Indian steel industry was hit hard due to cheap import of the metal from China and devaluation of Yuan had further aggravated the situation. Some companies were on the verge of closure due to this downfall in the steel industry.
To protect steel industry, the Ministry of finance (Government of India) vide Notification No. 2/2015-Customs (SG) dated 14th September, 2015 has imposed a provisional Safeguard duty at the rate of twenty per cent. ad valorem on “Hot-rolled flat products of non-alloy and other alloy Steel in coils of a width of 600 mm or more” (herein referred to as subject goods) falling under heading 7208 or tariff item 7225 30 90 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, when imported into India.
The safeguard duty has been imposed due to increased imports of subject goods into India has caused and threatened to cause serious injury to the domestic industry/producers of subject goods.
The safeguard duty imposed under this notification shall be effective for a period of two hundred days (unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier) from the date of publication of this notification in the Official Gazette.
The following are not included in the scope of subject goods:
- Hot-rolled flat products of steel with nominal width less than 600mm
- API grade steel
- Silicon electrical steel
- Hot-rolled flat products of steel of spring steel quality
- Hot-rolled flat products of steel which are electrolytically plated or coated with zinc
- Hot-rolled flat products of steel otherwise plated or coated with zinc
- Hot-rolled flat products of stainless steel.
