Article
Tariff Rate Quotas: A balanced safeguard
By Divyashree Suri
Finance Bill, 2020 has proposed amendment to the provisions relating to Safeguard duty in order to expand the powers of the Central Government to implement a safeguard measure by the way of a tariff rate quota or any “other safeguard measure” it deems fit. The Tariff Rate Quota regime allows for imports to freely enter the country to fill the demand-supply gap which may exist in the country and on the other hand also protects the domestic industry and its market share by imposing a duty on imports which exceed the threshold. While the proposed amendment allows the Government to allocate the tariff rate quota to exporting countries having a substantial interest in supplying the article concerned, the author of the article notes that the WTO Appellate Body had in EC-Bananas observed that no law dictates the allocation of tariff rate quota to countries with no substantial interest, and therefore the quota must be uniform and non-discriminatory. According to the author, though more clarity on procedures will come once the Rules in this regard are notified, it is a welcome move as it protects the interests of both the domestic and the user industry…
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