New Delhi, Nov 24 (IANS): The government has imposed safeguard duty on import of hot rolled flat sheets and alloy or non-alloy steel plates, excluding hot rolled flat products in coil form, to protect domestic steel manufacturers against cheap imports.

The Finance Ministry has said in a notification that the effective duty rate would be calculated after deducting the value of the goods and the anti-dumping duty payable when the import price is below $504 per tonne.

A 10 per cent ad valorem minus anti-dumping duty payable will be imposed on imports up to November 22, 2017. This will be lowered to 8 per cent between November 23, 2017, and November 22, 2018, it said.

A "six per cent ad valorem minus anti-dumping duty is payable, if any, when imported during the period from November 23, 2018, to May 22, 2019, (both days inclusive) at an import price below $504 per ton on CIF (cost, insurance, freight) basis," it added.

Earlier this month, the government had imposed anti-dumping duty for six months on imports of steel wire rods from China.

Last December, India imposed anti-dumping duty, ranging from five per cent to a whopping 57 per cent, on cold rolled steel from China, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and the US to curb its imports.

It comes after a 20 per cent import tax failed to check cheaper imports, resulting in losses to domestic producers, such as the state-run Steel Authority of India Ltd. 

Earlier this year, the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) initiated a probe into dumping of colour-coated steel from China and the European Union.

The Essar Steel India and the JSW Steel Coated Products had filed a petition before the DGAD for initiation of anti-dumping investigation and imposition of anti-dumping duty on the alleged dumped imports of "colour-coated/pre-painted flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel originating in or exported from China PR and the European Union".

The Director General (Safeguard) in his final findings in August this year "had come to the conclusion that increased imports of subject goods into India has caused and threatened to cause serious injury to the domestic producers of subject goods, thereby necessitating the imposition of safeguard duty on imports of the subject goods into India."