ISLAMABAD, July 17: The National Tariff Commission (NTC) will shortly issue its preliminary verdict on the first case filed by a Pakistani industrialist against a foreign exporter of tinplate under the anti-dumping law.

A reply to the notice published by the NTC has been received from the exporter/producer in South Africa against whom a charge of dumping was lodged before the NTC last February.

Siddiqsons (Pvt) Limited, Karachi, had lodged their complaint last February alleging that tinplate of a particular specification had been exported from the Republic of South Africa at a price less than the normal value of the product causing thereby material injury to the Pakistani industry.

As a result of such price undercutting, they contended, the local industry had suffered loss in market share, operational losses, reduced capacity utilization, etc.

The government, NTC chairman Dr Faizullah Khilji told Dawn while explaining the process, promulgated the Anti-dumping Duties Ordinance in 2000 to implement its commitment under the WTO Agreements by way of protecting the local industry from undue competition through dumping.

Under the Ordinance, the NTC was empowered to determine whether a product is being dumped in Pakistan to the detriment of domestic industry producing similar product. Once it is determined that such dumping has occurred, the Commission may impose anti-dumping duty on imports from the producers/ exporters concerned.

After receiving the complaint from Siddiqsons, the NTC had published on February 26 a notice of initiation of investigation in the official gazette and two leading newspapers. A copy of the same notice was sent to the government of South Africa along with the copy of application.

In order to gather information from exporter(s) and importer(s) of the subject product, a questionnaire was sent to exporters as well as importers with the request to provide requisite data within 37 days. Where information requested by the NTC is not made available by any of the interested parties, Dr Khilji said, it had the power to use the best information that might be available and announce its decision accordingly.

The law requires that the NTC issues its preliminary determination not before 60 days and not later than 180 days of the publication of notice.