[Safeguard Measures
(Quantitative Restrictions) Rules, 2012][1] [24th
May, 2012] In exercise of the powers
conferred by sub-section (3) of Section 9-A of the Foreign Trade (Development
and Regulation) Act, 1992 (22 of 1992), the Central Government hereby makes the
following rules, namely. (1) These rules may be called
the Safeguard Measures
(Quantitative Restrictions) Rules, 2012. (2) They shall come into force
on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette. (1) In these rules, unless the
context otherwise requires, (a) “Act” means the Foreign
Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 (22 of 1992); (b) “Authorised Officer” means
the Authorised Officer designated as such under sub-rule(1) of Rule 3; (c) “increased quantity”
includes increase in import whether in absolute terms or relative to domestic
production; (d) “interested party”
includes. (i) an exporter or foreign
producer or the importer of goods (which is subject to investigation for
purposes of imposition of safeguard quantitative restrictions) or a trade or
business association, majority of the members of which are producers, exporters
or importers of such goods; (ii) the Government of the
exporting country; and (iii) a producer of the like
goods or directly competitive goods in India or a trade or business
association, a majority of members of which produce or trade the like goods or
directly competitive goods in India; (e) “like goods” means goods
which is identical or alike in all respects to the goods under investigation,
or in the absence of such goods, other goods which has characteristics closely
resembling those of the goods under investigation; (f) “quantitative restrictions”
means any specific limit on quantity of goods imposed as a safeguard measure
under the Act; (g) “specified country” means a
country or territory which is a member of the World Trade Organization and
includes the country or territory with which the Government of India has an
agreement for giving it the most favoured nation treatment; (2) The words and expressions
used herein and not defined, but defined in the Act shall have the meanings
respectively assigned to them in the Act. (1) The Central Government
shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, designate an officer not below
the rank of Additional Director General of Foreign Trade as an Authorised
officer for making investigation for the purpose of this rules. (2) The Authorised Officer
shall be responsible for conducting investigation, under sub-section (1) of
Section 9-A, for the purpose of imposition of safeguard quantitative
restrictions and making necessary recommendation therein to the Central
Government. (3) The Directorate General of
Foreign Trade shall provide secretarial support and the services of such other
persons and such other facilities as it deems fit. It shall be the duty of the
Authorised Officer. (a) to investigate the
existence of serious injury or threat of serious injury to domestic industry as
a consequence of increased import of a goods into India; (b) to identify the goods
liable for quantitative restrictions as a safeguard measure; (c) to submit its findings, to
the Central Government as to the serious injury or threat of serious injury to
domestic industry consequent upon increased import of goods into India from the
specified country; (d) to recommend. (i) the nature and extent of
quantitative restrictions which, if imposed, shall be adequate to remove the
serious injury or threat of serious injury to the domestic industry; and (ii) the duration of imposition
of safeguard quantitative restrictions and where the period so recommended is
more than one year, to recommend progressive liberalisation adequate to
facilitate positive adjustment; and (e) to review the need for
continuance of the safeguard quantitative restrictions. (1) The Authorised Officer
shall, on receipt of a written application by or on behalf of the domestic
producer of like goods or directly competitive goods, initiate an investigation
to determine the existence of serious injury or threat of serious injury to the
domestic industry, caused by the import of a goods in such increased
quantities, absolute or relative to domestic production. (2) The application referred to
in sub-rule (1) shall be made in Form appended to these rules and be supported
with. (a) the evidence of. (i) increased imports as a
result of unforeseen development; (ii) serious injury or threat of
serious injury to the domestic industry; and (iii) a causal link between
imports and the alleged serious injury or threat of serious injury; (b) a statement on the efforts
being taken, or planned to be taken, or both, to make a positive adjustment to
increase in competition due to imports; and (c) a statement mentioning
whether an application for the initiation of a safeguard action on the goods
under investigation has also been submitted to the Director General of
Safeguards, Department of Revenue. (3) The Authorised Officer
shall not initiate an investigation pursuant to an application made under
sub-rule (1), unless, it examines the accuracy and adequacy of the evidence
provided in the application and satisfies himself that there is sufficient
evidence regarding. (a) increased imports; (b) serious injury or threat of
serious injury; and (c) a causal link between
increased imports and alleged serious injury or threat of serious Injury. (4) Notwithstanding anything
contained in sub-rule (1), the Authorised Officer may initiate an
investigation suo moto,
if, it is satisfied with the information received from any source that
sufficient evidence exists as referred to in clause (a), clause (b) or clause
(c) of sub-rule (3). (1) The Authorised Officer
shall, after it has decided to initiate investigation to determine serious
injury or threat of serious injury to domestic industry, consequent upon the
