Filing of questionnaire replies and revisions and issuance of revised investigation report

Table of contents

    Purpose

    In recent proceedings under the Special Import Measures Act, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal has observed an increasing number of questionnaire replies and/or revisions being filed well beyond the initial due date and often after the investigation report has been issued. This has often resulted in confusion for parties and placed an unnecessary burden on both the Tribunal and parties’ counsel.

    The purpose of this notice is to outline procedures that the Tribunal is implementing, effective immediately, to improve the efficiency and fairness of proceedings conducted under the Act and reduce the burden on participants and the Tribunal alike.

    Procedures

    Questionnaire respondents must ensure that their replies to questionnaires are complete and accurate before filing them with the Tribunal. Counsel should review questionnaire replies submitted on behalf of their clients before filing.

    Responses to questionnaires must be filed by the due date indicated on the questionnaire.1
    Where revisions to questionnaire replies are necessitated by follow-ups from staff of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Secretariat, questionnaire respondents must provide the revisions by the deadlines provided by the staff of the Secretariat.

    Any revision to a questionnaire response filed within 10 calendar days of the distribution of Tribunal exhibits (the date of which will have been indicated in the notice commencing the proceedings) will not be included in the investigation report that is distributed with the exhibits.

    Revisions not in response to follow-ups from staff of the Secretariat received after this cut-off date will not be accepted and will not be put onto the record except in exceptional circumstances and with leave of the Tribunal. Guidelines concerning requests for leave to file documents after the deadline set by the Tribunal are set out in the appendix to this notice. 

    Rather than issuing ongoing revisions to the investigation report, in whole or in part, as revised information trickles in throughout the course of the proceedings, only a single revised investigation report will be issued. This version will consolidate all revisions accepted up until then and will be issued shortly after receipt of the reply submissions of the parties supporting the proceedings.

    Counsel and parties will have an opportunity to address any matters arising from the revised investigation report during the matters arising phase of the Tribunal’s proceedings and at the hearing.

    Appendix—Guidelines on requests for late filings

    1. Subject to paragraph (4), a submission, response, questionnaire or other document is not to be filed by a party past the date specified by the Registrar as the date on or before which it is to be filed in the proceeding.
    2. A party that seeks to file a submission, response, questionnaire or other document past the date specified by the Registrar as the date on or before which it is to be filed must apply to the Tribunal as soon as practicable, indicating
      1. the  reasons why the submission, response, questionnaire or other document was not or will not be filed on time,
      2. the relevance of the submission, response, questionnaire or other document to the matters under investigation, and
      3. why late filing should be allowed.
    3. An application under paragraph (2) must be made by sending to the Registrar a written request addressing the issues listed in paragraph (2).
    4. On application under paragraph (2), the Tribunal may
      1. seek the views of other parties to the proceeding where it considers it appropriate,
      2. allow the document to be filed in whole or in part, or
      3. deny the application.
    5. Where it considers it appropriate, the Tribunal will notify the parties of its decision under paragraph (4) and give the reasons for it.