NOTIFICATION NO. 14/18/2002-DGAD DATE 27/08/2003

Anti-dumping investigations concerning imports of Hot Rolled Coils, Sheets, Plates and Strips originating inor exported from South Africa, Romania, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, European Union, Australia, Canada, andSingapore Termination of Investigation.
Having regard to the Customs Tariff Act 1975 .ft Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection ofAnti-Dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and or Determination of Injury), Rules 1995, thereof.

A. PROCEDURE:

1. The procedure given below has been followed with regard to the investigations:i) The Designated Authority (hereinafter referred to as Authority), under the above Rules, received a writtenpetition from M/s Steel Authority of India Ltd., Hindustan Times Building, New Delhi and M/s Essar Steel Ltd.,Phiroze Gandhi Road, New Delhi, alleging dumping of Hot Rolled Coils, Sheets, Plates and Strips originatingin or exported from South Africa, Romania, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, European Union, Australia, Canada,and Singapore.

ii) The preliminary, scrutiny of the application revealed certain deficiencies, which were subsequently rectified bythe petitioners. The petition - was thereafter considered as properly documented.

iii) The Authority on the basis of sufficient evidence submitted by the petitioners decided to initiate investigationsagainst alleged dumping of imports of Hot Rolled Coils, Sheets, Plates and Strips originating in or exportedfrom South Africa, Romania, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, European Union, Australia, Canada, and Singapore.The Authority notified the Embassies of the subject countries/territory about the receipt of dumping allegationbefore proceeding to initiate investigations in accordance with sub-rule 5(5) of the Rules.

iv) The Authority issued a Public Notice dated 25th September, 2002, published in the Gazette of IndiaExtraordinary initiating anti-dumping investigations concerning imports of Hot Rolled Coils, Sheets, Plates andStrips originating in or exported from South Africa, Romania, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, European Union,Australia, Canada, and Singapore classified under Customs sub-heading nos. 7208.10 (all sub-heads),7208.25 (all sub-heads), 7208.26 (all sub-heads), 7208.27 (all sub-heads), 7208.36 (all sub-heads), 7208,37(all sub-heads), 7208.38 (all sub-heads), 7208.39 (all sub heads), 7208. 40 (all sub-heads), 7208.51 (all subheads),7208.52 (all sub-heads), 7208.53 (all sub-heads), 7208.54 (all sub-heads), 7208.90 (all sub-heads),7211.13, 7211.14 (all sub-heads), 7211.19 (all sub-heads), 7225.11, 7225.19, 7225.20 (all sub-heads),7225.30 (all sub-heads) and 7225.40 (all sub heads) of Chapter 72 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 originatingin or exported from the subject countries/territory.

v) The Authority forwarded a copy of the Public Notice to the known exporters (whose details were madeavailable by the petitioners) and industry associations and gave them an opportunity to make their viewsknown in writing within forty days from the date of the letter.

vi) The Authority forwarded a copy of the Public Notice to the known importers (whose details were madeavailable by the petitioners) of HR Coils/Sheets/Plates/Strips and advised them to make their views known inwriting within forty days from the date of the letter.

vii) Request was made to the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) to arrange details of imports of thesubject goods from the subject countries/territory.

viii) The Authority provided copies of the non-confidential Petition to the known exporters and the Embassies ofthe subject countries/territory in accordance with Rule 6(3) supra.

ix) The Authority sent a questionnaire, to elicit relevant information to the following known exporters in SouthAfrica, Romania, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, European Union, Australia, Canada, and Singapore inaccordance with Rule 6(4);

European Union

· Thyseen Krupp Stahl AG,
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Str. 100, D-47166 Duisburg,
Postal Address: D-47161 Duisburg,
Federal Republic of Germany

· Corus Group

30, Millbank
SWIP4WY
United Kingdom

· Macsteel International UK Ltd.,

Exchange Tower,
1 Harbour Exchange Square,
London E 14 9GE,
United Kingdom

Venezuela

· M/s Siderurgica del Orinoco (DIDOR), C.A.

