Anti-Dumping Review Panel review process

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The Anti-Dumping Review Panel (Review Panel) reviews certain decisions of the Minister and the Commissioner of the Anti-Dumping Commission (ADC). There are different processes depending on what type of decision is being reviewed.

The review process is governed by strict timeframes set out in Part XVB of the Customs Act 1901 (the Act).

Review of Minister’s decisions

Reviewable decisions of the Minister are set out in section 269ZZA of the Act.

Applications to the Review Panel must be made within 30 days after notice of the decision is first published by the ADC (s 269ZZD). At any stage after receiving the application, the Review Panel may request a conference with you or other interested parties to obtain further information (s 269ZZHA).
The Review Panel will decide whether the application sets out reasonable grounds to initiate a review, which support the applicant’s proposed decision that is materially different from the reviewable decision (s 269ZZG).
If the Review Panel decides to initiate a review, it will publish a notice (s 269ZZI).
Interested parties have 30 days to make a submission from the date the notice is published (s 269ZZJ).
Within 60 days of the date the notice was published the Review Panel will provide a report to the Minister. This report will either recommend the decision be affirmed or be revoked and substituted with a new decision (s 269ZZK). At any stage during the review the timeframes may be extended if the Review Panel requires a reinvestigation (s 269ZZL) or if an extension of time is allowed by the Minister due to special circumstances (s 269ZZM).
After receiving the report, the Minister has 30 days to make a decision. The Minister will then publish a notice on the Review Panel’s website (s 269ZZM). Note: if the Minister considers there are special circumstances that prevent the decision being made within that period, the Minister may extend the period of time to make a decision.
Interested parties may seek review of the Minister’s decision by lodging an application with the Federal Court of Australia within 28 days of publication of the notice.

Review of Commissioner’s decisions

There are four types of decisions made by the Commissioner which are reviewable, as set out in section 269ZZN of the Act.

At any stage of the review process, the Review Panel may ask the applicant to provide further information (s 269ZZQA(4)).

Negative prima facie decision review process

Review of the Commissioner’s decision to reject an application for dumping and countervailing measures.

Applications to the Review Panel must be made within 30 days after the applicant was notified of the decision (s 269ZZP). At any stage after receiving the application, the Review Panel may request a conference with you or other interested parties to obtain further information (s 269ZZRA).
The Review Panel will decide if the application, sets out reasonable grounds to initiate a review (s 269ZZQA).
If the Review Panel decides to commence a review, the Review Panel will notify the applicant and the Commissioner (s 269ZZRC).
The Review Panel must decide to either affirm the decision or revoke the decision and substitute a new decision (s 269ZZS).
The Review Panel must make its decision within 60 days after giving notice of the review. However, the timeline may be extended if a longer period is allowed by the Minister due to special circumstances (s 269ZZS).
The Review Panel does not publish its record of reviews of negative prima facie decisions. However, the applicant may request a copy of any document in that record.

Termination decision review process

Review of the Commissioner’s decision to terminate an investigation into an application for dumping or countervailing measures.

Applications to the Review Panel must be made within 30 days after the applicant was notified of the decision (s 269ZZP). At any stage after receiving the application, the Review Panel may request a conference with you or other interested parties to obtain further information (s 269ZZRA).
The Review Panel will decide whether the application sets out reasonable grounds to initiate a review, which support the applicant’s proposed decision (s 269ZZQA).
If the Review Panel decides to commence a review, the Review Panel will publish a notice (s 269ZZRC).
The Review Panel must decide to either affirm the reviewable decision or revoke the decision and substitute a new decision (s 269ZZT).
The Review Panel must make its decision within 60 days after publication of the initiation notice. However, the timeline may be extended if a longer period is allowed by the Minister due to special circumstances (s 269ZZT).
The decision will be published on the Review Panel’s current review page (s 269ZZT).

Negative preliminary decision review process

Review of the Commissioner’s decision to make a recommendation to the Minister to refund an amount of interim duty less than the amount in an application for duty assessment, or waiver an amount over the amount of interim duty paid.

Applications to the Review Panel must be made within 30 days after the applicant was notified of the decision (s 269ZZP). At any stage after receiving the application, the Review Panel may request a conference with you or other interested parties to obtain further information (s 269ZZRA).
The Review Panel will decide whether the application sets out reasonable grounds to initiate a review, which support the applicant’s proposed decision that is materially different from the reviewable decision (s 269ZZQA).
If the Review Panel decides to commence a review, the Review Panel will notify the applicant and the Commissioner (s 269ZZRC).
The Review Panel must decide to either affirm the reviewable decision or revoke the decision and substitute a new decision (s 269ZZU).
The Review Panel must make its decision within 60 days after giving notice of the review. However, the timeline may be extended if a longer period is allowed by the Minister due to special circumstances (s 269ZZU).
The Review Panel does not publish its record of reviews of a negative preliminary decision. However, the applicant may request a copy of any document in that record.

Rejection decision review process

Review of the Commissioner’s decision to reject an application for duty assessment or terminate the examination of a duty assessment.

Applications to the Review Panel must be made within 30 days after the applicant was notified of the decision (s 269ZZP). At any stage after receiving the application, the Review Panel may request a conference with you or other interested parties to obtain further information (s 269ZZRA).
The Review Panel will decide if the application, sets out reasonable grounds to initiate a review, which support the applicant’s proposed decision that is materially different from the reviewable decision (s 269ZZQA).
If the Review Panel decides to commence a review, the Review Panel will advise the applicant and the Commissioner (s 269ZZRC).
The Review Panel must decide to either affirm the reviewable decision or revoke the decision and substitute a new decision (s 269ZZUA).
The Review Panel must make its decision within 60 days after giving notice of the review. However, the timeline may be extended if a longer period is allowed by the Minister due to special circumstances (s 269ZZUA).
The Review Panel does not publish its record of reviews of a rejection decision. However, the applicant may request a copy of any document in that record.

Public information

The Review Panel maintains a public record of each review of a Minister’s decision and termination decisions of the Commissioner. You can view non-confidential versions of applications and submissions received for each review on the current reviews page. The Review Panel does not publish records on its website in relation to negative preliminary decisions, negative prima facie decisions or rejection decisions.

Confidential versions of your application and any submission may be shared with the Anti-Dumping Commission.

Conferences

At any stage of the review process the Review Panel can request a conference with you or other interested parties to obtain further information (ss 269ZZHA and 269ZZRA).
A ‘conference’ is a meeting between the Review Panel member considering the application or conducting the review (Reviewing Member), and relevant parties who can provide further information in relation to the application or review.

Participating in a conference

If a conference is to be held, the Secretariat will contact you by email with a proposed date for the conference. Once availability is confirmed and a date is agreed by the Reviewing Member, the Secretariat will provide you with the conference date, time, discussion topics and instructions to dial-in to a teleconference.

Confidentiality during conferences

Conferences will not be confidential unless requested by a party in advance. If you wish to raise confidential information in a conference, you must notify the Secretariat no later than two business days before the conference and identify broadly the topics or categories of information which are confidential (e.g. production unit prices). In order to protect confidentiality, attendance at conferences concerning confidential information will be limited.

Conference Summary

Conferences are recorded by an officer of the teleconference provider for transcription purposes. If the conference is held in relation to a review of a decision of the Minister or decision of the Commissioner to terminate an investigation, a summary of the conference is made available on the specific review page, which can be found on the current reviews page.

Conference participants will be provided with a copy of the summary to confirm its accuracy and identify any confidential information before it is published,