ISLAMABAD, Sept 7: The government has failed to set up an appellate forum for the last three years against findings of the National Tariff Commission (NTC) in cases of anti-dumping, which is a violation of the Anti-Dumping Duties Ordinance, 2000.

The forum provides a platform to the aggrieved parties to challenge the findings of the NTC regarding imposing of dumping duties on their products, as they are not in a position to challenge the cases at the dispute settlement body of the WTO because of lack of expertise and financial cost to hire a consultant for the purpose.

Officials told Dawn that the NTC had so far imposed definitive dumping duties on import of 10 products, while the anti-dumping investigations in two cases were currently under process but there seemed no signs of the establishment of the forum in near future.

However, none of the aggrieved parties had decided to prefer an appeal to the dispute settlement body in Geneva, added the officials.

They said the commerce ministry had established an ad hoc appellate tribunal for a period of six months, with effect from March 4, 2003 and added that following the expiry of the forum, the ministry had not only failed to extend the existing forum but also failed to work out a permanent solution to the issue, which was a legal requirement of the ordinance.

The chairman and members of the forum had been appointed on honorary basis to fulfil a legal requirement.

When asked, a senior official at the NTC said the establishment of the forum was not in his knowledge. If there is no forum, then why every decision of the NTC carried with an option that the aggrieved party could reach the appellate body against the decision.

The official said the government only needed to amend the anti-dumping ordinance so as to suitably amend the qualifications of the tribunal membership. Even this was proposed to be done in 2004-05 and in the budget last but it was not finalised.

India initiated 216 anti-dumping cases up to June 30, 2004. India has not set up a separate entity to act as an appellate tribunal for trade remedy law cases. Instead, it has notified its existing Customs and Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal to hear such appeals as well. These tribunals were headed by a senior judge of the Indian Supreme Court.

The officials said the ideal solution would be to assign the work of the appellate tribunal to some existing appropriate tribunal as an addition responsibility as was done in India.

"The problem in following such course of action is very difficult and unnecessary criteria laid down for the chairman of the appellate tribunal that he should be a retired judge of the Supreme Court," the officials added.

In order to cut down the cost, the government could amend the law to allow one of the existing tribunals to work on appeal, review cases of anti-dumping and countervailing.

There are eight branches of customs, excise and sales tax appellate tribunals -- three in Karachi, two each in Lahore and Islamabad and one in Peshawar.