{"id":"F2015L01738","name":"Customs (Preliminary Affirmative Determinations) Direction 2015","slug":"customs-preliminary-affirmative-determinations-direction-2015","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":93541,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2015L01738-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Customs (Preliminary Affirmative Determinations) Direction 2015","content":"![](image.001.png)\n\nCustoms (Preliminary Affirmative Determinations) Direction 2015\n\nCustoms Act 1901\n\nI, CHRISTOPHER PYNE, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, make this direction under subsection 269TA(1) of the Customs Act 1901.\n\nDated 22 October 2015\n\nCHRISTOPHER PYNE\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nCHRISTOPHER PYNE\n\nMinister for Industry, Innovation and Science\n\n  \n\nPART 1 - PRELIMINARY\n\n    Name of Instrument\n\nThis Direction is the Customs (Preliminary Affirmative Determinations) Direction\n\n2015.\n\n    2. Authority\n    a) This Direction is made under subsection 269TA(1) of the Act.\n    b) This Direction has the purpose of directing the Commissioner in relation to the making of preliminary affirmative determinations under section 269TD of the Act.\n    3. Commencement\n\nThis Direction commences on commencement of Schedule 1 of the Customs Amendment (Anti-Dumping Measures) Act (No.1) 2015.\n\n    4. Application\n\nThis Direction applies to all dumping and countervailing duty investigations initiated on or after commencement.\n\n    5. Definitions\n\nIn this Direction:\n\nAct means the Customs Act 1901.\n\nCommissioner means the Commissioner of the Anti-Dumping Commission.\n\nStatus Report means the report to be published by the Commissioner providing the reasons why a preliminary determination was not made under section 269TD of the Act on the date 60 days after the initiation of an anti-dumping or countervailing duty investigation in relation to the application received under section 269TB of the Act.\n\nPART 2 - DIRECTIONS\n\n    6. Provision of preliminary affirmative determination or status report\n    a) On the date that is 60 days after the initiation of an anti-dumping or countervailing duty investigation under section 269TB of the Act, the Commissioner must either:\n\n    make a preliminary affirmative determination under section 269TD; or\n    publish a Status Report providing reasons why a preliminary affirmative determination was not made.\n\n    7. Relevant matters – section 269TD(2)(b)\n\nThe Commissioner must consider as a relevant matter, for the purposes of paragraph 269TD(2)(b), the desirability of providing relief to an injured Australian industry, where warranted, as quickly as possible.\n\n    8. Considering late responses – section 269TD(3)\n\nWhen the Commissioner is considering whether or not to have regard to a late submission for the purposes of subsection 269TD(3), consideration of a preliminary affirmative determination should be treated as a priority.\n\n    9. Reconsideration of making a preliminary affirmative determination – section 269TDAA\n\nIf the Commissioner has published a Status Report, the Commissioner must reconsider whether or not to make a preliminary affirmative determination at least once prior to the publication of the Statement of Essential Facts required under section 269TDAA of the Act.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument remains tightly focused on its original purpose: directing the Commissioner on preliminary affirmative determinations in anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations. It does not expand beyond procedural timing and priority-setting for these specific determinations."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument: only 9 sections across 2 parts","Minimal defined terms: only 3 definitions (Act, Commissioner, Status Report)","Single-layer conditional logic: the 60-day requirement is straightforward 'either/or'","Heavy reliance on external statutory context: references to sections 269TA, 269TB, 269TD, 269TDAA of the Customs Act 1901 without reproducing their content","No nested exceptions or complex cross-referencing within the instrument itself","Clear operational directives ('must', 'must consider') rather than discretionary language"],"plain_english_summary":"This ministerial direction requires the Anti‑Dumping Commissioner to meet a strict 60‑day checkpoint in trade remedy investigations: either make a preliminary finding of dumping/subsidy or publish a public Status Report explaining the delay. It also directs the Commissioner to prioritise quick temporary relief for injured Australian industries and to reconsider Status Reports before final factual findings.\n\nIt affects the Commissioner, domestic manufacturers alleging harm, and importers/foreign exporters under investigation, speeding transparency and potential protections."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Direction does not alter the substantive reach of the anti‑dumping/countervailing regime. Instead it prescribes procedural limits and reporting obligations for the Commissioner—forcing a 60‑day decision or published reason (s.6), prioritising quick relief (s.7) and constraining discretion on late submissions (s.8) for investigations begun after commencement (s.4)."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑references to multiple sections of the Customs Act (initiation under s.269TB; preliminary determinations s.269TD; Statement of Essential Facts s.269TDAA) require coordination across provisions (see instrument purpose s.2(b)).","Mandatory 60‑day timing rule constrains administrative discretion and accelerates decision‑making and potential provisional duties (s.6).","Publication obligation: if no preliminary affirmative determination is made, Commissioner must publish a Status Report giving reasons, creating transparency and recordkeeping burdens (definition of Status Report; s.6).","Express policy consideration: Commissioner must treat desirability of quick relief for injured Australian industry as a relevant matter when making preliminary affirmative determinations, embedding an evaluative criterion into s.269TD(2)(b) (s.7).","Late submissions rule gives priority to reaching a preliminary affirmative determination when deciding whether to accept late material, narrowing the exercise of discretion on admissibility (s.8).","Reconsideration duty: after publishing a Status Report the Commissioner must reconsider making a preliminary affirmative determination at least once before publishing the Statement of Essential Facts, adding an extra procedural step (s.9; cross‑ref s.269TDAA).","Temporal scope: instrument applies only to investigations initiated on or after commencement, requiring administrators to track which cases fall within the Direction (s.4).","Compliance and resource impacts: tighter timelines, publication and reconsideration duties increase administrative workload for the Anti‑Dumping Commission and impose incentives on parties to file timely submissions (s.6, s.8)."],"plain_english_summary":"Directs the Anti‑Dumping Commissioner to either make a preliminary affirmative determination or publish a Status Report explaining why one was not made, on the 60th day after an anti‑dumping or countervailing investigation starts. Applies to investigations initiated after commencement. It prioritises speedy relief for injured Australian industry and makes preliminary affirmative determinations a priority when assessing late submissions. Affects importers/exporters (risk of earlier provisional duties), domestic producers (faster potential relief) and the Commission’s procedural workload."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/customs-preliminary-affirmative-determinations-direction-2015","history":"/api/acts/customs-preliminary-affirmative-determinations-direction-2015/history","analysis":"/api/acts/customs-preliminary-affirmative-determinations-direction-2015/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/customs-preliminary-affirmative-determinations-direction-2015/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/customs-preliminary-affirmative-determinations-direction-2015/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/customs-preliminary-affirmative-determinations-direction-2015/documents"}}