increased import of a goods into India, issue a public notice notifying its
decision which, inter alia,
contain information on the following, namely. (a) the name of the exporting
countries, the goods involved and the volume of import; (b) the date of initiation of
the investigation; (c) a summary statement of the
facts on which the allegation of serious injury or threat of serious injury is
based; (d) reasons for initiation of
the investigation; (e) the address to which
representations by interested parties should be directed; and (f) the time-limits allowed to
interested parties for making their views known. (2) The Authorised Officer
shall forward a copy of the public notice to the Central Government in the
Ministry of Commerce and Industry and other Ministries concerned, known
exporters of the goods, the Governments of the exporting countries concerned
and other interested parties. (3) The Authorised Officer
shall also provide a copy of the application referred to in sub-rule (1) of
Rule 5, to (a) the known exporters, or the
concerned trade association; (b) the Governments of the
exporting countries; and (c) the Central Government in
the Ministry of Commerce and Industry: Provided that the
Authorised Officer shall also make available a copy of the application, upon
request in writing, to any other interested person. (4) The Authorised Officer may
issue a notice calling for any information in such form as may be specified in
the notice from the exporters, foreign producers and governments of exporting
countries and such information shall be furnished by such persons and
governments in writing within thirty days from the date of receipt of the
notice or within such extended period as the Authorised Officer may allow on
sufficient cause being shown. Explanation. For the purpose of this
rule, the public notice and other documents shall be deemed to have been
received one week after the date on which these documents were put in the
course of transmission to the interested parties by the Authorised Officer. (5) The Authorised Officer
shall provide opportunity to the industrial user of the goods under
investigation and to representative consumer, organisations in cases where the
goods is commonly sold at retail level to furnish information which is relevant
to the investigation including inter
alia, their views if imposition of safeguard quantitative restrictions
is in public interest or not. (6) The Authorised Officer may
allow an interested party or its representative to present the information
relevant to investigation orally but such oral information shall be taken into consideration
by the Authorised Officer only when it is subsequently submitted in writing. (7) The Authorised Officer
shall make available the evidence presented to it by one interested party to
all other interested parties, participating in the investigation. (8) In case where an interested
party refuses access to or otherwise does not provide necessary information
within a reasonable period or significantly impedes the investigation, the
Authorised Officer may record its findings on the basis of the facts available
and make such recommendations to the Central Government as it deems fit under
such circumstances. (1) Notwithstanding anything
contained in sub-rules (1), (3) and (7) of Rule 6, and sub-rule (5) of Rule 9,
any information which is by nature confidential or which is provided on a
confidential basis shall, upon cause being shown, be treated as such by the
Authorised Officer and not be disclosed without specific authorisation of the
party providing such information. (2) The Authorised Officer may
require the parties providing information on confidential basis to furnish non
confidential summary thereof and if, in the opinion of the party providing such
information, such information cannot be summarised, such party may submit to
the Authorised Officer a statement of reasons why summarisation of such
information is not possible. (3) Notwithstanding anything
contained in sub-rule (2), if the Authorised Officer is satisfied that the
request for confidentiality is not warranted or the supplier of the information
is unwilling either to make the information public or to authorise its
disclosure in a generalised or summary form, it may disregard such information
unless it is demonstrated to its satisfaction from appropriate sources that such
information is correct. The Authorised Officer
shall determine serious injury or threat of serious injury to the domestic
industry taking into account, inter alia, the following principles, namely. (a) in the investigation to
determine whether increased imports have caused or are threatening to cause
serious injury to a domestic industry, the Authorised Officer shall evaluate
all relevant factors of an objective and quantifiable nature having a bearing
on the situation of that industry, in particular, the rate and amount of the
increase in imports of the goods concerned in absolute and relative terms, the
share of the domestic market taken by increased imports, changes in the level
of sales, production, productivity, capacity utilisation, profits and losses,
and employment; and (b) the determination referred
to in clause (a) shall not be made unless the investigation demonstrates, on
the basis of objective evidence, the existence of the causal link between
increased imports of the goods concerned and serious injury or threat thereof: Provided that when factors
other than increased imports are causing injury to the domestic industry at the
same time, such injury shall not be attributed to increased imports and in such
cases, the Authorised Officer may refer the complaint to the authority for
anti-dumping or countervailing duty investigations, as appropriate. (1) The Authorised Officer
shall, within eight months from the date of initiation of the investigation or
within such extended period as the Central Government may allow, determine
