12% Safeguard Duty Imposed
on HR and CR and Alloy Steel Flats (Five Categories) for Two Years
·
Jindal Group Complaint along with ISA (Indian Steel Association)
·
11.5% from 21 April 2026 to 20 April 2027
·
11% from 21 April 2027 to 20 April 2028
·
Exemption to Developing Countries other than China, Nepal and Vietnam
(Galvanised Sheets not exempted)
·
HR Steel, Galvanised and Colour Coated will be subject to Safeguards as
min price to trigger duty set at 12% to 20% higher than international.
Summary of Notification No.
02/2025Customs (SG) | Dated 30 December 2025
·
What it
is:
The Government of India has imposed a definitive safeguard duty on
imports of non-alloy and alloy steel flat products to protect the
domestic steel industry from injury caused by a sharp surge in imports.
·
Products
covered:
Hot Rolled Coils/Sheets/Plates, HR Plate Mill Plates, Cold Rolled Coils/Sheets,
Metallic Coated Steel (including galvanised and alloy-coated), and Colour
Coated Coils/Sheets under tariff headings 72087212, 7225 & 7226.
·
Reason:
The Director General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) found that a sudden and
significant rise in imports caused and threatened serious injury to
domestic producers, justifying safeguard measures.
·
Safeguard
duty rates (3 years):
o
12%: 21 Apr 2025 20 Apr 2026
o
11.5%: 21 Apr 2026 20 Apr 2027
o
11%: 21 Apr 2027 20 Apr 2028
·
Price-based
exemption:
Duty will not apply if imports are at or above specified CIF
threshold prices, e.g.
o
HR
coils/sheets/plates: USD 675/MT
o
HR plate
mill plates: USD 695/MT
o
CR
coils/sheets: USD 824/MT
o
Metallic
coated steel: USD 861/MT
o
Colour
coated steel: USD 964/MT.
·
Country
exemptions:
Imports from most developing countries are exempt, except
specified countries such as China PR, Vietnam, and Nepal (varying by
product category).
·
Key
exclusions:
Electrical steels (CRGO/CRNO), stainless steel, tinplate, electro-galvanised
steel, aluminium-coated steel, nickel/copper/silver/titanium plated steel, and
several specialty steels are excluded from the scope.
·
Other
clarifications:
Exchange rate for duty calculation will be as notified under the Customs Act,
based on the bill of entry date.
[Notification
No. 02/2025-Customs (SG) dated 30 December, 2025]
Seeks
to impose safeguard duty on "Non-alloy and alloy steel flat products"
G.S.R. (E). - Whereas, in the matter of
import of Non-Alloy and Alloy Steel Flat Products, namely (a) Hot Rolled
Coils, Sheets and Plates, (b) Hot Rolled Plate Mill Plates, (c) Cold Rolled
Coils and Sheets, (d) Metallic Coated Steel Coils and Sheets, whether or not
profiled, including Galvanneal, Coated with Zinc or Aluminium-Zinc or
Zinc-Aluminium-Magnesium, and (e) Colour Coated Coils and Sheets, whether or
not profiled (hereinafter referred to as the subject goods), falling under
tariff headings 7208, 7209, 7210, 7211, 7212, 7225 or 7226 of the First
Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975) (hereinafter referred to
as the Customs Tariff Act), the Director General (Trade Remedies) in its
preliminary findings vide notification No. 22/01/2024-DGTR, published in the
Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part I, Section 1, dated the 18th March 2025,
has provisionally concluded that recent, sudden, sharp, and significant
increase in imports of subject goods into India has caused and threatens to
cause serious injury to the domestic industry/producers of subject goods,
thereby necessitating the imposition of provisional safeguard duty on imports
of the subject goods into India;
And whereas, on the basis of the
aforesaid findings of the Director General (Trade Remedies), the Central
Government has imposed provisional safeguard duty on import of the subject
goods into India for a period of two hundred days with effect from the 21st day
of April, 2025 vide notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of
Finance (Department of Revenue), No. 01/2025-Customs (SG), dated the 21st
April, 2025 published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section
3, Sub-section (i), vide number GSR 243 (E), dated the 21st April, 2025;
And whereas, the Director General (Trade
Remedies) in its final findings vide notification No. 22/01/2024-DGTR dated the
16th August, 2025 published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part I,
section 1, dated the 16th August, 2025 has come to the conclusion that there is
a recent, sudden, sharp and significant increase in imports of subject goods
into India thereby causing and threatening to cause serious injury to the
domestic industry / producers of subject goods, and has recommended imposition
of safeguard duty on imports of the subject goods for a period of three years
from the date of levy of the provisional safeguard duty;
Now, therefore, in exercise of the
powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 8B of the Customs Tariff Act,
read with rules 12, 14 and 17 of the Customs Tariff (Identification and
Assessment of Safeguard Measures) Rules, 1997, the Central Government after
considering the said findings of the Director General (Trade Remedies), hereby
imposes on the subject goods falling under tariff headings 7208, 7209, 7210,
7211, 7212, 7225 and 7226 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, when
imported into India, a safeguard duty at the following rate, namely :-
a)
12
percent ad valorem, when imported during the period from 21st April, 2025 to
20th April, 2026;
b)
11.5
percent ad valorem, when imported during the period from 21st April, 2026 to
20th April, 2027;
c)
11
percent ad valorem, when imported during the period from 21st April, 2027 to
20th April, 2028:
Provided that the said safeguard duty
shall not be levied for the period commencing from the date of the lapse of the
provisional safeguard duty, up to the preceding day of the publication of this
notification in the Official Gazette.
