A Missing Piece In India's Trade Remedy Law: Codifying 'Public Interest'

Introduction

In India, the trade remedial investigations are governed by the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 and the rules issued thereunder i.e. the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti-Dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995 ('Anti-Dumping Rules') and Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Countervailing Duty on Subsidized Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995 ('CVD Rules').

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies ('DGTR'), under the Ministry of Commerce ('MoC') is the investigative authority responsible for recommending Anti-dumping ('AD') and Countervailing ('CV') duties. Under Rule 18 of the Anti-Dumping Rules and Rule 20 of the CVD Rules, the final imposition of duties rests with the Ministry of Finance ('MoF'). The MoF considers broader economic policy concerns while deciding whether to impose the duties. In many cases in last 3 years, the MoF has