whether, as a result of unforeseen developments the increased imports of the
goods under investigation has caused or threatened to cause serious injury to
the domestic industry, and a casual link exists between the increased imports
and serious injury or threat of serious injury and recommend. (i) the extent and nature of
quantitative restrictions which, if imposed, would be adequate to prevent or
remedy ‘serious injury’ and to facilitate positive adjustment, as the case
may be; (ii) the extent of quantitative
restrictions so that the quantity of imports is not reduced to the quantity of
imports below the level of a recent period which shall be the average of import
in the last three representative years for which statistics are available and
justification if a different level is necessary to prevent or remedy serious
injury; (iii) the quota to be allocated
among the supplying countries, and the allocation of shares in the quota for
such specified countries which have a substantial interest in supplying the
goods; (iv) the duration of imposition
of quantitative restrictions and where the duration of imposition of
quantitative restrictions is more than one year, the progressive liberalisation
adequate to facilitate positive adjustment. (2) The final findings if
affirmative shall contain all information on the matter of facts and law and
reasons which have led to the conclusion. (3) The Authorised Officer
shall issue a public notice recording has final findings. (4) The Authorised Officer
shall send a copy of the public notice regarding his final findings to the
Central Government in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and a copy thereof
to the interested parties. The Central Government may
based on the recommendation of the Authorised Officer, by a notification in the
Official Gazette, under sub-section (I) of Section 9-A of the Act, impose upon
importation into India of the goods covered under the final determination, a
safeguard quantitative restrictions not exceeding the amount or quantity which
has been found adequate to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate
adjustment. Any safeguard quantitative
restrictions imposed on goods under these rules shall be applied on a
non-discriminatory basis to all imports of the goods irrespective of its
source. The safeguard quantitative
restrictions levied under these rules shall take effect from the date of
publication of the notification in the Official Gazette, imposing such
quantitative restrictions. (1) The safeguard quantitative
restrictions imposed under Rule 10 shall be for such period of time as may be
necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment. (2) Notwithstanding anything
contained in sub-rule (1), safeguard quantitative restrictions imposed under
Rule 10 shall, unless revoked earlier, cease to have effect on the expiry of
four years from the date of its imposition: Provided that if the
Central Government is of the opinion that the domestic industry has taken
measures to adjust to such serious injury or threat thereof and it is necessary
that the safeguard quantitative restrictions should continue to be imposed, to
prevent such serious injury or threat and to facilitate adjustments, it may
extend the period beyond four years: Provided further that in no
case the safeguard quantitative restrictions shall continue to be imposed
beyond a period of ten years from the date on which such restrictions were
first imposed. If the duration of the
safeguard quantitative restrictions imposed under Rule 10 exceeds one year, the
restriction shall be progressively liberalised at regular intervals during the
period of its imposition. (1) The Authorised Officer
shall, from time to time, review the need for continued imposition of the
safeguard quantitative restrictions and shall, if, it is satisfied on the basis
of information received that. (a) safeguard quantitative
restrictions is necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and there is
evidence that the industry is adjusting positively, it may recommend to the
Central Government for the continued imposition of quantitative restrictions; (b) there is no justification
for the continued imposition of such restriction; recommend to the Central
Government for its withdrawal: Provided that where the
period of imposition of safeguard quantitative restrictions exceeds three
years, the Authorised Officer shall review the situation not later than the
midterm of such imposition, and, if appropriate, recommend for withdrawal of
such safeguard quantitative restrictions or for the increase of the
liberalisation of quantitative restrictions. (2) Any review initiated under
sub-rule (1), shall be concluded within a period not exceeding eight months
from the date of initiation of such review or within such extended period as
the Central Government may allow. (3) The provisions of Rules 5,
6, 7 and 9 shall, mutatis
mutandis, apply in the case of review under this rule. FORM [See
rule 5(2)] Information
to be provided by Applicant for Safeguard Investigation Table of Contents Section 1 General Information Section 2 Product in respect of which increase
in Imports Noticed Section 3 Increased Imports Section 4 Domestic Production Section 5 Injury Section 6 Cause of Injury Section 7 Submissions Section 8 Annexes Section 1: General
Information (1) Date of Application. (2) Applicant(s) Provide
name(s) and address(es) of the applicant(s) (3) Domestic Producers of the like
or directly competitive products on whose behalf the application is filed (Give
details of all domestic producers who support the application) along with their
IEC, where applicable) (4) Information on production
accounted for by the domestic producers of the like or directly competitive
products (in respect of those domestic producers who support the application). (5) Information on the total
