G/ADP/Q1/PAK/10  
G/SCM/Q1/PAK/10  
 
26 April 2016  
(16-2340)  Page: 1/7  
Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices 
Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures  Original: English  
 
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS UNDER 
ARTICLES 18.5 AND 32.6 OF THE AGREEMENTS  
REPLIES TO QUESTIONS1 POSED BY THE UNITED STATES 
REGARDING THE NOTIFICATION OF PAKISTAN2 
The following communication, dated 26 April 2016, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Pakistan.  
_______________ 
 
 Pakistan thanks the United States for the questions posed to Pakistan on the legislative reform of 
Pakistan's investigative authority for all trade remedy laws both WTO mandated as well those 
agreed under bilateral agreements.  
Questions pertaining to the 2015 National Tariff Commission Act : 
 
Question 1 
 Article 2 (b) of the 2015 National Tariff Commi ssion Act, defines "interested party" as 
"any party having interest in the produc t under investigation including domestic 
producers, importers, consumers, exporter s, foreign producers, trade or business 
associations of the investigated product or such other persons or group of persons as 
the Commission may specifically through notifica tion in official Gaze tte." Would Pakistan 
please confirm that the governments of  exporting countries concerned are also 
considered "interested parties" in accordan ce with Article 6.11 of the Agreement of 
Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 
(hereinafter "AD Agreement")?  Reply: 
 The National Tariff Commission Act, 2015 has been enacted to govern the administration of the 
NTC. Article 2 (b) has no direct link per se with the provisions of Article 6.11 of AD Agreement. 
 
This particular section refers to the task of the NTC mandated by the Act under Article 8 to carry out studies pertaining to tariff structure impacting the domestic industry, rationalization of tariffs 
and removal of tariff anomalies. Thus the term "interested party" defined in Section 2 (b) of 
National Tariff Commission Act, 2015 refers to partie s having an interest in cases of rationalization 
of tariffs and removal of tariff anomalies.  
As with reference to Article 6.11 of the Agreemen t of Implementation of Article VI of the General 
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (hereinaft er "AD Agreement"), Pakistan Anti-dumping 
Act 2015, indicated in Article 2, (j) "interested party" includes… (iv) the government of an 
exporting country. 
 
                                               
1 G/ADP/Q1/PAK/9-G/SCM/Q1/PAK/9 (dated 1 April 2016). 
2 G/ADP/N/1/PAK/3-G/SCM/N/1/PAK/3 (dated 20 January 2016). G/ADP/Q1/PAK/10 • G/SCM/Q1/PAK/10 
 
- 2 - 
 
  Question 2 
 Article 4 of the 2015 National Tariff Commission  Act states that the Commission shall be 
comprised of five members, with one of  the members appointed Chairman. Please 
explain the selection and appointment process for the Commission and its chairman.  
 Reply: 
 The first batch of Members of the Commission shall be selected as per the Act i.e. by the Federal Government [which in this case is the Ministry of commerce] inviting applications based on merit from the private and public sector. Five Members shall be selected out of which one shall be 
designated the Chairman based on the most experience as well as qualifications.  
 Section 4 (1) reads as follows. 
 
"The Commission shall comprise five members, appointed by th e Federal Government in the 
prescribed manner. The Federal Government shall appoint one of the members to be Chairman of 
the Commission." 
 The detailed procedures for the advertisement, short listing as well as interviews and the selection process is a contained in the "Rules of the Commission" which shall shortly be approved by the 
Establishment and Finance Division of the Govern ment of Pakistan and will be placed on the 
website of the NTC to ensure transparency. We sh all be happy to provide copies of the document 
once approved.  
 
Question 3  
Article 16 of the 2015 National Tariff Commi ssion Act states "The Secretary to the 
Commission shall perform functions and duties , including the following, namely: (a) to 
keep in custody the records and seal of the Commission;…" 
 Will the Secretary maintain access to the case file for interested parties? 
 If so, please describe the process by which interested parties will be given 
access to the case file. 
Reply: 
 
Article 16 (2) (a) of NTC Act 2015 refers to a function of Secretary to the Commission to keep in custody the "records" and "seal" of the Commission. 
 