2. The safeguard duty shall not be
imposed on the product categories as specified in the corresponding entry in
column (2) of the Table below, when imported into India, at or above the import
price on CIF basis as mentioned in the corresponding entry in column (3), in
the currency as specified in the corresponding entry in column (5) and as per
unit of measurement as specified in the corresponding entry in column (4) of
the said Table, namely:-
Table
|
Sl.No. |
Product Category |
Import price on CIF basis |
Unit |
Currency |
|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
|
1. |
Hot Rolled Coils, Sheets and Plates |
675 |
MT |
USD |
|
2. |
Hot Rolled Plate Mill Plates |
695 |
MT |
USD |
|
3. |
Cold Rolled Coils and Sheets |
824 |
MT |
USD |
|
4. |
Metallic Coated Steel Coils and Sheets, whether or
not profiled, including Galvanneal, Coated with Zinc or Aluminium-Zinc or
Zinc- Aluminium-Magnesium |
861 |
MT |
USD |
|
5. |
Colour Coated coils
and sheets, whether or not
profiled |
964 |
MT |
USD |
3. Nothing contained in this
notification shall apply to imports of ,-
(i)
Hot
Rolled Coils, Sheets and Plates imported from developing countries listed in
Notification No. 19/2016-Customs (N.T.), other than China PR and Vietnam;
(ii)
Hot
Rolled Plate Mill Plates imported from developing countries listed in
Notification No. 19/2016- Customs (N.T.), other than China PR;
(iii) Cold Rolled Coils and Sheets
imported from developing countries listed in Notification No. 19/2016- Customs
(N.T.), other than China PR and Nepal;
(iv) Metallic Coated Steel Coils
and Sheets, whether or not profiled, including Galvanneal, Coated with Zinc or
Aluminium-Zinc or Zinc-Aluminium-Magnesium imported from developing countries
listed in Notification No. 19/2016-Customs (N.T.), other than Vietnam, China PR
and Nepal; and
(v)
Colour
Coated coils and sheets, whether or not profiled imported from developing
countries listed in Notification No. 19/2016-Customs (N.T.), other than China
PR and Nepal.
Explanation: For the purposes of this
notification,
(i) The following products are excluded from the scope of subject
goods:
a)
Cold
Rolled Grain Oriented Electrical Steel (CRGO);
b)
Cold
Rolled Non-Oriented Electrical Steel (CRNO) coils and sheets;
c)
Coated
- Electro Galvanized Steel;
d)
Tinplate;
e)
Stainless
steel;
f)
Nickel
Coated / Nickel Plated Cold Rolled Steel;
g)
Rubber
Coated Steel;
h)
Electro
Galvanised (EG) Zinc Nickel Coated Steel;
i)
Bi-Metal
Steel / Bi-Metal Sandwich Steel;
j)
Brass
Coated Steel Wire;
k)
CRUTONITE;
l)
INCONEL;
m)
Stainless
Steel Items;
n)
Aluminium
Coated Steel;
o)
Aluminium
Silicon Coated / Hot Dipped Aluminised Silicon Coated Steel;
p)
Hot
Rolled Clad Steel Plate;
q)
Nickel
Plated Steel / Nickel Plated Strip;
r)
Copper
Plated Steel;
s)
Laminated
Electro Galvanized (EGI);
t)
Cobalt
Plated Steel;
u)
Silver
Plated Steel; and
v)
Titanium
Clad Plates;
(ii) the rate of exchange applicable for the purposes of calculation of
the safeguard duty shall be the rate which is specified in the notification of
the Government of India, in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue),
issued from time to time, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 14 of
the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), and the relevant date for the determination
of the rate of exchange shall be the date of presentation of the bill of entry
under section 46 of the said Customs Act; and
(iii) Import price on CIF basis means the assessable value as determined
under section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962).
[F.No. 190354/42/2025-TRU]