Safeguard Duty Imposed on HR Steel Coils - Will Aluminium be next?
RESPONDING to the representations from the domestic steel industry, the Government has imposed a safeguard duty of 20% Adv on the imports of "Hot-rolled flat products of non-alloy and other alloy Steel in coils of a width of 600 mm or more" falling under heading 7208 or tariff item 7225 30 90 of the Customs Tariff.
The DG, Safeguards has in his preliminary findings come to the conclusion that increased imports of subject goods into India has caused and threatened to cause serious injury to the domestic industry/producers of subject goods, and any delay in application for provisional Safeguard duty would cause damage which would be difficult to repair, necessitating the imposition of provisional safeguard duty on imports of subject goods into India, and accordingly has recommended the imposition of provisional safeguard duty.
The duty shall be effective for a period of 200 days from yesterday.
It is clarified that the safeguard duty is not applicable for the following products:
a) Hot-rolled flat products of steel with nominal width less than 600mm;
b) API grade steel;
c) Silicon electrical steel;
d) Hot-rolled flat products of steel of spring steel quality;
e) Hot-rolled flat products of steel which are electrolytically plated or coated with zinc;
f) Hot-rolled flat products of steel otherwise plated or coated with zinc; and
g) Hot-rolled flat products of stainless steel.
Will the ailing steel Industry in India recover with this safeguard duty?
Notification No. ., Dated September 14, 2015