Rule 7 of Anti-dumping Duties Rules, 2001
3 refers to maintaining Public file in each anti-dumping 
investigation that contains non-confidential version of all documents generated and obtained during an investigation. The file is maintained by the case handlers and any interested party 
registered in an anti-dumping investigation ca n access Public File from Monday to Thursday. 
 Questions pertaining to the 2015 AD Act: 
 Question 4  
With regard to Article 28 of the 2015 AD Act, please clarify what supporting information, 
apart from an application for investigation,  the Commission will provide to interested 
parties in the event that it self-initiates an investigation as provided for in Article 25 of 
the 2015 AD Act. 
 
In addition, please confirm that the written application, a summary thereof, or summary 
information in the case of a self-initiated in vestigation, will be available to interested 
parties as part of a publicly accessible case file. 
                                               
3 Some answers provided to the questions posed by the United Sates make reference to Anti-dumping 
rules, 2001. The Rules under New Acts 2015 are in formulation / deliberation, until such times these will be 
notified, the present rules, Anti-dumping rules, 2011 (notified to the Committee on Ant-dumping practices 
in 2001) apply. G/ADP/Q1/PAK/10 • G/SCM/Q1/PAK/10 
 
- 3 - 
 
  Reply: 
 
The Ministry of Commerce, the parent body for the NTC as well as the NTC have not initiated any investigation on suo-moto /self-initiation under Section 25 of Antidumping Duties Act, 2015 
from 1995 till this time and therefore, has no practical experience in this regard.  
 However, in such a case, the NTC will have to obtain information from the domestic industry with 
regard to injury to the domestic industry. Therefore, even in case of self-initiation of an 
antidumping investigation, the NTC shall provide a non-confidential copy of information on the basis of which the NTC decided to initiate the investigation.  
Question 5 
 Article 29 of the 2015 AD Act notes that th e Commission has at least twelve, but not 
more than eighteen months, to complete an  investigation. Please clarify how this 
comports with the timelines set out in Arti cle 13 of the 2015 Nation al Tariff Commission 
Act. 
 
Reply: 
 As explained above in response to question 1, Ar ticle 8 of the Act mandates the NTC to carry put 
certain studies and the timelines given in Section 13 of National Tariff Commission Act, 2015 apply 
to tariff protection studies and are not related to timelines in anti-dumping investigations. Therefore the timelines stipulated in Section 29 of  Antidumping Duties Act, 2015 are in conformity 
with the provisions of Article 5.10 of the AD Agreement.  
 Article 29 of AD Act 2015 refers to timelines for an anti-dumping investigation, and these timelines 
are in conformity with Art 5.10 of AD Agreement. 
 Art 13 of National tariff Commission Act refers to the timelines to complete some of NTC functions 
as indicated into Art 8 Function of the Commission. 
 
Question 6  
Section 34 of the 2015 AD Act states the Co mmission shall issue a proposed schedule for 
antidumping investigations that includes the "proposed date for any hearing, if 
requested." The 2015 AD Act does not contain any provision concerning the 
circumstances under which the Commission conducts hearings. How does Pakistan 
implement the requirement of Article 6.2 of the AD Agreement that authorities provide 
upon request "opportunities for all interested parties to meet those parties with adverse interests?" Is there a prov ision analogous to Section 12(5) of the 2015 CVD Act 
applicable to antidumping investigations? 
 Reply: 
 Rule 14 (1) of the Antidumping Duties Rules 2001 fulfils / implement the requirements of 
Article 6.2 of AD Agreement.  
 
The notice of preliminary determination mentions that any interested party can request for a hearing within 30 days of the publication of the notice of preliminary determination.   
The NTC holds such a hearing not later than sixty days prior to the date proposed for final 
determination.  
Question 7 
 Section 39(3) of the 2015 AD Act states that the Commission's notice of final 
determination shall contain relevant inform ation on the matters of fact and law and 
reasons that have led to the determination. Neither it nor any other section of the 2015 AD Act specifies how or whether the Commission  must notify interested parties of the 
essential facts under consideration prior to issuing the final determination. How does 
Pakistan implement the requirements of Arti cle 6.9 of the AD Agreement? Is there a G/ADP/Q1/PAK/10 • G/SCM/Q1/PAK/10 
 
- 4 - 
 
  provision analogous to Section 12(6) of the 2015 CVD Act applicable to antidumping 
investigations?  Reply: 
 Rule 14 (8) of the Antidumping Duties Rules 20 01 fulfils and implements the requirements of 
Article 6.9 of the AD Agreement.  
 