domestic production of the product concerned of the like or directly
competitive products (in respect of all producers whether they support the
application or not). Section 2: Product in
respect of which increase in imports alleged (1) Name of the product. (2) Description: Provide full
description of the product including chemical formula, grade constituent
materials/Components, process of manufacture in brief, uses and
inter-changeability of various grades, etc. (3) Tariff classification:
Provide the classification of the product under the HS classification as well
as Indian customs Tariff Classification at 6/8/10 digit level. (4) Import Duty: Provide
information relating to rates of import duty levied during the past three
years, If the product enjoys any concessional or preferential treatment,
provide details. (5) Country(ies) of Origin:
Provide name(s) of country(ies) where the product has originated (where the
country of origin is different then the country of export, the name of the
country of origin should also be provided). (6) Provide a list of all known
foreign producers, exporters & importers of the imported product, country-wise,
together with names and addresses of concerned trade associations and user
associations etc. (7) Information on major
industrial users, organization of industrial users and representative consumer
organisations. (In case the product is commonly sold at retail level). (8) Export Price: Details of
export price of the imported Product exporter/country-wise and the basis
thereof (provide the f.o.b./c.i.f. price at which the goods enter into India). Section 3: Increased
Imports (1) Provide full and detailed information
regarding the imports of the said product in terms of quantity and value year
wise for the last three years (or longer). (2) Provide break up of (1)
above country wise in absolute terms as well as a percentage of the total
imports of the said product. (3) Provide full and detailed
information on the share of the imported products and the share of the domestic
production of the like product and the directly ccmpetitive products in the
total domestic consumption for the last three years (or longer) both in terms
of quantity and value. (4) Provide information on
factors that may be attributing to increased imports. Section 4: Domestic
Production (1) Details of the like product
end directly competitive products produced by the domestic producers.
Information similar to II above i.e. (i) Name. (ii) Description. (iii) Tariff classification both
under the Central Excise Tariff as well as under the Customs Tariff. (iv) Details of domestic
producers. (2) Names and addresses of all
known domestic producers and concerned trade associations and users
associations etc. (3) Details of production
accounted for by each of the producers at 2 above. (4) Details of total domestic
production. (5) Installed capacity,
capacity utilization and fall in capacity utilization etc. Section 5: Injury or Threat
of Injury (1) Impact of increased imports
on Domestic Industry; Detailed information on how the increased imports are
causing serious injury or threat of serious injury to the domestic industry.
This should, inter alia,
include information on. (a) Sale volumes, total
domestic consumption and how the market share of domestic production has been
affected. (b) Price undercutting/price
depression/prevention of rise in prices. Information on costs of production and
how the increased imports have affected the prices of domestic production needs
to be provided. (c) Any significant idling of
production facilities in the industry including data indicating plant closure
or fall in normal production capacity utilization. (d) Loss of employment. (e) Financial situation. (f) Full information on the
financial situation of the domestic industry including information on decline
in sales, growing inventory, downward trend in production, profits,
productivity or increasing unemployment needs to be provided. (2) Other Factors of Injury:
Provide details of any other factors that may be attributing to the injury to
the domestic industry and an explanation that injury caused by these other
factors is not attributed to injury caused by increased imports. (Information
on injury caused due to dumping or subsidization, if any, needs to be
specifically provided here. Also mention if any application for anti-dumping or
countervailing duty investigation has been filed). Section 6: Cause of Injury: Please provide an analysis
of data presented above bringing out a nexus between the increased imports,
either actual or relative to domestic production, and the injury or threat of
injury caused to the domestic industry and the basis for a request for
initiation of safeguards investigation under Safeguard Measures (Quantitative
Restrictions) Rules, 2012. Section 7: Submission (a) A statement describing the
measure requested including: (b) Nature and quantum of
safeguard quantitative restriction requested. (c) Purpose of seeking the
relief and how such objective will be achieved. (d) Duration for which
imposition of safeguard quantitative restriction is requested and the reasons
therefore. (e) If the safeguard measures
are requested to be imposed for more than one year, details on efforts being
taken and planned to be taken or both to make a positive adjustment to import
competition with details of progressive liberalization adequate to facilitate
positive adjustment of the industry. Section 8: Annexes All supporting information
can be provided as annexes to the application. (The main information must be
provided at the appropriate places. The details of the information can be
provided in annexes). [1]
Vide Notification No. G.S.R. 381(E), dated 24-05-2012, published in the Gazette
of India, Extra., Part II Section 3(i), No. 230, dated 24-05-2012.Safeguard
Measures (Quantitative Restrictions) Rules, 2012