G/SG/N/6/IND/49  
12 July 2023 
(23-4693) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Safeguards  Original:  English  
 
  
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE  12.1(A) OF THE AGREEMENT ON  
SAFEGUARDS ON INITIATION OF AN INVESTIGATION AND  
THE REASONS FOR IT  
INDIA 
The following communication , dated and received on  11 July 2023, is being circulated at the request 
of the delegation of India.  
 
_______________  
 
 
Pursuant to Article 12.1(a) of the WTO Agreement on Safeguards  (Safeguards Agreement), India 
notifies that a safeguard investigation has been initiated as follows:  
1. Specify the date when the investigation was initiated  
India initiated the investigation on  30th June, 2023 . A copy of Notice of Initiation of the investigation, 
as published in Part -I Section I of the Gazette of India Extraordinary is attached.1 
2. Period of Investigation  
The Period of investigation (POI) considered for the purpose of present investigation is from  
April 2019-March  2023. The Investigating  Authority has considered April 2022-March  2023 as the 
most recent period for the purpose of the present investigation . 
3. Product under Consideration  
The product under consideration (PUC) i s Low Ash Metallurgical Coke, that is, Metallurgical Coke 
having ash content below 18 %. It is commonly known as Met Coke or Coke in the market parlance . 
Metallurgical Coke with high ash content, th at is, ash content above 18 % is outside the scope of the 
product under consideration . For more details, kindly see the copy of the attached Notice of Initiation 
of investigation . 
Met Coke is used as a primary fuel in industries where a high and uniform tem perature is required 
in furnaces or kilns . It is used majorly in steel plants, chemical plants, ferro alloy plants, foundries 
and pig iron plants.  
The product is classified under Chapter 27 o f Schedule I to the Customs Tariff Act under the HS 
Code 2704 003 0. The product under consideration is also being imported under various other HS 
Codes including 2704 0010, 2704 0020, 2704 0030 and 2704 0090 . The customs classification is 
only indicative and not binding on the scope of the product under consideration.  
 
1 See https://egazette.gov.in/WriteReadData/2023/246939.pdf  . In addition, a PDF version of the 
gazette and its corrigendum have been submitted electronically. To consult them, please contact Ms  Anne 
Richards of the Rules Division (anne.richards@wto.org).  G/SG/N/6/IND/49  
- 2 - 
  4. Reasons for initiation of investigation  
• There is a  sudden, sharp and recent significant increase in the imports of the product 
under consideration in April 2022-December  2022 both in absolute terms as well as 
relative to domestic production.  
• The imports ha ve increased primarily due to a number of unforeseen factors, including the 
(i) global increase of prices of raw material due to Russia -Ukraine conflict (ii) Increase in 
prices of coal due to sanctions imposed by various countries on  imports from Russia 
(iii) Increase in freight rates post COVID -19 lockdowns.  
• The significant increase in the import of the product under consideration in substantial 
quantity in recent times has started causing serious injury to the domestic industry . The 
increased imports also  pose a further threat of serious injury.  
Hence, it has been decided to initiate the safeguard investigation under Rule 5 of the Safeguard 
Measures (Quantitative Restrictions) Rules, 2012 . 
5. Point of contact for the investigation  
All interested parties have been requested to make their views known within a period of 30 days 
from the date of the notice issued (i.e. 30th June, 2023)  to the Investigating Authority on email 
addresses adg16 -dgtr@gov.in , adv13 -dgtr@gov.in , jd15-dgtr@gov.in  and jd16-dgtr@gov.in . 
All known interested parties have been addressed separately . It may be noted th at in terms of 
explanation of the said Rule, the notice calling for information and other documents shall be deemed 
to have been received within one week from the date on which it was sent by the Investigating 
Authority or transmitted to the appropriate di plomatic representative of the exporting country.  
If no information is received within the prescribed time limit or the information received is 
incomplete, the Investigating Authority may record its findings on the basis of the facts available on 
record in  accordance with the Rules.  
 
__________