As general practice the NTC issues a "Statement of Essential Facts" (SEF) at least thirty days before the scheduled or proposed date of final determination.   
The NTC provides the interested parties 15 days time to submit their comments on the SEF. 
 Question 8 
 
Section 39 of the 2015 AD Act specifies the contents of final determinations and notices 
of final determinations. It does not contai n any provision indicating that the final 
determination include the "reasons for acceptan ce or rejection or re levant arguments or 
claims made by the exporters or importer s," as required by Article 12.2.2 of the 
AD Agreement. How does Pakistan implement this requirement?  
Reply: 
 
The text of Article 12.2.2 clearly requires that "a public notice of conclusion of an investigation 
shall contain, or otherwise make available through a separate report, all relevant information on 
the matters of fact and law and reasons which have led to the imposition of final measures…"  
Rule 15 of the Antidumping Duties Rules 2001 fulfil s all the requirements of Article 12.2.2 and the 
Commission place a non-confidential copy of Report of Final Determination in the public file as well as on its official website: http://www.ntc.gov.pk/  in order to make it available to the interested 
parties. 
 
Question 9  
If imports of a particular product from a single country are subject to simultaneous 
antidumping and countervailing duty investigatio ns, as contemplated by section 25(2) of 
the 2015 CVD Act, will the Commission conduct a single injury investigation, and make a 
single injury determination, in both  the antidumping and countervailing duty 
proceedings?  Reply: 
 In case the NTC conducts an AD and CVD investigations simultaneously against the imports of a particular product from a single country, the NTC will conduct a single injury investigation and 
make a single injury determination for the same Period of Investigation in the two investigations.  
 The reason being that the domestic industry producing like product is the same in both 
antidumping and countervailing investigations. 
 Question 10  
Article 51 of the 2015 AD Act makes a differentiation between imports that will be 
subject to any duties and those that will no t. Article 51(e) states that anti-dumping 
duties "will not be levied on imports that are to be used as inputs in products destined 
solely for export and are covered under any scheme exempting customs duty for exports 
under the Customs Act, 1969." Please expl ain, generally, how this provision is 
administered to ensure that goods imported to  be used as inputs in products destined 
for export are not subject to anti-dumping duties. For example, if this exemption is 
claimed by an importer, must the goods remain  in a special zone or other status until 
exported?   G/ADP/Q1/PAK/10 • G/SCM/Q1/PAK/10 
 
- 5 - 
 
  Reply: 
 
Under Section 51 of the Antidumping Duties Act, 2015 the provisional or definitive antidumping duties will not be levied on imports that are to be  used as in products destined solely for export 
and are covered under any scheme exempting cust oms duty for exports under the Customs Act, 
1969.  
FBR (Federal Board of Revenue) issues special policy that determines the Input and Output ratios 
for a particular product to be exported and allows duty free import of inputs as per the export shipments during the past year. FBR policies are in place to protect, monitor and safeguards against any abuse of the system. 
 
In addition the exporter has to file a declaration for each month showing how much raw materials and inputs imported duty free have been utilized. 
 
Question 11  
Please confirm that any changes made under  Article 77 of the 2015 AD Act will be 
consistent with Pakistan's commitments under the AD Agreement.  Reply: 
 Section 77 provides powers to the Federal Government to issue orders necessary to remove the difficulty that may arise in giving effect to any provision of Antidumping Duties Act, 2015.  
 
This section has to be read only in the context of "removal of difficulties" that may arise when given effect to provisions of Anti-dumping Duties Act, 2015. This has to be consistent with the 
provisions of laws and Pakistan's commitments under the Multilateral Trading System. 
 Furthermore, during the one year period after the coming into force of Anti-dumping Duties Act, 
2015, Federal Government has not issued any order for the first six months up to April 25th 2016. 
 
Questions pertaining to the 2015 CVD Act: 
 
Question 12 
 Article 2(l) of the 2015 CVD Act does not list the government of a country in which the 
merchandise subject to the countervailing  duty investigation is produced or 
manufactured, or from which the merchandis e is exported, as an "interested party." 
Please clarify whether the gove rnment of export and/or pr oduction of the merchandise 
subject to a CVD investigation is an interested party in the proceeding.  
 
