Check when you need to pay anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard duties
Find out if anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty and safeguard measures apply to your goods and how to claim a repayment.
Anti-dumping and countervailing duty
Anti-dumping duty
Anti-dumping duty is a duty on imports. It protects against damage to UK industry caused by the dumping of goods in the UK at prices much lower than the normal value.
Each anti-dumping duty measure covers specified goods originating in, or exported from, named countries or exporters.
It’s charged in addition to other duties that apply to the imported goods. For example, customs duty or rebalancing duties.
Where a safeguard duty is also applied to an import, the anti-dumping duty is amended so that only the highest of either the safeguard or anti-dumping duties apply.
Countervailing duty
Countervailing duty is a duty on imported goods that have received countervailable subsidies in the originating or exporting country.
It’s treated in the same way as anti-dumping duty for customs purposes.
It’s possible to have both anti-dumping duty and countervailing duty on the same product.
Provisional anti-dumping or countervailing duty
Provisional anti-dumping or countervailing duty may be imposed during a dumping or subsidy investigation.
When provisional anti-dumping or countervailing duty is imposed, you must provide a security to cover the provisional duty amount.
At the end of the investigation, the provisional duty may be made definitive or be cancelled.
You must secure provisional duty by:
- cash deposit
- bond
- bank guarantee
The security is held for four months after a duty is made definitive.
Country of origin
Anti-dumping and countervailing duties are charged based on the non-preferential origin of the goods. Goods originate in a country if:
- they were wholly produced within that country
- the processing in that country gives the goods their essential characteristics when two or more countries were involved in the manufacture
Some goods have special rules that apply.
Circumvention
Circumvention is when traders try to avoid anti-dumping and countervailing duties by sending their goods to a different country to undergo processes that do not change the origin of the goods.
Where circumvention is identified, anti-dumping or countervailing duty measures may be extended to goods from the country of export. Exporters not involved in circumvention can apply to the Trade Remedies Authority for exemption from the extended duties.
Safeguard duty
Safeguard duty may be imposed temporarily on goods that are being imported in increased quantities damaging to UK industry. It is applied to all imports, but there are exemptions for goods from developing countries. Safeguard duty only becomes payable after a set volume of goods has been imported.
Check a product has been made subject to any anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty or safeguarding measures
Read trade remedies notices.
Use the online Trade Tariff: look up commodity codes, duty and VAT rates.
Claim a repayment
Anti-dumping or countervailing duty
If you have evidence the anti-dumping or countervailing duty rate is wrong, you can ask the Trade Remedies Authority to open a repayment investigation.
To apply for a repayment for all or part of the anti-dumping duty paid, you must be able to show either:
- the products imported were not dumped
- the margin of dumping was less than what the anti-dumping measures were based on
Find out how to claim using the Trade Remedies Authority repayment investigation process.
Provisional anti-dumping duty or countervailing duty
If the definitive anti-dumping or countervailing duty rate is less than the provisional duty rate, you need to a submit a repayment claim using form C285.
Inward and outward processing
Inward processing
If you hold an inward processing authorisation, you can suspend anti-dumping and countervailing duty until your goods enter free circulation.
Outward processing
If you are authorised to reimport goods under outward processing, any anti-dumping or countervailing duties are due on the imported products.
Warehousing
If you placed your goods in a customs warehouse, you’ll pay the anti-dumping or countervailing duty rate in force when those goods are removed from the warehouse and entered to free circulation.
More information
If you believe a product is being dumped or is receiving a countervailable subsidy, you can ask the Trade Remedies Authority to investigate. You’ll need to register for the Trade Remedies Service and complete an application for a dumping, subsidy, or safeguard investigation. For help with this, email: contact@traderemedies.gov.uk.
Find out about the UK trade remedies investigations process.
HMRC is responsible for collecting anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard duties. For help importing goods subject to these duties, email: dutyliability.policy@hmrc.gov.uk.