Govt to notify 20% import duty on some steel products

This, after complaints by Steel Authority of India , JSW Steel and Essar Steel

The government will soon notify a 20% import tax on some hot-rolled steel products, two sources aware of the matter said, after a government body found evidence that rising imports from China, Japan, South Korea and Russia pose a threat to local companies.

The Directorate General of Safeguards last week recommended the duty for 200 days as it further investigates the issue, following complaints by Steel Authority of India , JSW Steel and Essar Steel. 

The steel makers had been pushing for a safeguard duty instead of an increase in the existing import tax because a safeguard duty would also apply to companies in Japan and South Korea. India has free trade agreements with these countries and gives them import duty concessions.