· Av. La Estancia,
Edificio General Piso 7,
Chuao, Caracas
Romania

· Sidex Galati S.A.,
Galati,
Str. Smardan. nr 1
Galati
Saudi Arabia

· Saudi Iron & Steel Co. (HADEED),
P.O.Box 10053,
Madinat Al-Jubail Al Sinaiyah, 31961
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
South Africa

· ISCOR Ltd.,
Roger Dyason Road
Pretoria 0001
Transvaal

· Highveld Steel & Vanadium Corp Ltd.,
Cvnr Moore Street and Lantern Road,
Wadeeville 1407
Australia

· BHP Flat product
69, Wingfield Road
Wingfield
SA 5013
Canada

· Algoma Steel
Burlington Sales Office
5515, North Service Road,
3rd Floor, Burlington
Ontario - L7L6G4

The Delegation of the European Union in India and the Embassies of South Africa, Romania, Venezuela, SaudiArabia, Australia, Canada, and Singapore were informed about the initiation of the investigation in accordance withRule 6(2) with a request to advise the exporters/producers from their countries/territory to respond to the questionnaire within the prescribed time. A copy of the letter, non-confidential petition and questionnaire sent to the exporters was also sent to them, alongwith the name and addresses of the exporters.

x) A questionnaire was sent to the following known importers of Hot Rolled Coils, Sheets, Plates and Strips inIndia calling for necessary information in accordance with Rule 6(4);

IMPORTERS

M/s Bhushan Steel and Strips Ltd.,
23, Site IV, Indl. Area,
Sahibabad, Dist Ghaziabad
Uttar Pradesh-201010
Fax: 201010

Jai Corporation,
(Dive-Comet Steel),
806, Embassy Centre,
Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021
Fax: 022 282090

Ruchi Strips, & Alloys Ltd.
501, Mahakosh House,
7/5, South Tukoganj,
Indore-452001

Steelco Gujarat Ltd.,
4th Floor, Marble Arch
Race Course Road,
Baroda

Uttam Steel Ltd.
69, P'Dmello Road,
Carnac Bunder
Mumbai 400 009

National Steel Industries,
401, Mahakosh House,
7/5, South Tukoganj,
Nath Mandir Road,
Indore

National Steel and Agro Industries Ltd.,
Flat No SF 1/A, IInd Floor,
43, Darya Ganj,
New-Delhi - 110 002

Pennar Steel Ltd.,
Saptagiri Towers
Ist Floor, S.P. Road,
Begumpet
Hyderabad- 500 016

Raymond Ltd.,
Mahindra Towers,
3rd Floor, B Wing,
P.B. Marg, Worli
Mumbai - 400 018

Tamil Nadu Steel Tubes Ltd.,
P.B. No. 191, Door No. 7 A,
Ist Floor, Sunkurana Street,
Madras - 600 001

Federation of Industries of India,
B-30, Sagart Apartments,
6, Tilak Marg,
New-Delhi - 110 001

M/s R.S. Jhaveri & Co.,
636-637, Pariclatna Building,
6Ih floor, Mama Parmanand Marg,
Opera House, Mumbai-400 004

xi) The Authority made available the non-confidential version of the evidence presented by various interestedparties in the form of a public file kept open for inspection by the interested parties.

xii) Cost investigations were conducted to work out optimum cost of production and cost to make and sell thesubject goods in India on the basis of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) on the informationfurnished by the petitioners

xiii) Some of the interested parties requested for extension in time to file their responses to the importersquestionnaire which was granted upon due cause shown.

xiv) * * * In this notification represents information furnished by an interested party on confidential basis and soconsidered by the Authority under the Rules.

xv) The Authority conducted Oral Hearings on 23/11/2002 and 5/5/2003 which was attended by all interestedparties; the domestic industry was asked to enter into price undertakings/negotiations with exporters from thesubject countries/territory;

xvi) Investigations were carried out for the period 1st April 2000 to 30th September, 2001 (18 months).

B. PRODUCT UNDER CONSIDERATION

2. The product under investigation in the present case is Hot Rolled Coils, Sheets, Plates and Strips of the followingdescription:-

"Hot Rolled Coils, Sheets/Plates/Strips of a width of 600mm or more, not clad, plated or coated."

