India imposed anti-dumping duty on imports of certain flat steel products from China and European Union (EU) for five years to guard the interest of domestic players from cheap in-bound shipments.
The duty was imposed after the commerce ministry's directorate general of anti-dumping and allied duties (DGAD) recommended duty on such imports.
In its findings, the DGAD had concluded that 'colour coated/pre-painted flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel' has been exported to India from these regions at below the normal value, due to which domestic industry has suffered material injury.
"The anti-dumping duty imposed under this notification shall be effective for a period of five years (unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier) from...11th January and shall be payable in Indian currency," the department of revenue said in a notification.
The duty will be the difference between the landed value of the steel products and USD 822 per tonne.
India has already slapped anti-dumping duty on certain cold-rolled flat steel products from four nations, including China and South Korea.
While DGAD recommends the duty to be levied, the finance ministry imposes it.
Countries initiate anti-dumping probes to determine if the domestic industry has been hurt by a surge in below-cost imports. As a counter-measure, they impose duties under the multilateral WTO regime.
Anti-dumping measures are taken to ensure fair trade and provide a level-playing field to the domestic industry. They are not a measure to restrict imports or cause an unjustified increase in cost of products.
