Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. If you are part of the domestic industry making the same or a similar product, you (or an industry association on your behalf) can file an application asking the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) to investigate. Producers supporting the application must together account for at least 25 percent of total domestic production of that product, and more than half of the producers who take a position on the application, for or against, must support it. DGTR can also start an investigation on its own if it already has enough evidence, even without an application.

Not exactly. People often use dumping to mean any low priced import, but the legal meaning is more specific: it is when a foreign producer sells goods to India at a price lower than the price it charges for the same goods in its own home market. A product is not treated as dumped simply because it is inexpensive; the comparison that matters is against that producer's own domestic selling price.

The authority looks at both how much the imports have grown, known as the volume effect, and what they are doing to prices, the price effect, such as undercutting your prices or stopping you from raising prices when you otherwise would have. It also studies indicators like your sales, profits, output, market share, capacity use, cash flow, employment and ability to raise investment. There has to be a causal link, meaning the dumped or subsidised imports are actually the cause of that harm, not some other factor.

For anti-dumping cases, an investigation is usually opened within 30 days once your application is accepted as complete. Countervailing duty (subsidy) cases take a little longer, around 60 to 75 days, because the government of the exporting country is consulted first. Safeguard cases can take about 90 days because the data in the application needs to be verified, sometimes including an on site visit.

Yes. Once at least 60 days have passed since the investigation started, the authority can recommend a provisional, temporary duty based on its preliminary finding, to prevent injury that would be hard to undo while the case continues. A provisional anti-dumping duty can stay in place for up to six months, extendable to nine in some cases, a provisional countervailing duty for up to four months, and a provisional safeguard measure for up to 200 days.

An anti-dumping duty normally stays in force for up to five years from when it is imposed, unless it is revoked earlier. Before that period ends, the domestic industry can apply for a sunset review to show that continuing it is still justified.

In limited situations, yes. Anti-dumping duty can be applied retrospectively, to imports that already arrived, if there is a history of dumping causing injury, or if a sudden, large volume of dumped imports in a short period would otherwise undermine the effect of the duty. This retrospective reach cannot go back more than 90 days before the notification imposing the duty. Countervailing duty can similarly reach back up to 90 days before a provisional duty was imposed, while safeguard duty cannot be applied retrospectively at all.

Yes. If the final duty that is eventually confirmed is lower than the provisional duty you already paid, or if no final duty is imposed at all, the difference you already paid is refunded to you. If the final duty turns out to be higher than the provisional duty, you do not have to pay the extra difference for the period the provisional duty was in effect.

You become a registered interested party either by writing to the authority within 40 days of the investigation starting, or simply by filing your questionnaire response, which automatically counts as registration even without a separate written request. Once registered, you, or an authorised representative, can make written submissions, respond to disclosures, and ask for an oral hearing to present your case before the authority.

No, they work differently. Ordinary customs duty is a general revenue measure that applies to everyone regardless of where the goods come from. Anti-dumping duty is a trade remedy aimed at a specific unfair pricing practice, so it is levied only against the particular country and, often, the particular producer or exporter found to be dumping, and it is charged on top of the normal customs duty on the goods.

Yes, through a new shipper review. If you are an exporter or producer who did not ship the product to India during the original period of investigation, and you are not related to any exporter already subject to the duty, you can ask DGTR to determine an individual dumping margin and duty rate for you, rather than being stuck with the rate set for everyone else.

No. The duty adds a cost, and it may affect prices for products made using that input, but it does not block or restrict the import of the product in any way. It is meant to remove an unfair pricing advantage, not to cut off supply of the imported goods.

Not necessarily. If an exporter changes how a product is described, its composition, its form, or its declared country of origin mainly to get around an existing anti-dumping duty, the authority can open an anti-circumvention investigation. If that investigation confirms circumvention, duty can be extended to the altered product, and it stays in force for as long as the original anti-dumping duty remains valid.