The size/thickness is as follows:
1.5 mm to 20 mm for coils
less than and upto 5 mm for sheets
5 mm and above for plates

Grade-all grades

The subject goods described as Hot Rolled Coils, Sheets, Plates and Strips are classified under Customs subheadingnos. 7208.10 (all sub-heads), 7208.25 (all sub-heads), 7208.26 (all sub-heads), 7208.27 (all sub-heads),7208.36 (all sub-heads), 7208.37 (all sub-heads), 7208.38 (all sub-heads), 7208.39 (all sub-heads), 7208. 40 (all subheads), 7208.51 (all sub-heads), 7208.52 (all sub-heads), 7208.53 (all sub-heads), 7208.54 (all sub-heads), 7208.90 (all sub-heads), 7211.13, 7211.14 (all sub-heads), 7211.19 (all sub-heads), 7225.11, 7225.19, 7225.20 (all subheads), 7225.30 (all sub-heads) and 7225.40 (all sub-heads) of Chapter 72 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975.

The classification is however indicative only and in no way binding on the scope of the present investigations.

Submission by the domestic industry:

The petitioners have clarified vide their letter dated 9th July 2003 that Alloy Steel is not covered in the presentscope of investigation. Vide their letters dated 5th February 2003 and 9th July 2003, the petitioners have clarified that some plates or sheets may have entered the country under ITC (HS) classification 7211 that are manufactured from a plate mill (i.e., cut-to-length plate) rather than a hot strip mill. They have clarified that at no time did they intend that plates or other products produced in plate mills should be included within the scope of the investigation. The petitioners have confirmed that only imports of hot strip mill products were intended to be brought within the scope of the investigation.

The petitioners have submitted import data as per DGCIS vide their letters to the Authority dated 22nd July 2003and 23rd July 2003. The petitioners have clarified vide the letters cited above that as originally noted in the petition the data provided by the domestic industry was for all imports under ITC (HS) classification heading 7208. It is important to note that ITC (HS) classification heading 7211 only covers products of a plate mill that are not produced from a hot rolling mill Further ITC (HS) classification 7225 includes silicon grade steel, which is not produced by SAIL. Although some of the imports of the subject goods are also being cleared under ITC (HS) classification 7211 and 7225, the domestic industry has not been able to obtain sufficient data segregating such imports from other imports in a clear and consistent manner. Accordingly, as in the case of the petition, the corrected figures provided vide the letters cited above only cover ITC (HS) classification heading 7208.

Examination by the Authority

In view of the clarification given by the domestic industry, the scope of the subject goods has been restricted toimports under ITC (HS) classification 7208. Silicon grade steel is also excluded from the scope of the product underconsideration, as the same is not manufactured by the domestic industry as clarified by the petitioners.

C. DOMESTIC INDUSTRY

3. The petitioners have stated that the following companies are the producers of the subject goods in India:-

(a) M/s Steel Authority of India Ltd.
(b) M/s Essar Steel India Ltd.
(c) M/s Tata Iron and Steel Company Ltd.
(d) Ws Jindal Vijaynagar Steel Ltd.
(e) M/.s Ispat Industries Ltd.

The petition has stated that M/s Tata Iron and Steel Company Ltd. M/s Jindal Vijaynagar Steel Ltd., and M/sIspat Industries Ltd., are importers of the subject goods and hence do not fall under the definition of 'domesticindustry'. The said companies have supported the present petition.

M/s, Steel Authority of India Ltd. and M/s Essar Steel India Ltd have filed the petition and are hereinafterreferred to as the petitioners. The petitioners account for more than 58.45% of the total domestic production andtherefore satisfy the standing to file the present petition and constitute the `domestic industry' under the Rules.

