With the merger of the two separate bodies handling safeguards and anti-dumping to form the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), it will now be easier for industry to take technical advice and support of the government in case there is a need to check imports of particular products, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said.

“When we spread our resources thinly across agencies, it is not very efficient. The DGTR will have all expertise, including legal skills, people dealing with accounting, trade experts and revenue people, under one roof,” Teaotia said adding that the need for such a body was felt for a long time.

So far, the Directorate-General of Safeguards under the Ministry of Finance was responsible for recommending safeguard duties which are penal duties on imports that witness a surge in a brief period of time hurting domestic industry.

The Directorate-General of Anti-dumping, under the Ministry of Commerce, had the responsibility of examining requests from industry to impose countervailing duties and anti-dumping duties which are penalties on imports which are priced lower than what they are sold at in the seller’s own country.

Now, the functioning of the DGTR, which will be a national authority, will be under the Ministry of Commerce. The recommendation of DGTR for imposition of anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard duties would be considered by the Department of Revenue.

“At times, the domestic industry, suffering due to cheap imports, is confused about approaching the DGAD or the DG Safeguards with its problem. It may end up filing cases with both which may lead to a lot of hassle as they are under different Ministries. Now, when a case is brought to a DGTR, domestic industry can be sure that the best possible remedy would be thought of as all expertise is available at one place,” another government official said.

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