Anti Dumping Duty on Paracetamol - Life after Death
NOTIFICATION No. dated 03.09.2007 imposed definitive Anti-Dumping Duty on Paracetamol exported from China. This Notification was in force up to 02.09.2012. Para 2 of the Notification reads:
2. The anti-dumping duty imposed under this notification shall be effective for a period of five years (unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier) from the date of publication of this notification in the Official Gazette.
So, on 03.09.2012, this Notification expired, but the designated authority vide notification F.No.14/1009/2012-DGAD, dated the 28th August, 2012 has recommended continuation of ADD on Paracetamol. How was this to be done? Here is the simple way invented by the Board. They issued a Notification to insert para 3 in the above Notification as under:
3. Notwithstanding anything contained herein above, this notification shall remain in force up to and inclusive of the 2nd September, 2013, unless revoked earlier.
So, it was resurrected by Notification No. 42/2012-Cus., (ADD), dated September 19, 2012 to be alive till 2nd September 2013. On 3rd September 2013, it had its second death.
Now the Designated Authority in its findings dated 26th August 2013 found that:
1. there has been continued dumping of the subject goods from China PR and the dumping is likely to continue and increase if the anti-dumping duty is allowed to cease;
2. despite the anti-dumping measures in force, the subject goods are entering the Indian market at dumped prices and both the dumping margin as well as the injury margin has remained significant, resulting in continued injury to domestic industry;
3. the volume of dumped import is likely to increase causing further injury to the domestic industry in the event of revocation of anti-dumping duty;
4. should the present anti-dumping duties be revoked, dumping of the subject goods may in all likelihood intensify, causing further injury to the domestic industry.
and recommended continued imposition of the anti-dumping duty against the subject goods, originating in or exported from the subject country.
But this continued imposition had to be done before 3rd September 2013, which could not be done. So, in spite of the fact that there was continued dumping of the goods, the anti dumping notification could not be issued.
Now the Government has issued a fresh notification imposing anti dumping duty on the goods from 28th October 2013 for a period of five years. There was no anti dumping duty on this product from 3rd September 2013 to 27th October 2013.
Who is to pay for the Revenue loss during this period and who is going to compensate the Indian industry for the continued injury during this period?
Notification No. , Dated,: October 28, 2013