Guidance

Repayment investigation

Updated 25 October 2024

Legal framework

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

Paragraph 28 of Schedule 4 to the Taxation Act makes 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)

Regulation 89 of Part 10 of the D&S Regulations 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 (the Customs Regulations)

Regulation 53A of the Customs Regulations defines the ‘importation period’, to which the application for a repayment investigation relates, as any continuous six-month period that begins:

• the day after the D&S Regulations commenced;
• the day after that first period terminates; or
• on the anniversary of either of those two days.

Introduction to repayment investigations

When a trade remedy measure (for example, an anti-dumping or countervailing 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 the TRA to have some of the duty repaid through HMRC. This guidance explains how to do this.

An anti-dumping duty is based on the lower of either the injury margin or the dumping margin, whereas a countervailing duty is based on the lower of either the injury margin or the amount of countervailable subsidy that is attributable to 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 that is lower than the anti-dumping or countervailing duty.

Following our investigation, if we determine that the importer has overpaid, we will notify HMRC that we are satisfied that a repayment is due.

Initiation

A repayment investigation can be requested by an importer.

To apply for a repayment investigation, you need to register on our Trade Remedies Service, and complete and submit the appropriate form. Any application should be made no later than 6 months after the end of the importation period the application relates to. HMRC is unable to make a repayment for applications received later than 6 months after the relevant importation period, regardless of whether an applicant can provide evidence that the dumping margin or subsidy amount has been reduced or eliminated.

The importation period is defined in regulation 53A of the Customs Regulations as any continuous 6-month period beginning the day after the D&S Regulations commenced, the day after that first period terminates, or on the anniversary of either of those two days. The D&S Regulations came into force on 6 March 2019. As a result, the importation periods referred to in regulation 53A of the Customs Regulations are:

• 7 March 2019 until 6 September 2019 (a 6-month period starting on the day after the D&S Regulations came into force);
• 7 September 2019 until 6 March 2020 (a 6-month period immediately following the initial importation period); and

The subsequent periods based on the anniversaries of the commencement of these two days:

• 7 March until 6 September the same year; and
• 7 September until 6 March the following year.

By way of example, for the importation period spanning 7 September 2023 to 6 March 2024, an application must be made by 6 September 2024 (within 6 months of the end of the importation period). Any transactions outside of this importation period (7 September 2023 to 6 March 2024) will not be eligible for repayment.

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 an anti-dumping measure, that the dumping margin has been eliminated or reduced to a level that is lower than the anti-dumping duty
• with a countervailing measure, that the amount of subsidy has been eliminated or reduced to a level that is lower than the countervailing duty.

Your 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 amount of repayment requested
• relevant evidence demonstrating that the overseas exporter’s dumping margin or amount of subsidy for the imported goods has been eliminated, or has been reduced below the level of the anti-dumping or countervailing duty, or a commitment from the overseas exporter that this evidence will be provided within 30 days if we request it
• information about your business relationship with the overseas exporter
• any other information you believe is relevant to your application

The evidence you will need to submit to support your application 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 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 do not 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.

Further information on how to make an application and our application assessment process can be found in our Applying for a trade remedy investigation guidance.

If we decide to initiate an investigation or to reject an application, we will inform you accordingly.

Analysis

During our investigation, we will verify the information provided to us. This may include visits to the exporter and/or importer’s premises.

When we calculate a revised dumping margin or subsidy amount, we will use the same methodology as in the original investigation unless it is not appropriate to do so, for instance if circumstances have changed. Where a different methodology is used, we may consult with the applicant and the relevant exporters. Further information about our methodology can be found in our Determining dumping and anti-dumping duties guidance and Determining subsidies and countervailing duties guidance.

The dumping margin or amount of subsidy is calculated on a per exporter basis. If one or all of the relevant exporter(s) do not cooperate with the investigation, we may not be able to recalculate.

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.

We will calculate any revised dumping margin or 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 or 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 or amount of subsidy has increased (suggesting that you have underpaid), we do not subtract this from the possible repayment amount.

Examples of repayment scenarios

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 rates

Where your imports are subject to a non-sampled cooperating rate, the revised dumping margin or amount of subsidy is compared to the non-sampled cooperating rate.

Outcome

The investigation may result in either:

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

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.