RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SG/Q1/IND/4
21 April 1998
(98-1597)
Committee on Safeguards Original:  English
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS UNDER
ARTICLE 12.6 OF THE AGREEMENT
Replies from INDIA to
Questions Posed by CANADA1 and KOREA2
The following communication, dated 20 April 1998, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of India.
_______________
QUESTIONS FROM CANADA
Q.1. In Customs Tariff (Identification and Assessment of Safeguard Duty) Rules, 1997
references are made in Section 6(1):  Principles governing investigations;  Section 9(2):
Preliminary Findings;  and, Section 11(5):  Final Findings that the Director-General shall issuea public notice recording his ... findings.  Could India provide further explanation of what
constitutes "public notice" (i.e. is it publication in the Official Gazette)?
Reply
"Public notice" as defined under the rules has been considered to mean publication in the
Official Gazette.
Q.2. Section 18:  Review of the Customs Tariff (Identification and Assessment of Safeguard
Duty) Rules, 1997 provides information on the review of safeguard measures.  Could India
explain if the procedures followed in an initial investigation will be applied in any subsequent
review or extension enquiry?
Reply
Rule 18, sub-rule 3, provides that the provisions of rules 5, 6, 7 and 11 (i.e. the procedure to
be followed for any initial investigation) shall  mutatis mutandis  apply in the case of review.
                                                     
1 G/SG/Q1/CAN/2.
2 G/SG/Q1/IND/1 & Corr.1.G/SG/Q1/IND/4
Page 2
Q.3. What are the provisions in Indian domestic  legislation and/or regulations that provide
for the appeal and/or review of the finding s of the Director-General (Safeguards)?
Reply
There is no provision for appeal against the findings of the DG (Safeguards) not is any such
provision required under Article 19 of GATT or under the Agreement on Safeguards.
Q.4. Does the Indian domestic legislation and/or regulations permit the provision of
compensation as described in Article 8 of the Agreement on Safeguards.
Reply
Under the Indian Rules, DG (Safeguards) is only entrusted with the responsibility of making
its recommendations to the Central Government with  regard to investigation into the existence of
"serious injury" or "threat of serious injury" to domestic industry as a consequence of increased
import of an article into India, to identify the article liable for safeguard duty, to submit its findings onthe above issues and to recommend the amount and the duration of safeguard duties.  The duties of the
DG (Safeguards) are specifically mentioned under Rule  4.  It is not necessary to provide for provision
of compensation in accordance with Article 8 in the national legislation.  However, it may be
reiterated that the Central Government is committed to fulfil its obligation under the Agreement on
Safeguards including the provisions of Article 8.
QUESTIONS FROM KOREA
Q. Article 12.1 of the Agreement on Safeguards requires Members to notify the Committee
on Safeguards "immediately" upon:
(a) initiating an investigatory process relati ng to serious injury or threat thereof and
the reasons for it;
(b) making a finding of serious injury or  threat thereof caused by increased
imports;  and
(c) taking a decision to apply or extend a safeguard measure.
Could India please identify the section(s) of the 1975 Customs Tariff Act or the 1997
Custom Tariff Rules (document G/SG/N/1/IND/2) that include(s) these requirements?
If it is India's opinion that it is not necessa ry that such requirement be enacted in India's
laws and regulations, we would appreciate it if India could confirm whether it immediately
notified the initiations of safeguard investigations to the Committee on Safeguards, in
conformity with the WTO Agreement on Safeguards.
Reply
The rules and notifications concerning safeguard measures, as enunciated in the 1997
Customs Tariff Rules do not stipulate the requirement on the part of the Director-General(Safeguards) to notify the initiation notice and findings to the WTO.G/SG/Q1/IND/4
Page 3
However, the Government of India is committed to fulfil its obligations under the Agreement
on Safeguards, including the notification of initiation of safeguard measures to the Committee on
Safeguards, as has already been done in the safeguard investigations initiated in the case of acetylene
black and carbon black.
__________