D. Responses received from Co-operating Exporters:

4. The Authority sent questionnaires to the known exporters from the subject countries/territory in terms of section9A(1). The following co-operative exporters responded to the questionnaire forwarded by the Authority:

(a) Thyseen Krupp Stahl AG, Germany
(b) Salzgitter and Huttenwerke, Germany
(c) Saudi Iron & Steel Co. (HADEED), Saudi Arabia
(d) Sidex Galati S.A., Romania
(e) ISCOR Ltd., South Africa
(f) Macsteel International UK Ltd., UK
(g) Saldanha Steel, South Africa
(g) Siderurgica del Orinoco (SIDOR), C.A. Venezuela

The Authority has analyzed each of the responses received from the exporters named above as, given in thetable below:

Sl. No.	Exporter/Procedure	Cif (USD/MT)	Landed Value (UDS/Rs)/MT	Sales Realisation of domestic Industry		Price Undercutting
				SAIL	Essar
1.	Thyseen Krupp Stahl AG, Germany (a) HR Coils more than 1.5% Silicon	***	*** Rs.***	Rs.***	Rs.***	Negative
	(b) HR Coils less Than 1.5% Silicon	***	*** Rs.***	Rs.***	Rs.***	Negative
	(c) Defective HR Coils, Mild Steel	***	*** Rs.***	Rs.***	Rs.***	Mild Steel not Covered in Product scope; above minimum cif price of USD 190.5/MT
2.	AG Der Dillinger Huttenwerke Flat Rolled Products of Iron or Non-Alloy Steel (Specialised Plates	**** **** ****	**** Rs**** Rs**** Rs****	**** Rs**** Rs**** Rs****	**** Rs**** Rs**** Rs****	Negative Negative Negative
3.	Saldanha Steel, South Africa low Carbon Second	***	**** Rs****	Rs****	Rs****	cif above minimum cif price of USD 190.5/MT
4.	Iscor/Macsteel, South Africa Defective/Secondary HR Coils	***	**** Rs****	Rs****	Rs****	cir above minimum cif price of USD 190.5/MT
5.	Sidex, Romani Hot rolled Plates (prime quality	***	**** Rs****	Rs****	Rs****	Negative

As regards exports of the subject goods by M/s SIDOR, C.A. Venezuela, the Authority notes that a quantity of14.19 MT was exported by the company in March, 2000 which is prior to the period of investigation. The Authority also notes that with the exception of EU, South Africa and Romania which account for 6.68%, 4.67% and 3.00% of the total imports of the subject goods respectively, all other subject countries including Venezuela and Saudi Arabiacumulatively account for 4.88% (38210.90 MT) of the total imports and are hence de-minimis.

E. INJURY:

5. Under Rule 11 supra, Annexure-II, when a finding of injury is arrived at, such finding shall involve determination of the injury to the domestic industry, "taking into account all relevant facts, including the volume of dumped imports, their effect on prices in the domestic market for like articles and the consequent effect of such imports on domestic producers of such article..." In considering the effect of the dumped imports on prices, it is considered necessary to examine whether there has been a significant price undercutting by the dumped imports as compared with the price of the like article in India, or whether the effect of such imports is otherwise to depress prices to a significant degree or prevent price increase, which otherwise would have occurred, to a significant degree.

Annexure II(iii) under Rule 11 supra further provides that in case where imports of a product from more than onecountry are being simultaneously subjected to anti-dumping investigations, the Designated Authority will cumulatively assess the effect of such imports, only when it determines that the margin of dumping established in relation to the imports from each country is more than two per cent expressed as a percentage of export price and the volume of the imports from each country is three per cent of the imports of the like article or where the export of the individual countries is less than three per cent, the imports cumulatively account for more than seven per cent of the imports of the like article, and cumulative assessment of the effect of imports is appropriate in light of the conditions of competition between the imported article and the like domestic article.

(A) Quantum of Imports:

The petitioners have submitted import data as per DGCIS vide their letters to the Authority dated 22 nd July 2003and 23rd July 2003. The petitioners have clarified vide the letters cited above that as originally noted in the petition the data provided by the domestic industry was for all imports under ITC (HS) classification heading 7208. It is important to note that ITC (HS) classification heading 7211 only covers products of a plate mill that are not produced from a hot rolling mill. Further ITC (HS) Classification 7225 includes silicon grade steel, which is not produced by SAIL. Although some of the imports of the subject goods are also being cleared under ITC (HS) classification 7211 and 7225, the domestic industry has not been able to obtain sufficient data segregating such imports from other imports in a clear and consistent manner. Accordingly, as in the case of the petition, the corrected figures provided vide the letters cited above only cover ITC (HS) classification heading 7208.

