Delhi HC quashes recommendation on USBs
1 min read . Updated: 18 Mar 2015, 11:58 PM IST
PremiumDesignated authority had recommended imposition of anti-dumping duty on USB flash drive exports from China, Taiwan
New Delhi: The Delhi high court (HC) on Wednesday quashed the final findings of the designated authority (DA) under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 that had recommended the imposition of an anti-dumping duty on exports of USB flash drives from China and Taiwan to India.
The DA, working under the directorate-general of anti-dumping and allied duties of the ministry of commerce and industry, had commenced an anti-dumping investigation in June 2013 concerning imports of USB flash drives, originating in or exported from China, Taiwan and South Korea upon an application by Storage Media Products Manufacturers and Marketers Welfare Association on behalf of the domestic industry represented by Moser Baer India Ltd.
In a 125-page notification issued on 19 December, the DA concluded that the USB flash drives had been exported to India below their normal value, resulting in dumping of the product as a result of which the domestic industry has suffered material injury.
It recommended the imposition of a definitive anti-dumping duty equal to the lesser of margin of dumping and the margin of injury—$3.12 per piece exported from China and $3.06 per piece exported from Taiwan.
The high court’s order came in a petition filed by Ireland based SanDisk International Ltd arguing that the final findings were arrived at using transaction-wise imports data as new evidence at the fag end of the investigation without supplying a copy to the company and providing a reasonable period of time to the parties to review and comment upon the new evidence.
SanDisk argued that this curtailed its right to oppose the imposition of the anti-dumping duty and also amounted to a denial of an opportunity to effectively participate in the investigation.
A bench of justices B.D. Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva held that in not providing the information considered by it, the DA has violated the principles of natural justice (in this case, the right to be heard) and it was fatal to the final findings.
