Government to check cheap imports.

NEW DELHI: The government has decided to arm itself with more ammunition for trade defence, besides trying to be more agile in dealing with cheap imports that are dumped into the Indian market.

It has already discussed with the industry the possibility of shrinking the investigation period for anti-dumping probes to nine months, from an average of 12 months. The law gives the government 18 months to complete such investigations which require authorities to impose duty if duty is proved along with injury to the local industry.

"We have told the industry that we can complete the investigations within nine months, provided they give the required inputs," said an official. From the time a complaint is filed, the process includes prima facie establishment of a case, submission of preliminary findings and levy of provisional duty which is followed by the final report and duty.

India is the top user of this trade defence mechanism, with Chinese goods facing the maximum such actions. When it comes to anti-subsidy action, India is completely new to the arena although it has the legal backing to initiate such action. It is only now that the directorate general of anti-dumping and allied duties has notified the anti-subsidy proforma and has completed training its staff to deal with the issue, especially in the wake of complaints of China subsidizing several products to stay competitive.

The probe will need data to establish direct transfer of funds by the government, provision of goods, other than infrastructure, at low or zero cost or other forms of price support. "Often, data is not easy to come by on these issues," said an official.

In case of anti-dumping, where data concerns were expressed earlier, officials said information was more freely available now. For China, the Indian authorities have now decided to tie up with the anti-dumping agency across the border to access companies there and also get the services of an interpreter.

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com