The Authority has analysed the DGCIS data provided and notes that the quantity and value of imports of HRCoils/Sheets/Plates/Strips during the Period of Investigation under ITC (HS) classification 7208 was as follows:-

	April 2000 - March 2001		April 2001 - Sept. 2001
Country	Qty. (Kg)	Value (Rs.)	Qty (Kg)	Valeu (Rs.)
(A) HR COILS
All Sources	478199157	***	255541380	***
Subject Countries
EU	12866229	***	7729720	***
South Africa	22521011	***	13927000
Romania	13136447	***	10355710	***
Total	48523687	***	32012430	***
Other subject countries
Venezuela	12536000	***	---	--
Saudi Arabia	10603000	***	660000	***
Australia	2986661	***	39173	*'"*
Canada	3813120	***	401310	***
Singapore	5383134	***	48100	***
Total Others	35321915	***	1148583	***
(B) HR Sheets/ Strips
All Sources	32738379	***	16388296	***
Subject Countries
EU	18004888	***	13691995	***
South Africa	98000	* * *	---	---
Romania	---	--	---	---
Total	18102888	***	13691995	***
Other subject -countries
Venezuela	---	---	---	---
Saudi Arabia	521944	* * *	--
Australia	460	* * *	---	--
Canada	----	----	270000	***
Singapore	566000.	***	382000	***
Total Sheets/Strips Others	1088404	***	652000	***
Total (A)+.(B) subject countries	103036894	***	47505008	***

The Authority notes that the total import quantity for the subject goods during the period of investigations was782867.2 MT. The total imports of the subject goods from the EU was 52292.8 MT and that from South Africa was36546.01 MT. The Authority notes that with the exception of EU, South Africa and Romania which account for 6.68%, 4.67% and 3.00% of the total imports of the subject goods, all other subject countries cumulatively account for 4.88% (38210.90 MT) of the total imports and are hence de-minimis.

The Authority notes that the cif value of the subject goods from tie EU was Rs ***/MT or USD * * */MT and the cif value from South Africa was Rs * * */MT or USD * * */MT. Imports from South Africa are low carbon seconds and defectives of HR Coils as submitted by the cooperating exporters. The landed value of the subject gods works out to USD ***/MT and USD ***/MT respectively which is higher than the non-injurious price of the domestic industry determined for the period of investigations and the minimum import price notified for these imports as per DGFT notifications.

(B) Sales and Market Share:

Qty. (MT)

	HR Coils	Sheets	Plates	Total
Sales of Petitioner (MT)
SAIL	24,40,711	2,77,989	7,52,670	34,71,370
Essar	14,35,041	---	9,50,130	23,85,171
Sales of other Domestic Producers	Not available
Total Sales (petitioners only)				58,56,541
Imports (as per DGCIS)				April 2000- March 2001	April 2001-September 2001
ITC (HS) 7208				510938	271930
Total Imports of Subject Goods MT				782868
Imports from subject countries (MT)				136850
Demand (MT)				6639409
Share of imports %				11.79%
Share of dumped imports %				2.06%
Share of Dom. Indnstry %				88.21%

(SAIL Rourkela and Essar have not provided bifurcated quantities of sales of Sheets.)

The Authority notes that while dumped imports account for 2.06% of demand, the domestic industry (petitioners only) account for 88.2% of the approximate demand for the subject goods during the period of investigation.

F. Price Undertaking:

6. The domestic industry was willing to agree to a price undertaking and had suggested a basic cif price of USD ***/MT for HR Coils and USD ***/MT for sheets/strips. No price undertaking proposal has-been suggested for HR Plates. The Authority notes that the cif and landed values of HR Coils are higher than the price at which the domestic industry was willing to enter into an undertaking with concerned exporters.

F. CAUSAL LINK

7. The Authority notes that the petitioners had significant market share of the subject goods during the period ofinvestigation while imports of the subject goods accounted for only 2.06% of demand. With the exception of EU, South Africa and Romania which account for 6.68%, 4.67% and 3.00% of the total imports of the subject goods, all other subject countries cumulatively account for 4.88% of the total imports and are therefore de-minimis. Hence the allegedly dumped imports from Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Canada, and Singapore had no volume effect on the domestic industry. In examining the price effect, that is, whether the dumped imports have significantly undercut the price of the like product in India, the Authority notes that the landed values of the subject goods from the subject countries/territory were significantly higher that the net selling price of the petitioners and the non-injurious price determined for the domestic industry during the period of investigation. Therefore the question of price undercutting or material injury to the petitioner from the said imports does not arise.

