Govt eases procedure for filing antidumping applications by fragmented industries

The government has simplified the procedure for filling applications seeking anti-dumping duty investigations by fragmented industries, a move aimed at promoting ease of doing business and expediting trade remedy measures for small and micro units.

According to a notice of the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), where the industry is fragmented and consists of an excessively large number of domestic producers, the application for antidumping or countervailing duty investigation can be filed by an association on behalf of the domestic industry.

However, it said, such domestic producers must have at least 50 per cent share in total eligible domestic production of the product, over which antidumping duty is being requested.

As per the simplified procedure, all the domestic producers in such cases would not be required to provide detailed data like labour and per unit power cost, instead, all such producers will be required to file "basic injury information" such as turnover, installed capacity, exports, and domestic sales.

"The authority (DGTR), for the purpose of determining injury margin may limit detailed examination of applicant domestic producers to a limited number of domestic producers," it added.

The directorate will use sampling methods under which a limited set of producers would have to provide complete data or information.

Earlier all the applicants have to provide complete and detailed data with the application for such investigations.

The DGTR from time to time used to receive requests for imposition of trade remedy measures from domestic producers forming part of fragmented industries. It has been noticed that genuine difficulties are many a times encountered by such domestic producers in complying with the existing procedures and consequently they remain deprived of the relief from trade remedy measures.

"In order to overcome difficulties faced by fragmented industries in India in complying with the existing procedures and norms, a simplification exercise needs to be attempted for ease of doing business. It has therefore been decided that the following guidelines be applied in seeking information from such domestic producers during the course of Anti-dumping (AD)/Countervailing duty (CVD) investigations," it said.

Further the directorate has also taken certain more measures to promote ease of doing business such as streamlining of the anti-dumping questionnaire format for user industry; simplification of importer's questionnaire to be filed by unrelated importers in such probes; simplification of exporter's questionnaire to be filed by foreign producers / exporters in such investigations.

It added that there have been representations from domestic producers and their associations for simplification of the existing application formats.

"Accordingly, to meet their demands as also to fulfil the objective of reduction of compliance burden for citizens and business, the existing application formats have been simplified and aligned with the updated act and rules. Requirement of non-essential and repetitive information has been dispensed with. Some formats have been deleted altogether whereas some others have been merged," the DGTR said in another notice.

The directorate is an investigation arm of the ministry which deals with anti-dumping duty, safeguard duty, and countervailing duty. These duties are trade remedy measures, provided under an agreement of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to its member countries

They are used to provide a level-playing field to the domestic industry in case of dumping of goods, significant increase in imports and subsidised imports.