Reply: 
 
The government of exporting country has been inadvertently missed in the definition of 
"Interested Party" in Section 2 (1) of the CVD Act, 2015.   
In practice the NTC follows the same investigation procedure in AD and CVD investigations and the 
government of exporting country is an interested party in a CVD investigation as is evident from Section 11(9) states that  
"The Commission shall, as soon as possible after receipt of a properly documented application in 
accordance with the requirements of section 11, and in any event before initiation of an investigation, give notice to an exporting country, which shall be invited for consultation with the 
aim of clarifying the situation… and arriving at a mutually agreed solution." 
 The Ministry may propose that this lacuna be remedied through an amendment act by the 
Parliament. 
 G/ADP/Q1/PAK/10 • G/SCM/Q1/PAK/10 
 
- 6 - 
 
  Question 13 
 Section 9(3) of the 2015 CVD Act states th at one factor that the Commission may 
consider in determining the impact of subsidiz ed imports is "the fact that the domestic 
industry is still in the process of recovering  from the effects of past subsidization and 
dumping." Section 17 of the 2015 AD Act, which concerns the impact of dumped 
imports, has no comparable provision. Please  explain the reason for this discrepancy, 
which does not stem from any variance between the AD and SCM Agreements. Could it 
lead to disparate results in simultan eous antidumping and countervailing duty 
investigations of the same product?  
Reply: 
 
In both AD and CVD investigations the Commission would consider all relevant economic factors 
affecting the domestic industry.  
 However, in Section 9(3) of the Countervailing Duties Act 2015 it has been explicitly mentioned. 
Nothing in the Anti-Dumping Duties Act 2015 restricts the Commission to not to consider this 
factor in anti-dumping investigations.   Therefore, it is expected that it would not lead to disparate results in simultaneous anti-dumping 
and countervailing duty investigations of the same product.   
 Question 14 
 
Section 12(2)(b) of the 2015 CVD Act states that  the injury period of investigation shall 
normally cover 36 months. When does the 36-month period typically begin and end? Do 
antidumping injury investigations typica lly have the same 36-month period of 
investigation?  Please also provide an example under which a longer period of investigation would be 
necessary. 
 Reply: 
 In accordance with the Recommendation of the WTO Committee on Antidumping Practices, the Period of Investigation (POI) for determination of injury in AD and CVD investigations is 
36 months. 
 The POI for injury shall cover 36 months period preceding the month / quarter of initiation of investigation for which data is available. 
 
Art 36(2) of AD Act 2015 indicates that investigation period shall cover 36 months.  
Question 15 
 Section 25(3) of the 2015 CVD Act specifies the contents of final determinations and 
notices of final determinations. It does not co ntain any provision indicating that the final 
determination must include the "reasons for the acceptance or re jection or relevant 
arguments or claims made by interested Me mbers and the exporters or importers," as 
required by Article 22.5 of the SCM Agreem ent. How does Pakistan implement this 
requirement? 
 Reply: 
 The text of Article 22.5 clearly requires that "a public notice of conclusion of an investigation shall contain, or otherwise make available through a separate report, all relevant information on the 
matters of fact and law and reasons which have led to the imposition of final measures…" 
 Rule 15 of the Antidumping Duties Rules 2001 fulf ils all the requirements of Article 22.5 and the 
Commission place a non-confidential copy of Report of Final Determination in the public file as well G/ADP/Q1/PAK/10 • G/SCM/Q1/PAK/10 
 
- 7 - 
 
  as on its official website: http://www.ntc.gov.pk/  in order to make it available to the interested 
parties. 
 Question 16 
 
Please explain whether the go vernment of a country in which the merchandise subject 
to the countervailing duty investigation is pr oduced or manufactured, or from which the 
merchandise is exported, is cons idered an interested party with regard to the provisions 
of Article 32 of the 2015 CVD Act, which provid es the ability to appeal to the Appellate 
Tribunal.  
Reply: 
 
Yes the government of a country in which the merchandise subject to the countervailing duty 
investigation is produced or manufactured is considered as interested party for the purposes of 
Section 32 of the CVD Act, 2015.  
Question 17 
 Please confirm that any changes made under  Article 39 of the 2015 CVD Act will be 
consistent with Pakistan's commitments  under the Agreement on Subsidies and 
Countervailing Measures. 
 
Reply: 
 
Section 39 of CVD Act, 2015 provides powers to the Federal Government to issue orders necessary 
to remove the difficulty that may arise in giving effect to any provision of Countervailing Duties Act, 2015.   
This section has to be read only in the context of "removal of difficulties" that may arise when 
given effect to provisions of Countervailing Duties Act, 2015. This has to be consistent with the provisions of laws and Pakistan's commitments under the Multilateral Trading System. 
 
During the two years period after the coming into force of Countervailing Duties Act, 2015, Federal Government has not issued any order for the first six months up to April 25th 2016. 
 
__________