also contain the information listed below:

• a description of the goods to which the application relates
• evidence of the amount of duty paid in respect of those goods
• details of the repayment requested
• relevant evidence demonstrating the dumping or imports of subsidised goods are no longer happening, or have reduced to a level lower that the original investigation from your overseas exporter or a commitment from the overseas exporter that this evidence will be provided within 30 days if we request it
• corporate information about your company
• information about your business relationship with the overseas exporter
• any other information you believe is relevant to your application

As part of your application, the relevant evidence needed to demonstrate that dumping or imports of subsidised goods are no longer happening includes:

• a list of import transactions for which you want to claim a repayment
• copies of invoice(s) for the goods your application refers to
• all customs clearance documents identifying the import transactions for which you are applying for a repayment (these should show how the amount of duty was determined, e.g. the quantity and value of goods declared and the rate of anti-dumping duty/countervailing amount applied, as well as the exact amount of anti-dumping duties paid if applicable)
• information on the normal values and export prices of the goods that show the dumping margin or subsidy amount has decreased under the duty in force or has been eliminated (these calculations should be based on all sales of this product to you by the exporter, not just the transactions covered in your repayment application); a commitment from the overseas exporter that this evidence will be provided within 30 days if we request it

If any invoices, customs entry forms or other documents are provided as copies rather than as originals, they must be accompanied with a declaration of their authenticity from either you or the exporter, as applicable.

If you don’t provide all the relevant information either with your application or where we have requested evidence from your exporter, 30 days following that request, we may consider the application as not being made and reject it.

How we carry out a repayment investigation

Once we accept an application, we will examine the information and evidence you have provided to us and assess it against the original case for the measure.

We will need to verify the information provided to us. This may include visits to the exporter and/or importer’s premises.

If we determine that we need to calculate a revised dumping margin or subsidy amount, we will use the methodology from the original investigation into the case for the measure unless it is not appropriate to do so, for instance if circumstances have changed. Where a different methodology is used we will consult with the applicant and the relevant exporters. You can find out more about our methodology in our guidance on dumping and subsidy investigations.

The dumping margin/amount of subsidy is calculated on a per exporter basis. If one or more exporters does not cooperate with the investigation, we will continue our investigation into the remaining cooperating exporters.

If as part of our calculation we need to construct the export price (e.g. because there is no export price or because the price is unreliable due to an association between the exporter and importer), we may deduct any anti-dumping amount paid where it is not reflected in the resale prices and the subsequent selling prices in the UK.

Calculating repayment amounts

We will calculate any revised dumping margin/subsidy amount based on all your imports of the goods covered by the measure into the UK, not only for the transactions where a repayment is requested.

This revised dumping margin/subsidy amount must be less than the duty in force for us to determine that HMRC should make the repayment. If we find that the dumping margin/amount of subsidy has increased (suggesting that you have underpaid), we don’t subtract this from the possible repayment amount.

Examples of repayment scenarios

In a standard repayment scenario

Example 1: no repayment due

Dumping margin in original investigation	20%
Injury margin in original investigation	15%
Anti-dumping duty in force (due to lesser duty rule)	15%
Revised dumping margin	16%
No repayment due as the dumping margin is higher than the duty in force.

Example 2: repayment due

Dumping margin in original investigation	20%
Injury margin in original investigation	15%
Anti-dumping duty in force (due to lesser duty rule)	15%
Revised dumping margin	11%
Repayment due as the dumping margin is less than the duty in force

Non-sampled cooperating exporters

Where the exporter was given an individual rate based on the weighted average of the sampled exporters in the initial investigation, the difference (i.e. the margin calculated over the import period) is taken from the average rate.

Concluding the investigation

We will aim to complete the investigation within 12 months of your request and in no circumstances more than 18 months.

The investigation may result in either:

• no repayment, when the dumping margin/ subsidy amount is found equal or higher to the duty collected
• repayment of part of the amount paid for the relevant importation period, when the dumping margin/subsidy amount has decreased below the duty collected
• repayment of all of the duties paid for the relevant importation period, when the dumping margin / subsidy amount has been eliminated versus the duty collected

If we determine that HMRC should make a repayment for the relevant importation period, we will:

• calculate the amount of the repayment
• send a notification to HMRC that we are satisfied a repayment is due
• publish a notice on our public file

If we determine that HMRC should not make a repayment for the relevant importation period, we will notify you of our decision.