European Business Law, the fourth volume in our series, shows how the European authorities simultaneously abolish all restrictions on access to and exercise of economic activities and support the growth of domestic markets, through the harmonization the internal legislation or the enactment of genuinely unified regulations.

European Business Law

The registration of imports, which may be made after a request from the Union industry including sufficient reasons for it, is aimed at allowing a retroactive application of measures imposing provisional or definitive anti-dumping measures to imports prior to their coming into force.

The Commission may, after consultation of the Advisory Committee, direct the customs authorities to take the appropriate steps to register imports in a regulation which specifies the purpose of the action and the estimated amount of possible future liability (Regulation No 2016/1036, Article 14(5)). Importers, which are not required to provide a guarantee, are seriously invited to make provision by estimating the duties that might be paid at the end of the proceedings.

Using the registration of imports may take place at several stages of the proceedings. According to Article 10(4) and (5), definitive duties may, under certain conditions, be levied on products which were entered for consumption or for free circulation no more than 90 days prior to the date of application of provisional measures, provided that imports have been registered. In case of withdrawal by an exporting producer of its undertakings immediately prior to the adoption by the Council of a regulation which provides in its favor an exemption from the definitive anti-dumping duty imposed with respect to other exporting producers  or breach of an exporter's undertaking , the imports of the products concerned may be subject to registration in the event that retroactive anti-dumping and countervailing duties are imposed. Likewise, registration of imports may be required in the context of a review with respect to a new exporter (Art. 11(4)) , for the re-examination of normal values (Art. 12(5)) , or while waiting for the results of an anti-absorption investigation, where, in their replies to the questionnaires, certain exporters provided information on revised normal values . Lastly, where the Commission initiates a circumvention procedure, it shall instruct the customs authorities to make imports subject to registration or to request guarantees (Art. 13(3)) . 

The duration of mandatory import registrations cannot exceed nine months (Art. 14(5)) .

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2698/95 of 22 November 1995, imports of ferro-silico-manganese (South Africa), LawLex200900002767JBJ.

Commission Regulation (EC) No 452/2002 of 13 March 2002, imports of farmed Atlantic salmon (Norway), LawLex200900002805JBJ.

See, for example, Commission Regulation (EC) No 1225/2003 of 9 July 2003, imports of stainless steel wires (India), LawLex200900002657JBJ; No 59/2000 of 5 January 2000, imports of stainless steel fasteners and parts thereof (China), LawLex200900002902JBJ.

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1144/97 of 24 June 1997, imports of microwave ovens (Korea), LawLex200900002804JBJ.

See, for example, Commission Regulation (EC) No 1693/2002 of 25 September 2002, imports of certain malleable cast iron tube or pipe fittings (Brazil, Argentina), LawLex200900002765JBJ; No 909/2001 of 8 May 2001, imports of glyphosate (China, Malaysia, Taiwan), LawLex200900002839JBJ.

A similar maximum nine-month period is set to impose provisional duties (Art. 7(1)), to carry out an anti-circumvention investigation (Art. 13(3)), to successful carry out a review to determine possible dumping margins for new exporters (Art. 11(4)), to suspend measures where the market conditions have temporarily changed (Art. 14(4)), to determine whether there has been breach of the undertaking (Art. 8(9)), which correspond to the various phases of the anti-dumping procedure during which registration may be requested.

453. Reactivity tool