The Authority further notes that vide (DGFT) Notification No. 35 (RE-98) 1997-2002 dated 11/12/1998, Prime steelitems specified below were permitted for imports free, except those, in respect of which the cif value is below the value specified against each of these items: -

S.No.	ITC (HS Code)	Description	Minimum cif value (USD per tonne)
1	72.08	H.R.Coils (TMQ)	302
2	72.08	H.R.Sheets	317
6	72.11	Plates	409

Vide (DGFT) notification no 31 (RE - 99) 1997-2002 dated 1.11.1999, the minimum cif value of prime steel items asspecified in earlier DGFT Notification No. 35 (RE-98) 1997-2002 dated 11/12/1998, were amended to read as follows:

S.No.	ITC (HS Code)	Description	Minimum cif value (USD per tonne)
1	72.08	H.R.Coils	254
2	72.08	H.R.Sheets	269
6	72.08/72.11	Plates	370

The price restrictions on prime steel items as above, was withdrawn with effect from 1.1.2000 vide (DGFT) notification no 31 (RE-99) 1997-2002 dated 1.11.1999. However, these restrictions apply to the extent specified in the order passed by the Hon'ble High Court at Calcutta on 16.2.2000 in W.P. No. 12492 (W) of 1999. The Hon'ble Court Order states that, "The notification dated 1.11.1999 by which the floor price of HR Coils was reduced to 254 US dollars per metric ton is to that extent stayed with effect from the date of its publication; in other words, the earlier notification maintaining the floor price at 302 US dollars per metric ton for HR Coils shall remain operative until further orders of this Court."

Vide DGFT Not. no 31 (RE-99) 1997-2002 dated 1. 11, 1999 the minimum cif value on import of seconds anddefectives were revised as below:

S.No.	ITC (HS Code)	Description	Minimum cif value (USD per tonne)
1.	72,08	H.R.Coils	190.5
2.	172,08	H.R.Sheets	201.75
6.	72.08/72.11	Plates	278

The Authority notes that the cif prices of the subject goods from the subject countries/territory for prime and defectives are higher than the minimum cif value (USD/MT) laid down vide the DGFT Notifications cited above.The Authority therefore holds that the material injury to the domestic industry has not been caused by the dumpedimports from the subject countries/territory.

G. TERMINATION OF INVESTIGATIONS

8. In view of the above, the Authority notes that the petitioners M/s Steel Authority of India Ltd., and M/s Essar Steel Ltd., have not been able to provide sufficient evidence of injury to the domestic industry from the imports of the subject goods in terms of the requirements stipulated under the Anti-Dumping Rules. The Authority notes that there is not sufficient evidence of injury to justify the continuation of the investigation.

H. CONCLUSION

9. In view of the foregoing the Authority comes to the conclusion that:-

(a) the petitioners had significant market share of the subject goods during the period of investigation;

(b) with the exception of EU, South Africa and Romania which account for 6.68%, 4.67% and 3.00% of the totalimports of the subject goods, all other subject countries cumulatively account for 4.88% of the total importsand are therefore de-minimis. Hence the allegedly dumped imports from Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Australia,Canada, and Singapore had no volume effect on the domestic industry;

(c) landed values of the subject goods from the subject countries/territory were significantly higher than the netselling price of the petitioners and the non-injurious price determined for the domestic industry during theperiod of investigation. Therefore the question of price undercutting or material injury to the petitioners fromthe said imports does not arise;

(d) causal link between the allegedly dumped imports and the material injury to the domestic industry couldtherefore not be established.

Therefore, under the provisions of Rule 14 (b), the Designated Authority hereby terminates this investigationwhich was initiated vide Notification No. 14/18/2002-DGAD dated 25th September, 2002 against imports of Hot Rolled Coils, Sheets, Plates and Strips originating in or exported from South Africa, Romania, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, European Union, Australia, Canada, and Singapore.

Sd/-
L.V. Saptharishi
Designated Authority

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