In most cases no; duty applies only from the date it is formally notified. But anti-dumping duty can reach back up to 90 days before that notification in specific situations, such as a history of dumping causing injury or a sudden surge of dumped imports timed to beat the duty. Safeguard duty, by contrast, is never applied retrospectively.

Anti-dumping addresses a foreign producer selling into India below its own home market price. Countervailing duty addresses imports that are cheaper because a foreign government subsidised them, for example through subsidised loans or tax breaks. Safeguard measures are different again: they do not require any unfair practice at all, only a sudden surge in imports of a product that is seriously hurting domestic producers, and they give domestic industry breathing room to adjust.

DGTR handles dumping, subsidy and import surge cases, not everything related to imports. Under invoicing of goods, ordinary customs or import duty disputes, GST issues, restrictions on what can be imported or exported, misclassification of goods, and disputed certificates of origin are all handled by other departments, such as the Department of Revenue, CBIC or the Directorate General of Foreign Trade.

Yes. Although most investigations start with an application from the domestic industry, the rules also allow the authority to start one on its own, known as a suo moto investigation, based on information from a customs commissioner or another source, as long as there is enough evidence of dumping or subsidy, injury, and a link between the two. Once started this way, the case follows the same procedure as any other investigation.

Yes. Interested parties get several opportunities: to respond after the investigation starts, to respond to the preliminary finding once a provisional duty is imposed, to submit facts during verification, to request a formal oral hearing, and finally to respond to a disclosure statement that lays out the essential facts before the final decision is issued.

An oral hearing is a formal session where interested parties can present their arguments and evidence directly to the authority, rather than only in writing. It is not automatically compulsory to attend, but anything said orally only counts if it is later put in writing, so most parties also submit written versions of what they present.

The law allows one year from the date an anti-dumping or countervailing duty investigation starts to reach a final finding, extendable by up to six months in exceptional circumstances. Safeguard investigations run on a shorter statutory clock of eight months, again extendable by the government where needed.

Yes, in specific circumstances. An anti-dumping investigation can be terminated if the domestic industry that requested it asks in writing to withdraw, if there is not enough evidence of dumping or injury, if the dumping margin turns out to be below 2 percent of the export price, if the volume of dumped imports is too small, or if the injury found is negligible. Countervailing duty investigations can end for similar reasons, including subsidy amounts below the applicable threshold.

An anti-dumping duty generally stays in force for up to five years from when it starts, unless it is revoked sooner. Before it lapses, the domestic industry can apply for a sunset review, normally at least 270 days before expiry, to show that dumping and injury would likely continue or return if the duty were removed.

A sunset review examines whether an anti-dumping duty that is about to expire should be extended. It matters because a duty does not renew itself automatically. If the domestic industry does not apply in time, and the authority does not act on its own, protection can lapse even if dumping and injury would otherwise continue.

Yes, through a mid-term review. Once a reasonable period has passed after the duty was imposed, normally 12 months or more, the authority can carry out an interim or fuller review, either on its own or on request from an interested party, to check whether the duty is still needed or should be changed because circumstances have shifted.

For anti-dumping and countervailing duty decisions, an appeal can be filed before the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) within 90 days of the duty being imposed, and from there to the High Court or Supreme Court. Even a negative final finding, one where no duty was imposed, can be challenged the same way. Safeguard duty decisions are challenged differently, through a writ petition before the High Court or Supreme Court.

Duty notifications are issued by the Department of Revenue and published on the CBIC website's customs notifications section. DGTR's own website separately lists ongoing and concluded investigations, along with application forms, questionnaires, trade notices and the compendium of trade remedy laws.

There is no fixed cap on how many times an anti-dumping duty can be extended; it can continue as long as there is enough evidence that removing it would lead to dumping starting again or continuing. Safeguard duty works differently: the law caps its total life at ten years.

A provisional duty is a temporary measure the authority recommends based on its preliminary finding, meant to prevent injury while the investigation is still ongoing. A final duty is what gets confirmed after the full investigation concludes, including the oral hearing and the response to the disclosure statement, and it can be higher, lower or equal to the provisional duty that came before it.