Page 504 - MANUAL OF SOP

SAFEGUARD INVESTIGATIONS CHAPTER 21

LEGAL PROVISIONS

21.1 The Agreement on Safeguards (“SG Agreement”) sets forth the
broad rules for application of safeguard measures pursuant to Article XIX
of GATT 1994. In addition, specific safeguard measures are also provided
in various FTAs negotiated on bilateral basis with conditions contained
therein .
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21.2 Safeguard measures are defined as “emergency" actions with
respect to increased imports of particular products, where such imports
have caused or threaten to cause serious injury to the importing Member’s
domestic industry (Article 2). Such measures can consist of quantitative
import restrictions or duty increases to higher than bound rates. They are
one of the three types of contingent trade protection measures, along with
anti-dumping and countervailing measures, available to WTO Members.

21.3 In the Indian domestic framework, the applicable legal provision
for imposition of safeguard duty on imports is Section 8B of the Act. Sub-
section (1) provides for the imposition of safeguard duty by the Central
Government on an article if the article is being imported into India in such
increased quantities and under such conditions so as to cause or threaten
to cause serious injury to the Domestic Industry. The Customs Tariff
(Identification and Assessment of Safeguard Duty) Rules, 1997 govern
1
the procedural aspects, including the manner of and principles governing
safeguard investigations.

21.4 Section 8B of the Act reads as under:
1 India-Singapore Trade Agreement (Safeguard Measures) Rules, 2009; India-ASEAN Trade in Goods
Agreement (Safeguard Measures) Rules, 2016; India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement (Bilateral Safeguard Measures) Rules, 2017; India – Korea Comprehensive Economic
Cooperation Agreement (Bilateral Safeguard Measures) Rules, 2017

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